Watch This "The Beauty Of A Woman" Dance Filmed In Peterborough Square

As part of Emergency #20 Dance festival sponsored by Public Energy and Market Hall Performing Art Theatre, local artists performed "The Beauty of a Woman"—a piece combining numerous styles of world dance traditions that shows off the diverse local talent Peterborough has. Choreographed by Debora Harrison, the performers are Debora Harrison (Irish Dance), Anna Simone Tennent-Riddell (West African Style), Camina Harrison Chery (Hip Hop), Gaya Jayasinghe (Sri Lankan Classical Dance), Jasmine June (Belly Dancing) and Mayelin Lovet (Afro-Cuban Dance).

[YouTube]

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PTBOPics & Preview: Next To Normal Rock Opera Looks At Family & Mental Health Issues

AFA (Art for Awareness) is a newly formed theatre collective in Peterborough looking to raise awareness of important social issues through theatre, dance and performance. Their first performance certainly isn't pulling any punches, and will leave you quite emotional.

They are performing the rock opera Next to Normal, based on the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical.

Filled with adult themes, language and believable situations, you catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse into a family being torn apart by mental issues.

The rippling effect of drugs (both poorly prescribed, and recreational), broken communication and the stresses of life are shown throughout the family—which are beautifully portrayed by Marsala Lukianchuk (as the wife, Diana Goodman), Geoff Bemrose (as the husband, Dan Goodman), Mike Rodin (as the son, Gabriel "Gabe" Goodman), Kristyn Russelle (as the daughter, Natalie Goodman), Lucas Deluca (as the boyfriend Henry) and Beau Dixon (as Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden).

Next To Normal shares with us the turmoil in this family's life through song, and Marsala's portrayal of the wife was outstanding. She genuinely portrays the "lost" feeling that someone in that position must sense. Some musical numbers include the entire cast, with a powerhouse of song, backed up by live music.

Great use of digital projection (by Sarah Tye) helped transport the characters between the locals of home, work, doctor's office and school, all the while making use of the multi-platform stage (designed by Ian Burns and constructed by Justin Boyd). Stage direction (by Lindsay Unterlander) was smooth as multiple groups were acting simultaneously, drawing similarities between the two age groups.

Next to Normal is directed by Brian MacDonald, choreographed by Rachel Bemrose and musical direction by Justin Hiscox. Follow Art for Awareness on Facebook and Twitter. Tickets for their shows are $20 for adults and $15 for children, and are available at Maar's Music, Black Honey, Antoinette's Bridal Shop and at the door. Next to Normal will be performed at Adam Scott CVI Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on April 12th, 13th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Peterborough Singers & Peterborough Dance Collective Present Carmina Burana At Adam Scott

The Peterborough Singers and Peterborough Dance Collective are teaming up to do a special theatrical interpretation of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, blending music and movement for four not-to-be-missed performances. Tickets are available here for the performances, which take place Saturday, October 13th, Sunday, October 14th, Saturday, October 20th and Sunday, October 21st at Adam Scott Auditorium.

Here's a trailer for the performance:

[Peterborough Singers]

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Video Promo For Ode'min Giizis Festival 2012 In Peterborough

Get the full schedule for Ode'min Giizis by clicking here. It runs June 20th to June 24th.

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PtboCanada.com Proud Sponsor Of Ode'min Giizis Festival Again This Year

[Ode'min Giizis website]

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51 Things We Hope To See In Peterborough In 2012

In no particular order, here we go...

