In The News

Alana on CBC Television

These segments teach viewers how to combine dance and cleaning with common household objects.

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Celebrants to dance in the face of cancer
The Ottawa Citizen (Friday, August 10, 2007)

BY KATIE DAUBS

Marc Charette remembers the day his father died from cancer. He got the call at 2 p.m. Then he DJ’d a wedding.

“I’m a big believer in partying and dancing,” he said of his decision. “It’s all about celebrating life.” That’s why he’ll be spinning the discs at the second annual Dancing in
the Streets celebration Aug. 18. Since 2001, Mr. Charette has lost two brothers and both parents to cancer.

“You have to look past it. You have to keep going.” Those touched by cancer are invited to do just that on Bank Street, which will be closed from Glebe Avenue to Fifth Avenue from noon to 11:00 p.m.

There will be two stages with free performances by artists, including Ana Muira, African Guitar Summit and Ashley MacIsaac. There will be reptiles, entertainers and bouncy castles for children, and swing, ballroom and belly dance demos for just about anyone... [More]

Alana Hock and others party on during a
promotion for Dancing in the Street.

So he thinks he can dance
National Post (Saturday, September 2, 2006)

In which a rhythm-challenged writer learns to lindy hop at Lithuanian House
BY JOHN KARASTAMATIS

‘Everybody wants to dance, even those who claim they don’t,” dancer Trevor Hamilton said recently, shortly before a Toronto Swing Dance Society event at Lithuanian House, a former church at Bloor and Dundas.

There were more than 100 dancers in the basement ballroom, ranging from teenagers to seniors. Some were in pairs, most were alone. At the sign-up desk, there was a basket of buttons that read “Ask me to dance,” but nobody bothered... [More]

A rare stationary moment for the dance class taught by Alana
Hock, third from right in front row.