VERSATILE NORTH SHORE CHOREOGRAPHER Before dancing ife was a bore By MEREDITH YEARSLEY “Life was boring without it.” So said North Vancouver choreographer Jamie Zagoudakis, when asked how he came to dance. “T'm a dancer, teacher, choreographer and director in that order,” he says. But his work has touched many facets of the community. Skaters know him for his work at the MHollyburn Country Club and the North Shore Winter Club, where he has taught dance to skaters and choreographed for such notable performers as Karen Magnussen. Comparing skaters’ to dancers, he says “the skater cannot stop and work with the movement the way a dancer can. The dancer has more unlimited scope but the skater has speed, pace and the help of the blade.” Opera lovers know him for his dance performances in such V.O.A. productions as Faust, Aida and Carmen. His favorite; he said, is “The Merry Widow” because the music is beautiful, light- hearted and moving.” Another favorite is “Bar- tered Bride” because of the folk element and _ the colourfulness.” The fashion world knows him for his choreography of shows at Eaton’s and The Bay. — School children know him as a choreographer. and per- former at their schools. Last season Prism performed at 18 schools throughout the province. And certainly dance students at Prism Dance Centre know him as one of the most dynamic and stimulating teachers on the west coast. “The main element I work with in any class is energy,” he says. “I don't believe in low level energy in a class, because dance is fire ahd passion.” In 1973 Zagoudakis founded Prism (then called the Contemporary-Jazz Dance Theatre), forming a company out of his classes. Now it is a_ solidly professional group with a Band boosting A fundraising dance for the West Vancouver Community Bands will be held at West Vancouver Recreation Centre gym on Saturday, March 13. The second such dance, it will feature a light supper and a night of band music decorating needs A California Designer Joy Ritchie, A.S.1.D., A.L.K.D. with Jordans Interiors From Califomia, Joy Ritchie comes to Jordans In teriors in the North Mall, Park Royal A graduate of UBC, Joy subsequently specialized tn tntertor design at Woodbury University tn Los Angeles eam ing a B Sx Bringing the California flair and many years of ex pertence to Jordans Intentors Joy looks forward to working wtth you to solve your fumushung and Enjoy your home with Jordans’ exquisite taste! i Jordans Interiors Park Royal North 922-9305 from both the junior and senior bands. Money raised from the dance will be shared bet- ween the bands. Last year $3,500 was donated to the seniors home. Tickets are $15 per person for the 8:30 - 1:00 a.m. dance. pov repertoire of works by a number of artists. However, a large part of the funding for groups tuch as Prism comes in the form of grants. This season, in spite of the fact that Prism’s grant funding was cut in half, the season reduced by two months and the manager reduced to half time, the company will perform to one and a half times last year’s audience numbers. But the box-office revenue is not enough. “In order to keep going we need more moncy to hire the dancers thrt we want. That's my main problem as a director.” Works by Zagoudakis (co- director of Prism Dance Theatre) will be performed by Prism at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre (Feb. 2A to Feb. 27). One of the _ pieces, Wading, was inspired by a trip to the island of Mykonos in his native Greece. The piece, he says, “depicts in an abstract fashion the way people are interacting on the beach with themselves, not with others.” Direct to customers All orders till Feb. 28/82 Cudor House CABINETS LTD, Make your deal on cabinets first and get an additional 15% trom the factory CEDAR @ OAK @ ALDER © .