Martinsizon
November 11th, 2006, 05:38 AM
Toronto's unique thigh line
Rockettes' promo draws 1,715
GTA-wide lineup a Guinness best
Nov. 10, 2006. 01:00 AM
RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
THEATRE CRITIC
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1163112609739&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845
They started getting their kicks early at the Hummingbird Centre yesterday morning.
The first of 1,715 intrepid souls showed up at 5 a.m. to make sure they got into the Guinness Book of World Records and four hours later, their dream came true.
After five minutes of non-stop kicking, Corey Low from the Guinness organization pronounced himself satisfied and declared that Toronto now held the record for the Longest Line of Dancers, previously set by a group of 1,150 from Stein, Germany, in 2004.
A cross-section of the entire GTA made it possible, with people from Burlington and Oshawa practising steps alongside folks from the downtown core.
Male, female, young, old, black, white, brown, yellow, red, they all kicked their heels — and their hearts — in an outpouring of joy that transcended the holiday celebrations of any single culture.
It wasn't just a vision of what Toronto is, but what the Hummingbird Centre plans to re-invent itself as: the cultural heart of a richly diverse city.
That move became a necessity for Hummingbird CEO Dan Brambilla, who lost his theatre's two most high-profile tenants — the Canadian opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada — when they moved to their new home at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
"At first I wondered what I was going to do," said Brambilla as he looked at the crowds yesterday morning, "but these people are my answer. This is going to be the theatre for everybody who lives in the GTA."
Brambilla's group of triumphant dancers was inspired — and even coached by — the world-famous Rockettes, who will be opening at the Hummingbird in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Nov. 14.
In seasonal green outfits, complete with white fur trim on their Santa-esque hats, the Rockettes gamely showed the crowd of novices how to perform their trademark high-kick, reminding them that each Rockette does 800 per show, sometimes four shows a day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`I'm not much of a dancer but I kicked as hard as I could to support them'
Suresh Joachim, one of the kickers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We're so excited to be dancing with the Rockettes!" gushed 9-year-old Kianna Forrest from Oshawa, hoofing away in full holiday gear along with her sister Taela, 7, and friend Shyanne Smith, 10.
"They practise four nights a week," said their mother, Barbara Szabunia-Forrest, and the way the young ladies reached high over Yonge St. with their kicks proved her point.
As the crowd kept pouring into the space in front of the Hummingbird, it was clearly filled with people of all ages.
There were mothers with babes in arms, toe-tapping teens, execs heading to work and plenty of senior citizens too. "Dancing keeps you fit!" exclaimed 74-year-old Rosemary McCauley of Leaside, flexing in fine form.
Laura Ng from Toronto decided that "I'm here because dancing makes me feel free," while Dorothy Smith of Ajax announced, "I'm gonna kick so high I'll kick right to the sky!"
And when the music started, that's what they all did. At the three-minute mark, some people's energy began to flag, but that was the opportune moment when Kevin Frankish of Breakfast Television rallied their spirits by telling them they had actually broken the previous record and earned their place in Guinness history.
It was no surprise to Guinness groupie Suresh Joachim, who has helped break 21 previous records. "I'm not much of a dancer,' he admitted, "but I kicked as hard as I could to support them."
As the excitement died down and all of the 1,715 high-kickers collected their complimentary ticket vouchers for a performance of the Rockettes, one man seemed happier than all the others.
Dan Brambilla may be the Hummingbird Centre's chief executive, but back in 1979, he was a young entertainment lawyer in Manhattan, when his path first crossed that of the Rockettes.
At that point, the whole Radio City Music Hall Organization was in disarray. For 47 years, it had presented a combination of feature films and spectacular stage shows. But with changing patterns of cinema distribution and moviegoing, the celluloid element was no longer viable.
Brambilla worked long and hard with Leon Leonidoff — then senior choreographer of the Rockettes — to evolve the current operation centred around stage "spectaculars," which has kept Radio City a vital force to this day.
