Local dance collective Dance Temple Cortes is marking its one year anniversary and growing its events on the island. 

Previously, the group hosted dances sporadically, but this summer, the collective is running bi-weekly events.

The dance collective was founded by Connie Quayle and Val Lange, holding their first event in August 2022. They later garnered support from Mary Lloyd and Dancing Wolf to expand into the winter. Now, DJ Spruce Lee has joined the crew to help facilitate events. The collective's intention is to bring the Dance Temple scene to Cortes Island, as it has captured large followings in neighboring regions like Victoria, Salt Spring Island, and the Comox Valley.

Quayle describes the collective as a "beautiful dance space."

“...Where people can move their bodies however they want to the music," Quayle added. "And it's a space to be, present in your body movement, embodied meditation and the way where we can enter our, like truest physical expression.”

In their latest event on Saturday, Quayle reported that there were about 30 participants. The collective hopes to continue the bi-weekly frequency until at least September.

To find out more about the active dance collective, listen to the CKTZ News update below: