Last rehearsal for 2009

Most of the birds have flown south; all the leaves sprinkled on the soaking ground. The day was going to be short, dark at 4 pm. Another Sunday afternoon, late fall. We headed up the The Seaside Center to have a look at the final rehearsal for 2009.


The positive energy in the room was contagious – Maggie called everyone to attention; Gerardo pushed the button on the small portable sound system with his white glove. The dance unfolded in different sections of the room.



I’d seen the dance before, was familiar with the steps, heard the music, recognized the faces – but when the music began and the dance unfolded before me, I was overwhelmed.


Gord perched on the steps overlooking the room, his director-mind taking notes


Especially wonderful were the moments when each piece of choreography came crisply to focus – when everyone was in sync.



The ending was like a breath – the whole group - everyone connected and moving in unison – very powerful.


Susan Brinton stood at the window in the back, getting it all down on tape for COAST CABLE TV


And then she interviewed all the choreographers.


I'd love to hear your comments on the experience so far. If you have photos taken by family or friends, please send to me at paintingsbelowzero@dccnet.com, I'll post them here with your comments.

All together, now!

This afternoon The Seaside Centre buzzed with rhythm and dance.






Duane had us pose for his bid for Ellen De Generes show. Mime & African dance upstairs, Hip Hop and Contemporary, down. Music on top of each other.






Too much Fun!



Sign up as a follower! See you next Sunday at the Sechelt Legion!

Mime!

An enthusiastic group of MIME dancers met last Sunday with Gerardo Avila from 1 - 3 pm for a first rehearsal. How does he make it look so . . . crisp? So exact? So easy?


This coming Sunday, November 8th, the entire group will gather for the first time to string all the dance pieces together and dance the entire 5 minutes. Gord will be there at the Seaside Center @ 1 pm to see the dance-in-progress. Duane managed to upload the music for dancers who wanted a copy - but we had to remove it because we weren't licensed to allow free downloading from the internet. Thank you, Duane!


If you've had any experience dancing, we you could still learn the steps - and perfect them in time to dance the dance. Contact Shelley Harrison Rae (604) 989-0089 if you still want to participate!

Photos by Shelley Harrison-Rae

Hip Hop!

First Hip Hop rehearsal with Brittany Robertson, October 25th.


This coming Sunday Gerardo's MIME group will have their first rehearsal, while Maggie's group does a brush-up rehearsal upstairs.


On November 8th at 1 PM, everybody - dancers from all four groups - will dance the complete dance as we put all the choreography together. Duane Burnett may be by to film his bid to be on the Ellen De Generes show - as the Olympic stringer on the west coast. And, we've had interest from the Cable TV station for a behind-the-scenes look at Performance for Ice Gate. Top photo, Duane Burnett, others, courtesy of Shelley Harrison Rae.

Maggie's Group rehearsal - fun!

Sunday's rehearsal was a big thrill for me,

Maggie reported

I was blown away about how beautiful it was, and after 8 run throughs, I was able to sit out for the last one, my heart was busting with joy, i am so lucky to work with such an amazing group.

NEXT WEEK IS BRITTANY'S first Hip Hop rehearsal. SUNDAY @ 1 PM at The Seaside Center, with a brush up session for Jean Pierre Makosso's dancers. I think the plan is: Jean Pierre's group will warm up upstairs and once they're confident, they will dance their segment for Brittany's group. And then Brittany's group will show the new steps they've just learned.

CHANGE OF VENUE & rehearsal time for November 15th: It's now at The Legion for 4pm-6pm. This is an 'all hands on deck' rehearsal - everyone should be there as we'll be putting the entire dance together.

115 days left until the Olympics. Check out the Ice Gate structure going up at Allan May's: www.theicegate.blogspot.com

Jean Pierre's choreography

Last week we gathered in that bright Seaside Center and Jean Pierre put us through our paces with his 55 seconds of choreography - and somehow managed to show us the entire five minutes of dance. It's going to be really exciting!


As in Africa, we will dance in three groups: the children in the front, the women in the middle and the men at the back. Here we are doing the melting and freezing - the one element that all the dancers will do.


This is all of us - the photo made it into the Coast Reporter this week! Pass the word: we're still looking for more dancers for the Mime Dance section.

1st group rehearsal

We had our first rehearsal last Sunday, gathering in Frank West Hall in Gibsons.


Five minutes of music has more or less been chosen and strung together, and the choreographers meet weekly to begin their process.


At Frank West Hall, we signed up some new dancers.


Jean Pierre opened up all our hearts with his warm and vibrant opening dance.




and Maggie expertly moved us all through the exploration and suddenly the freezing and melting gestures - which is the heart of our performance - - appeared.


Brittany and Gerardo gave us physical language for the gestures we were going to have to do -- in unison.


We watched as the first steps of the dance began to take shape.





REHEARSAL SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER:

OCTOBER 11 AFRICAN DANCE GROUP ONLY at Seaside Centre, Sechelt -with Jean Pierre

OCTOBER 18 CONTEMPORARY GROUP ONLY at Seaside Centre, Sechelt - with Maggie

OCTOBER 25 HIP HOP GROUP ONLY at Seaside Centre, Sechlet - with Brittany