April 6th, 2016 Last Updated on: April 6th, 2016
Exciting news out of Canada! The Wandering Spirit Youth Dancers have been invited by The Cuban Institute of Music (ICM) to perform in Cuba this month during a special celebration. As a part of the project the dancers will perform and represent their Tribes, Nations and Country at the Cuban International Ritmo Festival April 18 – 25, 2016 as well as Cuba's prestigious Cubadisco event May 7–19.
Executive Director Jackie Soppit explained a little bit more about their planned performance.
“As a part of our performance, in the first scene we honor our Canadian flag with an honor/flag song, all with voice over from Jason GoodStriker who speaks about our Country and Veterans. Twelve of our highest trained and committed youth dancers will receive 120 hours of dance training out of the Institute of Fine Art, 20 hours of dance training at Seven Potencias Dance School in Alimar Cuba, 20 hours of music training and recording out of the Cuban Institute of Music along with 20 hours of theatre training delivered by “Seven Potencias” company.”
“Our scheduled time in Cuba begins April 16- May 23 during our stay we will perform at the Cuban International Salsa Festival, House of Culture, Cubadisco Event (equivalent of our Juno's) and various other locations and historical Indian sites. We will work with one of Cuba's most famous music artists “Chocolate” who is now known internationally. We will produce a song together – Chocolate will sing in Spanish and of course we will sing our style. The song will be reggaeton beat mixed with electric sound so we can easily mix in our sound. Along with the song we will produce a music video. This is a huge itinerary but the experience of a life-time.”
In case you're wondering what the performers have in store for the Cuban festival, watch the below video!
This trip is definitely a lifetime experience! Unfortunately that doesn't come without a hefty price tag. As you can imagine travel expenses, accommodations and regalia expenses are adding up quickly. In fact they recently had to have a weekend sewing session jut to get new vests made up. Talk about dedicated volunteers!
Soppit hopes to get more funding from local and national sources, but won't let this deter her from making the trek.
If any one out there can help with donations and other supplies, please contact Jackie Soppit immediately!
For more information on how you can reach the Wandering Spirit Dancers, you can contact their office at (403) 614–3721, via Email: [email protected] or visit their website: www.wanderingspirit2014.com.
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