Every day of Dance Week we are releasing a different set of Dance Ambassador videos. Welcome to Day One! DanceNL and the Canadian Dance Assembly are proud to present today’s videos – from synth pop band Repartee and salsa dancer and enthusiast Judy D. and friends.
About Repartee
Before she started Repartee, Meg Warren was a frustrated opera singer. She loved music, but hated the formality – so she started a synth-pop band. Repartee played their first gig in St. John’s in 2009 and while a lot has changed since then, one thing remains the same – Repartee want to make you dance.
The band’s career has been steadily growing over the past three years with the addition of members Robbie Brett (The Pre-Raphaelites, Hear/Say), and Nick Coultas-Clarke and Josh Banfield (Catcher). In 2010 they released their first EP, ‘Lost Like We All Are’, to a sold out crowd at the legendary The Ship Pub in St. Johns. That same year they were named the Newfoundland Herald’s prestigious ‘Band To Watch’ for 2011. They received the full MusicNL Sound Recording Grant and recorded their debut self-titled album in 2011. The album was released to critical acclaim, strong sales and it was shortlisted at the Atlantis Music Prize for the best album released in Newfoundland that year.
Repartee have spent the last year feverishly and passionately touring. Aiming to expand their fan-base outside of Newfoundland – they’ve showcased at the Halifax Pop Explosion, the East Coast Music Awards, and Canadian Music Week. They’ve shared the stage with Mother Mother, Hey Rosetta, USS, Jenn Grant, Rich Aucoin, Shotgun Jimmie, Michou, The Novaks, with more and more bands calling them to share a bill.
Repartee continue to establish themselves as one of Newfoundlands hottest exports through shows like the recent Torbay 250, where they shared the bill with the likes of The Trews, Jimmy Rankin and Great Big Sea. Most recently, the band won all five MusicNL Awards they were nominated for – FACTOR Album of the Year, Group of the Year, Statoil Rising Star, Bell Aliant Fan Choice Entertainer of the Year, and Molson Pop/Rock Artist of the Year. In March the band will head to the 2013 East Coast Music Awards in Halifax, where they’re nominated for Rising Star Recording of the Year.
With an electric live show, hooky melodies and poignant, honest lyrics — Repartee are poised to do good things for pop music, for Newfoundland. see www.reparteemusic.ca
About Judy D
Judy D fell in love with Salsa in 2006. A couple of years later she created the Salsa in St. John’s facebook group as part of her ongoing quest to encourage the growth and stability of the Salsa dance community in St. John’s, NL. The facebook group, along with the more recent website salsainstjohns.com, allows the growing network of 500+ Salsa members a central place to find, create and share information about upcoming Salsa and other related dance events. The group is grassroots: informal, volunteer run and always open to creative new people and ideas!
A bit of a facebook junkie, and not only for Salsa — Judy loves finding and sharing worthwhile community events. This often leads her to volunteer with other groups, like DanceNL…she just can’t help getting enthusiastic about groups that promote dance!
Judy was born and raised a Newfoundlander and so far she’s been a Red Cross volunteer & instructor, telemarketer, & insurance agent; she dabbles in graphic design and painting, & currently works as a full-time RN in her spare time. To find out more about how a Newfoundlander got caught up in Salsa dancing and helped to make it into a happening community…look online for Judy D’s talk from TEDxFortTownshend 2013 — Creative Communities where she revealed all!