The Borealis Dancers – Forty Years of Dancing Fun & Sisterhood
Contributed by Georgie Hollander
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been four decades since, in the fall of 1982, Sutton Community Schools was looking for an aerobics instructor. I had been a member of the New Archangel Dancers in Sitka for years and still wanted to dance. I bought an aerobics tape and, to my surprise, there was “Can-Can” music on it! I was thus inspired to get some volunteers and put together a little “Can-Can” dance for an up-and-coming Alpine Civic Club event. We performed our first dance March 19, 1983 and never looked back! The “Borealis Dancers” were born!
After a few months of traveling all over South Central Alaska doing our little one and one half minute dance, we eventually added a Russian folk dance and a “Charleston”. Aerobics was no longer on our minds! Since then our repertoire of dances has greatly expanded. While the plan is basically to keep our dances old fashioned, we basically do what is fun!
We have been performing at the Alaska State Fair every year since then, except for 2020 of course (when the fair was shut down for Covid), the Coal Miner’s Ball for thirty years and also many years for the Pioneers of Alaska, and of course, numerous others yearly throughout the region.
Each performance is planned around the performance time available, who all in the group will be able to make the show, and, if possible, honor any request from the hosts. Our dances range from various nationality folk dances, clogging, tap dancing to popular
“era” dances like the Charleston. Sometimes we just do some silly fun dances with outrageous costumes!
Costumes are as colorful and as reflective of the type, era and nationality of the dance being performed. I have made most of the costumes over all these years, and now have quite a selection from which to choose for various occasions and body types as you can imagine!
No previous dance experience is necessary to join the Borealis Dancers. We work with whomever wants to dance! Age is no problem. I’m over eighty myself! We have a fun atmosphere and really get to know each other in what I would call a “Dance Sisterhood”. We are here for each other.
People ask me how I got started in dancing. During an interview I had two years ago I replied:
“The Eagle’s Hall in Portage, Wisconsin had a dance hall upstairs and bar downstairs. So my parents would come to the dance because they didn’t drink anyway and they put me as a baby in a cardboard box with a blanket in it and set it on the band stand. So, it is easy for me to learn folk dances and things because as soon as I crawled out of the box, I started walking and running around and people would drag me out of the dance floor. So, I just kind of learned to dance as I learned to walk”.
The rest is history!
We are a loosely constructed group. While I am the director, everyone else is encouraged to let their opinions and preferences be known. My motto is: “If you can walk, you can dance!”
Clogging practice is on Monday Evenings from 6:30 to 8:00PM and regular practice is on Thursday Evenings at the same time. You can even visit for a time or two before deciding to join. Our only costs are shoes ($20 for pumps and $10 for flats) and tights that are about $7. We also have a monthly fee of $20 to help keep the studio up and running.
For any questions or directions to our studio, call me directly on (907) 355-6505
Come join our Dance Sisterhood and all it offers!
