GOLD WINNER
Cavell Holland, House of Eights Dance Studio1533 Barrington Street, 2nd floor
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SILVER WINNER
Brittany Todd, Unleashed Studio245 Waverley Road
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BRONZE WINNER
Jayla James, House of Eights Dance Studio1533 Barrington Street, 2nd floor
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Cavell Holland cannot believe the news when The Coast calls, announcing he’s won Best Dancer. “Honestly, there were so many amazing people who are nominated this year: It was a toss up,” Holland says. “I mean, for years, the dance community has been cultivating something special… Recently, there's been an increase in access: Access to education, programming, even to the diversity and styles and folks teaching, and even in places for dancers to call home. I could go on! But like, especially with educators and instructors in different pockets of the city: They're nurturing the city's growth in a way that I've never seen before, in a volume that I've never seen before, either. Because of this access, there is a new generation of people being exposed to the dance world.” But, of course, Holland is part of that very growth—a now two-time Best of Halifax gold-winning, multi-hyphenate creator who lights up every stage he steps on.
“My aesthetic is rooted in a lot of high energy and quick movement, but it's also fused with a lot of fluidity and control. I hope to give a bit of a captivating experience to the audience,” he says, adding that he’ll never tire of the hip-hop and R&B sounds of his early career, even as he continues to grow as an artist. “I have an insatiable hunger to evolve and learn new things. So when I'm seeing things online, or like, even just for my peers, I hope to take inspiration from that to kind of evolve myself—so that I can put that within my own execution.”