Magic is in the air for the Canmore Dance Corps’ annual year-end show this weekend – with the promise of a fairy tale ending.
Over 100 local performers will dance and act under the bright lights Saturday and Sunday (June 4-5) at 2 p.m. in The Banff Centre’s Margaret Greenham Theatre where a crossover into an enchanted world takes place.
The first act presentation is a variety style of competitive dance routines, while act two is an adaptation of the 1840s fairytale The Snow Queen, which inspired Disney’s Frozen.
The Snow Queen mixes an onstage theatre production and dance showcase, said Jill Danielson, owner and director at Canmore Dance Corps.
“We generally follow the Disney story, but we made a few changes and because there’s so many kids in the show, we added lots of extra characters,” said Danielson.
“The Snow Queen production is pretty cool because all of the kids are coming together to work on it and to show the story. We’re really trying to get the audience into this magical kingdom that we’ve created.”
The production will consist of six different scenes complete with costumes, stage props and a projector to illuminate the background scenery.
“The dialogue is really helping to weave the story together, so that’s been new for almost all of these students,” said Danielson. “Some of them have performed in plays in school and others have not, so they had to be memorizing their lines and we’re working on projecting our voices and all that, so yeah, it’s been fun.”
Performers between the ages of three and 18 will showcase dance styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip-hop, musical theatre, acro and, new to this year’s show, highland dancing.
“It’s a really good family show,” said Danielson. “There’s a lot going on. It’s not just the dancing, it’s the acting, and the music that everybody recognizes and it’s going to be really fun and really magical.”
Tickets have sold out for both performances.
