The Summit's Freestyle Friday Bollywood Jazz participants worked hard in the fall of 2011, meeting once a week. Under the instruction of fabulous volunteers from the Shiamak Victory Arts Foundation, they learned and rehearsed a routine to the Bollywood hit "Om Shanti Om".
In December, they performed their dance at the Summit's Fifth Annual "Mingle of the Jingles" Variety Show. They were also invited to perform in the Annual Winter Funk Show. This event was presented by the Shiamak Davar International at the Bell Centre for Performing Arts.
At the Winter Funk Show the group was greeted in the lobby by fellow performers and a dancing Santa Claus. After a song and dance with Santa, the performers were ushered downstairs to their dressing room. They donned their sparkly costumes and prepared for their number. At last, it was show time - the lights of the theatre went black, a voice boomed over the microphone, and the Summit performers were introduced, "And now, our superstars from the Summit-" The routine came to an end, the audience went wild with applause, and the team posed for a picture inside a giant gold frame that was carried onto the stage. The night was fantastic and the performers were spectacular. Everyone left the show on a high note and we are all looking forward to next year's performance.
On January 26th, 2012, our dancers were invited back, by popular demand, to perform for the Indian Consulate, at an event held at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel. The group boarded the SeaBus and arrived at the fancy establishment in time for a quick rehearsal before the show. Despite limited opportunity to practice over the holidays they pulled off what might have been their best performance yet. Once again, they were loudly applauded by guests and dignitaries at the event.
The Freestyle Friday gang continues to welcome new self advocate dancers to the team and has recently embraced some new additions. The dancers are working on moves to a fresh routine and are hoping to perform in the Spring and Winter Funk Show(s) again this year, and will return to the stage for the "Mingle of the Jingles" in December.
Congratulations to our Summit Superstars!
Freestyle Friday is a Summit recreation program that runs on Fridays from 3: 30pm-5: 30pm. The participants spend an hour of this time learning Bollywood Jazz dance with volunteer instructors from the Shiamak Victory Arts Foundation. The foundation's volunteers have been generously donating their time at the Summit since 2008, and we are very grateful to them.
