Iron Mountain Theatre (IMT) spent the winter spreading the gospel of Ski Bum: The Musical, but last weekend the group of talented Rosslanders put a new spin on their repertoire, sharing their musical theatre skills with eager dancers at the Steps Dance Centre in Trail.
“It was a really fun time, we hope to do it again,” said Nadine Tremblay of IMT who helped organize the two-day workshop with Rhonda Michallik, the artistic director of the Steps Dance Centre. “The kids were really focused.”
IMT’s Jane Gaudet agreed. “Those step dancers were so amazing, they really took the challenge. It was great to see how dedicated they were.”
Gaudet said the troupe weren’t sure what to expect, given that it’s the first time IMT has done a workshop like this. They were also concerned that the scenes and songs they chose were all “really tough” pieces from West Side Story, but the results were fantastic.
“We threw so much at them — words, music they had to learn. They went home after the first day and came back the next, and they all knew the words and lyrics, they really took it seriously.”
Michallik had approached IMT with the idea of a workshop — Steps Dance Centre already offers musical theatre courses, and they are always looking for ways to expand on their dance programs.
Each IMT member focused on a different aspect of musical theatre. Tremblay taught vocals, Peters gave an acting session, and Gaudet helped the students understand how to pull a number together, from choreography to staging.
Gaudet said, “a lot of students are interested in singing and dancing, and it was cool to have all three of us doing the workshop together.”