July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Tara Howlett, Victor Perez, and Jose Sandoval to support Latin dance at Landsdowne.

“We’re hosting a weekly dance series every single Saturday evening this summer, outdoors at Lansdowne Park,” explains Tara. “The event is completely free, and we welcome beginners and people of all ages – no partner required!”

Each evening starts with a free Latin dance class from 6-8 pm, and continues with a dance social until 11 pm. Tara, Victor, and Jose only started at the beginning of July, and are already attracting about 200 participants a week.

“We’re delighted to bring back public social partner dancing after the pandemic,” says Tara, “and we want to use it as a tool of connection and community.”

For more information, or to volunteer, visit instagram.com/uniteddanceottawa.

Tara is a social worker, psychotherapist, and dancer. Victor works in property maintenance and is a dance instructor. Jose works in the tech sector and is a dance instructor.