聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Local dancers with The Weyburn Dance Zone recently had an amazing opportunity to perform in Disneyland as part of Disney鈥檚 Dance the Magic, which brings together dancers from around the world. Participating from Carlyle were Kassidy Schultz, Tyra Newell, Jenna McAuley, Payton Spry, and Jaiden Riddell, and from Arcola were Izzy Pittman, Abigail Birch, and Olivia Brownridge.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Together, along with dancers from Weyburn, Milestone, and Pangman, they practiced and put in a lot of work to be able to perform in Disneyland. Instructor and owner of The Dance Zone, Tammy Bhimji submitted an audition to Disney, and then dancers that wanted to participate could, which this year included dancers from six to 16-years-old.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After being accepted into the program, Bhimji and Dance Zone Instructor Ashely Heggs were sent choreography and the music, 鈥淭ake on the World鈥� (from Girl meets World by Sabrina Carpenter). The dancers had one month to learn and practice it. Once arriving in Disneyland they would be evaluated and placed accordingly for the parades.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Thirty-two participants from The Dance Zone at 鈥淒ance the Magic鈥� in California from July 5-9. They took part in Disney Dance Workshops 鈥� which were led by Disney performers 鈥� performed in two parades 鈥揇isneyland and California Adventure 鈥� and many also chose to participate in a showcase performance on Disney鈥檚 Fantasy Land Stage.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Richelle McAuley, mother of Jenna, explained, 鈥淒isney parades happen all the time down there, but these particular parades involve dancers from all over the world 鈥� from countries like Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States. The first two days were dance camps, 聽the 7th and 8th were parade days 鈥� on the Disney side they performed a 30 minute parade and on the California Adventure side they performed for 45 minutes.. All participants danced the same choreography in sync during the entire parade!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With each group having been evaluated once in Disneyland, Richelle adds, 鈥淓veryone had multi-coloured matching costumes, ours were dark blue. Our dancers got to lead the dark blue group which showed their showmanship and skills, which was really nice to see.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Of the 32 participants, which went down to Disneyland to perform in the camps and parades, 21 also participated in a showcase performance on the Fantasy Land Stage. The Showcase number was choreographed and directed by Bhimji, Heggs, as well as Kim Ziffle, all with The Dance Zone. The dancers had a short time to learn this performance, which was then approved by Disney to be performed on the big stage.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t was pretty cool to watch on that stage,鈥� Richelle exclaimed. 鈥淎ll of the dance groups can submit performances, not all get chosen. 聽Tammy [Bhimji] chose to choreograph something from a routine some of the younger dancers competed with, and add to it, so that everybody who wanted to be in it could be.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 a non-competitive event and a great experience. It鈥檚 been going on for about 15-years and is a neat way to bring families to Disney. It鈥檚 a pretty amazing experience; magical.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In addition to all of the hard work dancers do throughout the regular dance and competition season, those participating in Dance the Magic put in numerous extra hours to prepare for this experience; spending the month of June, at least times per week, practicing to prepare for the parades and showcase. Their hard work paid off though as they earned a spot leading their portion of the parade and were exemplary on the Fantasy Land Stage.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Overall it was an amazing experience for the dancers to be a part of an opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people.
Richelle added, 鈥淥ur dancers would like to send a special thanks to Ms Tammy and Ms Ashley for 鈥榤aking the magic of Disney happen!鈥欌��
