LOW MOOR — The Alleghany Highlands YMCA will be hosting its Halloween “Spooktacular” from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23. This event includes Thriller lessons by Cora Dance and a Flash Mob grooving to this Michael Jackson classic to kick off the Trunk-or-Treat portion of the evening’s festivities.
Goodies for the children in Trunk-or-Treat fashion will be handed out from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the YMCA. Other Spooktacular happenings include a costume contest, outdoor games, and prizes, and a drive-in movie with popcorn.
“All of us here at the YMCA are excited to host this event,” said Michael May, health and wellness program director, and personal trainer at the Alleghany Highlands YMCA. “We’ve enjoyed every minute of planning for our Spooktacular and look forward to an exciting, spooky evening of events.”
Any Alleghany Highlands community organization that would like to participate in Trunk-or-Treat, sponsor any games or activities or simply volunteer is asked to call May at 862-8678.
New York City-based Cora Dance is offering a pair of workshops in conjunction with Spooktacular, based on Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Admission is free.
On Friday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Cora Dance’s lead Hip Hop teacher Keon Washington will lead a free Master Class for experienced dancers age 9 and up in the YMCA gym. The class will include a Hip Hop and modern dance-based warm-up, improv and freestyle exercises and a combination based on the choreography from Thriller that dancers will perform the following day at the Spooktacular.
Then on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., Washington and other Cora dancers will lead-free workshops for all levels of movers as part of the Spooktacular event.
“No prior experience is necessary to participate,” May said. “Just bring your silly side and groove with us.”
Later on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Cora Dance invites participants from both the Friday and Saturday workshops to join the company outside the YMCA to dance in a live performance of the Thriller-based choreography and kick off the Trunk-or-Treat portion of the festivities in the parking lot.
“While workshop participants are not required to perform, Cora Dance hopes everyone will join the fun,” May added.
Experienced dancers age 9-and-up wishing to take part in the Friday Master Class with Washington should RSVP by calling Cora Dance’s office at (718) 858-2520 or emailing Education Coordinator Ammara Shafqat at ashafqat@coradance.org. Community members wishing to take part in the Saturday workshops should arrive at the YMCA by 4 p.m. No RSVP is required for the Saturday workshops.
Washington is a New York City native who has been dancing and performing for 12 years. Once he gained an interest in dance, he began training in Hip Hop and other styles with some of the best teachers in New York City, such as Robert Cecil Brooks III, Amanda Pope and the late Maurice C. Dean. Throughout high school and post-graduation Keon began realizing his love of training dancers as well as performing. To further cultivate his skill set as a teacher, dancer and choreographer, he began working alongside his mentor Amanda Pope as a teaching assistant at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy, Harlem School of the Arts, Amanda Pope Dance Company and Chimera Concept dance team. Currently, Keon is a teaching artist at the Harlem School of the Arts, Aubrey Lynch-Extra Essential Arts (AL-EEArts) and Cora Dance, where he has been a teacher since 2016.
Cora Dance began as a professional dance company in 1998, performing the works of choreographer and educator Shannon Hummel and incorporating as a non-profit organization in 2001. From performing in parks, public housing and community spaces to the stages of Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Live Arts and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, among many other celebrated venues, Cora Dance celebrates access to arts for all people.
The Alleghany Highlands YMCA, since its inception, has provided a variety of youth and family programs and expanded membership and services into all of the Alleghany Highlands communities. For more information on the Alleghany Highlands YMCA, call 962-9622.
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