Rockettes' promo draws 1,715
GTA-wide lineup a Guinness best
Nov. 10, 2006. 01:00 AM
RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
THEATRE CRITIC
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1163112609739&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845
They started getting their kicks early at the Hummingbird Centre yesterday morning.
The first of 1,715 intrepid souls showed up at 5 a.m. to make sure they got into the Guinness Book of World Records and four hours later, their dream came true.
After five minutes of non-stop kicking, Corey Low from the Guinness organization pronounced himself satisfied and declared that Toronto now held the record for the Longest Line of Dancers, previously set by a group of 1,150 from Stein, Germany, in 2004.
A cross-section of the entire GTA made it possible, with people from Burlington and Oshawa practising steps alongside folks from the downtown core.
Male, female, young, old, black, white, brown, yellow, red, they all kicked their heels — and their hearts — in an outpouring of joy that transcended the holiday celebrations of any single culture.
It wasn't just a vision of what Toronto is, but what the Hummingbird Centre plans to re-invent itself as: the cultural heart of a richly diverse city.
That move became a necessity for Hummingbird CEO Dan Brambilla, who lost his theatre's two most high-profile tenants — the Canadian opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada — when they moved to their new home at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
"At first I wondered what I was going to do," said Brambilla as he looked at the crowds yesterday morning, "but these people are my answer. This is going to be the theatre for everybody who lives in the GTA."
Brambilla's group of triumphant dancers was inspired — and even coached by — the world-famous Rockettes, who will be opening at the Hummingbird in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Nov. 14.
In seasonal green outfits, complete with white fur trim on their Santa-esque hats, the Rockettes gamely showed the crowd of novices how to perform their trademark high-kick, reminding them that each Rockette does 800 per show, sometimes four shows a day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`I'm not much of a dancer but I kicked as hard as I could to support them'
Suresh Joachim, one of the kickers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We're so excited to be dancing with the Rockettes!" gushed 9-year-old Kianna Forrest from Oshawa, hoofing away in full holiday gear along with her sister Taela, 7, and friend Shyanne Smith, 10.
"They practise four nights a week," said their mother, Barbara Szabunia-Forrest, and the way the young ladies reached high over Yonge St. with their kicks proved her point.
As the crowd kept pouring into the space in front of the Hummingbird, it was clearly filled with people of all ages.
There were mothers with babes in arms, toe-tapping teens, execs heading to work and plenty of senior citizens too. "Dancing keeps you fit!" exclaimed 74-year-old Rosemary McCauley of Leaside, flexing in fine form.
Laura Ng from Toronto decided that "I'm here because dancing makes me feel free," while Dorothy Smith of Ajax announced, "I'm gonna kick so high I'll kick right to the sky!"
And when the music started, that's what they all did. At the three-minute mark, some people's energy began to flag, but that was the opportune moment when Kevin Frankish of Breakfast Television rallied their spirits by telling them they had actually broken the previous record and earned their place in Guinness history.
It was no surprise to Guinness groupie Suresh Joachim, who has helped break 21 previous records. "I'm not much of a dancer,' he admitted, "but I kicked as hard as I could to support them."
As the excitement died down and all of the 1,715 high-kickers collected their complimentary ticket vouchers for a performance of the Rockettes, one man seemed happier than all the others.
Dan Brambilla may be the Hummingbird Centre's chief executive, but back in 1979, he was a young entertainment lawyer in Manhattan, when his path first crossed that of the Rockettes.
At that point, the whole Radio City Music Hall Organization was in disarray. For 47 years, it had presented a combination of feature films and spectacular stage shows. But with changing patterns of cinema distribution and moviegoing, the celluloid element was no longer viable.
Brambilla worked long and hard with Leon Leonidoff — then senior choreographer of the Rockettes — to evolve the current operation centred around stage "spectaculars," which has kept Radio City a vital force to this day.