Canadian dancer holds workshops in Sunborn

By Frankie Hatton

Canadian dancer Briar Nolet has shared her skills and experience with young local dancers at a series of workshops organised by the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation.

Ms Nolet is a 25-year-old actress and dancer from Oakville, Ontario, in Canada.

Her father (a three-times Olympic gymnast) and her mother (an Olympic gymnastics coach) got her into gymnastics at the age of five but, by the age of seven her gymnastic career was over.

A change to dance followed and she flourished, competing and touring around Canada and the US, and acting some small roles in films.

At 16, she became better known when she won the role of Richelle in Canadian teen drama ‘The Next Step’ in 2014.

She auditioned unsuccessfully for series 1 of the NBC’s ‘World of Dance’, but returned and performed in the finals of series 3 where Jennifer Lopez saw enough talent to invite her onto her ‘It’s My Party’ tour. Ms Nolet can be seen dancing on youtube videos of those tour shows, as well as in many other clips of her in other productions.

Ms Nolet was also able to share her experience of dancing with epilepsy, having been diagnosed at the age of 19.
She is now under treatment for the condition, and has been open about it, often saying that the risk of suffering an attack mid-performance has not prevented her from becoming a professional dancer.

She said she was very happy to visit Gibraltar but, unfortunately, it was a bit of a whistle-stop tour.

Many local dancers were keen to take part in her class, but she did find the time to look around the Rock and was invited to No.6 and and the Governor’s residence.

The workshops were held in the Sunborn’s ballroom and, before the classes, she signed autographs and posed for photos with the youngsters.