In honour of the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, 91 youth performers from Fernie, Sparwood and Elkford will be performing a dance rendition of Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Creative Energy Arts Factory (CEAF) dancers will be holding true to Shakespeare’s timeless plot and use of story but we will be telling the story through the mediums of song and dance as well as acting so it’s going to be very interesting and surprising. It will have all the traditional characters like Puck and Titania and the love struck couples but in true CEAF style, we will also have our usual charming twists and surprises like tap dancing robins, jazzy ladybugs, hip hopping cupids and a donkey that dances en pointe
“I’ve always wanted to do Shakespeare, but doing Shakespeare with kids is a real event,” said Alana Rybar, principal director of the CEAF. “It’s a lot of work because it’s important to really connect them with the story so they enjoy it and understand it. You have to really engage them and get them enthusiastic about the piece of work.”
Dancers range in age from three to 18. The initial weeks will be dedicated to engaging them in the story, along with choreographing and blocking.
“We screened the movie on Friday and the kids were laughing hard and asking question after question. I think this is going to be an amazing experience for all of them. With our younger ones it’s all about fairies and enchanted forests and silly Pucks, so they are really excited about it as well,” said Rybar.
Rehearsal and choreography are set to begin this week and the show will be May 12 and 13 on the Traynor Hall stage.