1. A place(s) to play ping pong in downtown Peterborough.
2. PCVS
3. More hilarious tweets from @/PTBO_Y_U_NO.
4. More jobs being created in Peterborough.
5. Buses running later at night in Peterborough. It's near impossible to get a cab when the bars close. And we don't want to see people ever drinking and driving.
6. More music and cultural festivals. The more, the merrier. (Our music scene is one of the best in Canada.)
7. More people biking on Peterborough's streets and trails. More people biking in general.
8. The Peterborough Petes in the playoffs.
9. More great music acts at the likes of Historic Red Dog, Market Hall, Showplace, The Spill, Spanky's and Gordon Best.
10. More plaid.
11. An authentic Irish pub.
12. PCVS
13. More restaurants and businesses opening, and less closing.
14. Less blackouts for no real reason.
15. Reggie's launching a hot dog version of their burger.
16. More tourists coming to our great city.
17. More great anti-bullying programs in the city. More people standing up to bullies.
18. More Creative Cocktails, which was one of the best things to come to Peterborough this year.
19. More funny typos on signs.
20. Continued generosity of Peterborough community.
21. A continued resurgence of the downtown—and the continued good work of the DBIA.
22. Continued transparency from city council, the Mayor's office and our tweeting Mayor, who has settled into the role nicely and is having a great first year in office.
23. A couple town hall meetings. Or one. Hey, why not? Healthy thing to try to bring community together.
24. People doing random things like dancing on bubble wrap.
25. Another great Festival of Trees downtown.
26. More Tom Phillips columns.
27. More people trying breakfast at The Only Cafe. It's worth the wait.
28. More readers submitting tips.
29. More local people and businesses joining the Twitterverse.
30. More parody accounts on Twitter. Good satire can be a great equalizer.
31. Continued development of the Peterborough Wednesday Market and Saturday Farmer's Market.
32. A splash pad at Nicholl's Oval.
33. PCVS
34. Peterborough Roller Derby taking off.
35. Less domestics on police reports. Less drug busts. Less break and enters. Less stabbings. Less crime. More jobs.
36. More flash mobs around Peterborough.
37. CP Rail bridge gets fixed, allowing pedestrian walkway/bikeway again (and our shortcut back to East City)
38. More Peterborough playlists.
39. The return of 4 Dudes On The Balcony.
40. More Stormtroopers. More Band Wagons.
41. Continued impact/recognition of Peterborough's Creative Class.
42. More shocked looks on the faces of visitors to our Zoo when they discover it's free.
43. Peterborough Square and Portage Place making an Eighties comeback.
44. Less complaining and whining about what's wrong with the city, and more solutions for how to fix things.
45. More/continued attention to the amazing artists, musicians and athletes in this city.
46. PCVS
47. A show called Culturally Speaking on TV Cogeco as spinoff of Politically Speaking.
48. The excellent owners of the now closed Have You Seen... returning with a new venture.
49. More people visiting our awesome galleries and museums—the Canadian Canoe Museum is world class.
50. Not as many people wearing pajamas as outdoor wear.
51. A town square. Well, at least more discussion about it.

That's it, you rock.

What do you hope to see in Peterborough in 2012? Add to our comments section below.

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St. James Players Performing Broadway Production Of Chicago at Showplace

The St. James Players are performing the broadway production of Chicago at Showplace on November 4th through 6th, and November 9th through 12th. Director Brian MacDonald, Musical Director Pam Birrell, and Choreographer Rachel Bemrose are bringing together local talent to bring the show to life:

Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

You can purchase tickets through Showplace's website. Adult tickets are $25, Seniors $22 and Students $15.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Video: Flash Mob At Little Lake Yesterday To Raise Awareness For Canadian Mental Health Association

[YouTube; Peterborough CMHA]

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PtboCanada Review: The Bands At The Hootenanny On Hunter Put On A Show To Remember

It was a sight to behold, the downtown streets of Peterborough filled with fans out for a great line-up of live music. Hootenanny took over Hunter Street West for the better part of Saturday. It was a free concert featuring a who's who of indie Canadian rock darlings. The patios of the Hunter Street restaurant district were filled to capacity with music fans and revelers.

The day began with sets from a number of locals including Bear Trees, Levon, Rikers and Union City. Others on the bill included Elvyn and Express & Co., with the show taking a strange turn thanks to the musical shenanigans of Hamilton, Ontario's B.A. Johnston. It's clear after hearing and seeing B.A. both in clubs and now on an outdoor stage, his banter and original music work under any circumstance. He was at his hilarious best accompanied by his own electronic samples and acoustic guitar work. I am sure B.A. likely found some new fans on this day.

Cuff The Duke, Oshawa's alt/country/pop darlings, played a warmly received set, which was matched by TheWooden Sky performing Wooden Sky (see picture at right) who played right after—the later benefitting from a sun, sinking past the horizon, creating lovely light as a backdrop.

Next up were local darlings The Spades, who played a shortened set of favorites including an explosive cover of Fred Eaglesmith's "49 Tons Of Diesel Locomotive" as well as  their rollicking track "The Revenge of Johnny Laundry".

As the night drew to a close, just past 10 p.m., the sounds of Hollerado belting out Neil Young's "Rockin' In the Free Word" seemed to epitomize the day. This was a show to remember. Thanks to the Peterborough Downtown Business Association and the organizing committee for creating a reason to brings throngs of folks to the downtown on a lovely summer Saturday.

There was a lot of love passed out by the performers throughout the day, but the best moment was when Gavin Gardiner of the Wooden Sky called out local scenester Mike Duguay, calling him the unofficial Mayor of Peterborough. Organizers Ryan Kemp and Jonathan Hall both deserve kudos for the inspired curatorial and organizational work that went behind this show. Looking forward to more of the same in coming years.

[Text and pics by PtboCanada's Jeffrey Macklin]

[PtboPics: The Hootenanny]

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