Winter Carnivàle at Strathmore High

Times Reporter 

 

Seeing bright, sparkling, swirling colours can be a great way to rid yourself of the winter blues. For those who can’t afford a vacation you can get the same excitement here at home with Winter Carnivàle, an evening of colour being put on by Strathmore High School (SHS) dance students.  

“I tried to find a theme or something to base the show on that could encompass 30 dancers plus and we toyed with the idea of Mardi Gras,” said dance and drama teacher Paula Richardson. 

She looked at different carnivals, circuses and winter festivals for inspiration before coming up with the current adaptation. 

“What we really tried to capture from those different ideas was just the colour, the festivity and excitement and sparkle is what we tried to capture. It’s a show designed to create some heat in a cold winter night,” said Richardson.

“We have lots of glitter and sparkle in the costumes. The music itself can’t be defined as one genre. The music is a little bit of all those elements that we pulled from, it is a mixed bag.”

As always some of the students have had a great deal of fun with rehearsals, said Richardson. Some of them may want to be on stage in their heart, but may have a hard time coming out of their comfort zones and putting it all out there for the audience. 

The students have a nice mix of experience with dance. Some have been dancing for years, and others may have just started with Dance 15 last school year which is quarter class lasting only 10 weeks. 

“Some of these students I have had for three years. So I have really seen some of them grow, their confidence grows on stage, their confidence grows as dancers,” said Richardson.

“That’s always rewarding for a teacher to see that growth. Some of them it’s my first time with them. So it’s always exciting for me to work with new students as well to see what they can bring to the table.”

The dances can’t be labeled as one particular style since the inspiration for them comes from such a diversified group of choreographers. 

There will be approximately 20 performances, each of which Richardson thinks will last for just under two hours. 

Rehearsals began in September and Brett Kozak, one of the dancers in the show, designed the posters that are up around the school and created the art painted on the stage floor. 

“I had students willing to come in over their Christmas holidays to paint, to clean, to do tech work, to do lights. I had a good almost dozen kids come in over the Christmas break,” said Richardson.

“You always get that group that is so willing to give back, so willing to help. I think that’s significant for kids willing to come in, that says something about their dedication, that says something about their work ethic.”

Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the school at 403-934-3135 or can be purchased at the door for $10 each. The show runs nightly beginning this Sunday, Jan. 13 until Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.