Eric Van

Eric Van

Hello! My name is Eric Van and I’m a 19 year old dancer, barber and choreographer based out of Calgary. I’ve been in the dance community for 6 years now and over the years, I’ve fallen in love with various Hip Hop styles. I started with Jazz & Contemporary training in high school and carried onto a few years training under illFX educations competitive program. The thing I appreciated most was the education side and learning where these specific styles came from.

Throughout COVID-19 until now, I've been branching out more into the Hip Hop community by taking classes from a wide range of teachers in Alberta to build my own style; which really pulls the techniques from isolation, R&B styles and hard hitting Hip Hop.

I think a thing that inspires me the most right now is the team Im in called the MASSES ran by Patrick Fernandez, I've been training under Patrick for years now and he has introduced me to a number of other talented choreographers that have taught me different ways how to teach a class and how to connect with the team. Connection and trust are very deep values I carry with me and apply to my every day life from barbering to teaching dance. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share that this year with such an inclusive studio like Soul Connexion.

Q & A with Eric

What inspires you?

• The dance scene here in Calgary compared to places like Vancouver and Toronto is very small. The growth of our community is what inspires me, everyday I see it grow as dancers are trying new styles, taking more classes, listening to different genres of music. While we do this we are all connected by our love for dance and the more love that we show, the more people will hear about our movements

What song moves you?

• Jimmy Cooks By Drake (feat. 21 Savage)

What do you love about your job?

• Sharing the knowledge and history of dance that I'm constantly learning. Always will be a student to the game

Describe Soul Connexion in one word

• Inclusive