A popular local youth dance group is basing its new fundraiser on a popular TV dance show.
Kidzact – a well-known dance organization in southwestern Nova Scotia – is presenting its own version of Dancing with the Stars.
Scheduled to be held over three nights (Jan. 16, 17 and 18) at the Père Maurice LeBlanc theatre in Tusket, the event is sold out.
The first two nights will be elimination rounds, with the finals to take place Saturday, Jan. 18.
“We decided to try something different this year and do a Dancing with the Stars,” said Deanna McCarron, founder and director of Kidzact.
Forty-two youths – Kidzact’s competition crew dancers – each found a dance partner in the community to take part in Kidzact’s Dancing with the Stars event. McCarron has been very impressed with the response, saying she didn’t expect so many people would be willing to take part.
“It’s actually overwhelming and I’m really quite thankful that people stepped up to do this for us,” she said. “And also the kids, for them to go out and do something that’s out of their comfort zone.”
McCarron hadn’t anticipated the event selling out either.
Interviewed on Jan. 9, she said, “I get messages every day from people who aren’t even associated with the organization looking for tickets. I actually feel really bad that I can’t accommodate everybody.”
The idea for the fundraiser came from Scotty Nguyen, a choreographer from Los Angeles who has been working with Kidzact for seven years and who is connected to the real Dancing with the Stars program.
“After they have the (TV) show, then they do like a travelling show with the winners and he’s involved with the travelling show,” McCarron said.
Nguyen normally will come to southwestern Nova Scotia three or four times a year to work with Kidzact. He has been great for the local group, McCarron said.
Dancers in Kidzact’s competition group range from about eight to 17 years of age, she said.
As for the group’s first Dancing with the Stars event, 10 teams from each of the first two nights will advance to Saturday’s finals. There will be guest judges and the audience will get a vote too.
While the show is all for fun, McCarron says the dancers have put a good deal of effort into it.
“They’ve been working really hard on it,” she said. “The kids in Kidzact are pretty dedicated to their program. Even though this is outside their comfort zone, they’re willing to reach out and expand their horizons. I think actually when they’re done, they’ll be very proud of themselves, which is another benefit of doing it.”
Fundraisers are necessary for Kidzact and this one has created a buzz in the community, said McCarrron, who expects the group will have another Dancing with the Stars in 2021.
“I’ve already had people tell me they want to dance next year,” she said.
