As Kicks @ 6 is about to wrap up for the summer, Kirt Miller’s other summer project is getting ready to entertain the community with music’s natural accompaniment, dancing.
The Montana Dance Festival will be a two-night fundraiser, with separate performances on Friday and Saturday nights centered on different styles.
First up is Friday’s events, starting with a hip-hop dance workshop at the Holiday Village Mall, from 1 p. m. to 5:30 p. m.
Registration for the event begins at noon and costs $45 per participant. Dancers will be broken up into three skill levels and will learn about a range of styles, including hip-hop, RnB hip- hop, street jazz and some break dancing for advanced students.
The workshop will be led by and include performances by the Unseen Dance Company, a dance group from Portland.
Participants in the workshop will be allowed free admission to Friday night’s dance competition, to be held in the Havre High School auditorium at 7 p. m.
For those that did not join the afternoon program, tickets cost $15 at the door for people over 12 years old, $8 for those between 12 and 5 years old. Children under 5 get in free.
To participate in the competition, there is a $20 entry fee per person on a team, or a $25 fee for a solo performer.
The fee contributes to the prize pot, from which the winner will take $600, second place earns $400 and third place takes $200.
Saturday’s event is a little more traditional.
Titled “Dancing with the Hometown Stars, ” the competition will be a combination of waltzes, two-steps and jitterbugs.
The event begins at 7 p. m., also in the Havre High auditorium. Admission is free.
Couples will compete in a series of dances, with songs in each category drawn randomly and then performed by Miller’s The Other Brothers Band.
If people want to participate in Saturday’s event, they have to attend dance lessons being provided by Joyce Pruys at 7 p. m. tonight, Wednesday and Thursday nights at Perry Center in St. Jude’s School.
Dancers already signed up include, for the Hill County Sheriff’s Office, Undersheriff Jamie Ross, for the Havre Police Department, Officer Matthew Saylor and the Gleason’s of Chester, dancing on behalf of the hospital there.
The Dance Festival, with Kicks @ 6, are raising funds this year to help local children suffering from mental health issues.
“We’re thinking if we can get enough we’ll send them to Silverwood or Disneyland or do something for their housing, ” Miller said. “We just want to do something to make their wish come true. ”
The particulars of the wish-granting will be announced at the final installment of this summer’s Kicks @ 6 on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
