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Boston dancers bring opportunity to Franklin County youth

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Duggan Hill joins dancers on the floor for the camp’s first class.

FARMINGTON – Now in its twentieth year, City Lights North has kicked off another condensed, two week dance camp for the youth of Franklin County. The camp brings world-renowned teachers with a wide array of style and technique to the old State Theater building on Broadway, where students meet every day for 14 days before showcasing their skills in a final performance.

Students have the opportunity to learn everything from classical movements, to street style hip hop, to “popping and ticking”- the type of dance that requires isolated, robotic movements. This year’s line up of teachers includes So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 champion Russell Ferguson and University of Massachussettes Amherst Director of Dance Adrienne Hawkins, among several other professional dancers.

“They’re all brilliant,” Owner Duggan Hill said.

Hill has never taken a dance class in his life, but has made a career out of teaching it. After starting with summer musical productions as an eighth grader, Hill’s natural talent quickly progressed.

“That’s where I learned to dance. I had to pick up the steps, regardless of what they were. A real actor has to really know how to move, and to carry a tune,” he said.

Hill continued being involved with dance, eventually inheriting his own company. For four years he lead Duggan’s Dancers on world tours, performing in places like Tokyo and Sydney, rehearsing all day for two shows a night. They were even hired for the birthday parties of Michael Jackson and Mel Brooks.

The whirl wind lifestyle came to an immediate halt when Hill’s wife became pregnant. Not wanting to completely give up the dancing life, he found a middle ground- he opened a school.

“Being from Boston is great, but you can’t make a buck there as a performing artist,” he said.

The lifestyle was still demanding though, and the City Lights Performing Arts Center was full of what Hill calls “mad people.” It didn’t take long for his wife to decide she had had enough of the busy city. One weekend she drove up to Farmington to look for a small house to live in while she taught at the University.

“But she didn’t buy a small house. She bought the State Theater,” he said.

The rest was history. City Lights had a new branch- City Lights North. They converted the old theater into two different dance studios, with bunks and bathrooms for the teachers. The camp is now a staple of Franklin County’s summer season- with kids returning year after year and going on to pursue dance professionally.

“We’ve seen some fantastic dancers come through here,” Hill said.

He goes on to list the names of people who were once kids, learning to pop their elbows at City Lights North.

“The discipline helps them with everything, with school and jobs…I’m not a nice person, and they have to get that. But years later it all makes sense,” Hill said.

City Lights North is completely free of charge, and nobody gets turned down regardless of dancing ability- though there is a strict expectation that dancers show up and participate.

Classes run August 7 through August 20, which is the date of the final performance at the Emery Theatre on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

Each day will begin at 8 a.m. and run until 4:30 p.m. Children 6 and under finish at lunchtime. Call 778-9114 for more information.

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