The Calgary Dance Express Fundraising Royal Gala was a huge success. MC’d by CDE Alumni Stephen Welch, it was held at the Chestermere Recreation Centre Saturday, March 7, 2015. Beginning with the dancers being paraded in by the bagpipes, the delicious prime rib beef dinner, spirited silent auction to performances by the Calgary Dance Express performers, Illusionist Ryan Pilling, guest dancer Desirae Thomas and recording artist Drew Gregory were second to none! It was a fun-filled evening for everyone that attended. This year’s event surpassed expectations and organizers wished to send a big thank you to all who donated to the silent auction, raffle and door prizes and the many attendees that supported the team!
The fundraiser was in support of the Calgary Dance Express travelling to the United Kingdom. This year they are travelling July 2-16 with stops in London, Edinburgh and Dublin. They will perform at various events and locations such as the East Barnett Festival, The Falkirk Wheel, Sion-Manning RC girls school and Cappagh National Orthopaedic hospital. Participating in master workshops at the Pineapple Dance Company and The National Centre for Dance, they will take in River Dance performance and meet with the cast in Dublin. Part of the mandate of CDE is to experience the culture so they are attending a highland games, tasting haggis, attending an Irish Dance Party and much more.
This year the team consists of 16 dancers from Calgary and surrounding area. There are two members from Chestermere Paige Gilmour and Amy Alexander. The show is music by Canadian artists and all dances are choreographed by alumni’s of CDE. The Artistic Director Arae Murdoch spent years as a performer with Calgary Dance Express
The Calgary Dance Express is a non-profit performing group that was started in 1986 by Heather Thomas. The mandate is to provide an opportunity for children and young adults to perform locally, nationally and internationally showcasing their talents and exposing them to new cultures and opportunities to work with a variety of people in the performing arts. Since 1986 the team has travelled and performed around the world to locations such as Japan, Australia, Spain, Greece, Italy and various spots in the USA including Hawaii and Disneyland, California. The group is open to all Alberta dancers with auditions being held in September.
If anyone wishes to donate to the Calgary Dance Express or for more information please contact Nadine @403-988-3627
