This story was originally published in the January issue of The Walleye.
•
When she’s painting a picture, her name is Sandy Hoshizaki…
When she’s on the stage, her name is Ethereal…
Performing at Marlo Ellis’s Uncommon Woman event in October 2019
•
Sandy is a watercolour and acrylic painter, but Ethereal is a flow dancer.  When she’s at home working on a painting, she likes to say she’s a multi-media artist; when she’s performing, she’s a flow dancer.  
Don’t look at the guy behind Sandy, we’ll meet him soon! Avert your eyes!

•

Why flow?  When Sandy is moving on stage, everything flows. She says, “When I’m dancing and performing, it’s like I don’t even have to think about it. Everything is so easy; everything else falls away and what remains is the beat and the music.”

At The Hunger 2019

•

Sandy was born and raised in Thunder Bay and grew up with supportive parents who encouraged her to be creative and to try at least everything once. Figure skating was her passion for almost fourteen years before she moved onto a new passion: musical theatre!  She began singing and dancing and doing theatre all while still putting in many practice hours at the rink. The busy schedule became overwhelming and it was clear she had gone as far as she could with skating. She had risen through the ranks and the next step within her reach was coaching other children. Sandy wasn’t interested in a career as a coach so she took a step back from skating and focused on art in other forms. She continued dancing and doing theatre, and began teaching herself to paint and draw and work with clay and other mediums. 

•
In the home she shares with her partner (who we’ll meet very soon) and puppy, Sandy is fortunate to have enough space for a cozy home studio. Her partner, a carpenter, has fitted the walls with sturdy shelving and Sandy has filled each one. Every wall is covered with artwork and dancing accessories; every shelf and surface is full of plants and rocks and mementos. Looking around the studio, it’s clear that Sandy doesn’t have just one focus. She does a bit of everything and she does it well. 
•
A year ago, Sandy discovered flow dancing through a local group called Compelling Characters. They’re a group of women who put on visually stunning performances involving fire breathing, poi spinning, silk fan dancing, hula hoop routines, and other fantastical bits of eccentric mayhem. Sandy is becoming quite gifted with poi spinning, silk fan dancing and hula hooping.  Soon she’ll be learning to incorporate fire spinning into her repertoire as well.
•
Because she’s such a creative and crafty person, Sandy makes most of her own stage props and costumes. Last year she made an outfit with puzzle pieces and wore it on stage for a performance at Derelicte. She’s always working on something unique and she does so comfortably at home. Her dancing and spinning moves can be practiced anywhere, often outside in warm weather or at the gym. 
Sandy at Derelicte 2019, photo by In Compass Photography

•

It’s as if every part of Sandy’s existence circles around the desire to create art. Whether she’s painting or making clay sculptures or putting costumes together or learning a new dance move, it’s all about being creative. Hoshizaki moves ethereally through the world, bringing beauty and magic to whatever she touches.

Derelicte 2020, photo by Ascension Arts

•

This coming weekend (Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th), Sandy will be performing at the Sub Zero festival, supporting the DJs and musicians as a go-go dancer. Visit the ATMOS page for more information!

Sandy loves dancing and this is going to be a fun event if you’re into the rave scene, dubstep, and dancing!

I can’t wait to see what other amazing things Sandy does in future.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *