The dance will happen in 5 sections, at 3 outdoor location. All dancing will happen on grass or concrete surfaces and dancers will wear shoes. The core cast of youth ages 9-17 will perform in all five sections, alongside the pro artists, guest artists and community cast. They’ll dance for a total of about 15 minutes during each of the hour-long tours, with the two biggest parts being Childhood Days (Queens Park) and the Pirate Battle (Lorne Ave Park).
Learn more about the tour and the dances below, and click here to learn more about the inspiration for this project.
REGISTER ONLINE!
To register for the Youth Core Cast roles, please fill out this form by Sept 6.
TIME COMMITMENT & SCHEDULE
Youth core cast dancers will be committing to about 6 hours of preparation, plus the two days of performance. Dancers will learn the dance in a rehearsal on September 7 from 3-7:30pm at Sound in Motion Studio (1570 Highbury Ave N). An on-site dress rehearsal (1.5-2 hours) will be held the week of September 15th (date and time TBA) at the performance locations in Old East Village.
PARTICIPATION BENEFITS
Youth core cast members will not be paid but will gain valuable experience as pre-professional dancers. They’ll connect and work alongside with professional London artists and fellow aspiring dancers, learn original choreography, and perhaps try out a new style of dance. They’ll participate in a unique, large-cast, site-specific production and can invite friends and family to join the fun alongside them. The volunteer hours can be used to fulfil your high school volunteer requirements.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We’re also looking for volunteer dancers of all ages and abilities to join our Community Cast, plus general volunteers to help with the tour. Contact us or see the website for more info!
The dance will happen in 5 sections, at 3 outdoor locations. All dancing will happen on grass or concrete surfaces and dancers will wear shoes.
1. Childhood Games at Queens Park (contemporary)
2. Sail Away on a Book at Carson Library (community + contemp + Flamenco)
3. Pirate Battle at Lorne Ave Park (contemp + community)
4. Sailing On at Lorne Ave Park (contemp + Bellydance)
5. Home for Tea at Queens Park (contemporary)
The core cast will include 8-10 youth ages 9-17, and 1-2 professional contemporary dancers. These dancers will perform in all five sections and the biggest roles will be one and three, while sections two and four will feature Flamenco and Bellydance performances, with smaller roles for the contemporary cast.
Childhood Games (Queens Park/ Western Fairgrounds) sets the scene for the performance-tour by exploring the simple games of a 1920s childhood through dance. A sunny day brings all the neighbourhood kids (performed by the core cast) outside for skipping, roller skating, hopscotch and playing jacks.
Sail Away on a Book (Carson Library) is a short piece for the core cast showing young Audrey and her friends opening a book and being transported to a great ship sailing the Spanish Main of imagination. There they’ll encounter a Flamenco dancer who teaches them some of her moves. It will be bookended (pun intended!) by the community cast performance of the Book Bop.
The Pirate Battle (Lorne Ave Park) will be the largest number in the tour. The dancing will be led by the core cast, and supported by a community cast that includes the families & friends of the core cast dancers. The core dancers will learn choreography full of fast footwork, jig dancing and stage fighting with pool noodle swords. They’ll lead two teams of swashbucklers in a dance comedy battle in Lorne Ave Park, fighting enemies and capturing hostages (played by willing parents!)
Sail On (Lorne Ave Park) will have the victorious young sailors of the core cast come ashore to see a belly dancer perform and try out her moves.
The finale of the performance-tour, Street Where You Live / Book Bop part 2 (Queen’s Park) will have the core cast re-enacting their adventures for their parents over a snack and hot tea.