Mocean on the Move

We Love the Blomidon Inn!

2010-04-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

I couldn't blog about the school tour without mentioning the Blomidon Inn. What an amazing place! When I was organizing our hotel stay, I was originally dismayed to learn that the Old Orchard Inn was totally booked at this time. When I was little, my family and I used to stay there in the winter and go on cross-country skiing trips, which I actually hated at the time, but I still remember loving that hotel. I quickly reserved rooms at the Blomidon Inn down the street, and hoped it would have everything we needed.

Well. The Blomidon has everything and then some. All of our rooms are outfitted with victorian style furniture and four poster beds. There are beautiful sitting rooms for reading and tea, and high tea is served everyday from 3:00 - 4:30pm. There's a beautiful complimentary breakfast of bagels, homemade bread, homemade granola and fruit - sometimes they play strange jazz piano/musak versions of chariots of fire and the titantic theme song, but it's still pretty awesome. The rooms also have free wireless internet, so we've been able to keep up on some other work after each school day. This is such a great little spot, maybe I'll come back this summer for a little vacation!

We've also had a chance to explore a little of the local landscape. Yesterday, Tania, Carolle and I went for a walk along the dykes before supper. It was really breathtaking. Thanks for taking all these great pictures, T!

Tomorrow we go to Horton High for workshops and then again on Friday to prepare for the evening performance. It's going to be a great show!

Kathryn

So many schools!

2010-04-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Kathryn, here, for my first ever blog post. It's not often that I get to go on tour with the company, as office work usually keeps me in Halifax, but this tour is a little different. Over the past two weeks, Mocean has been visiting elementary, junior high and high schools in the Annapolis Valley, conducting workshops for students and performing school shows. By the time we're done, the dancers will have performed 8 shows for over 2500 students and will have taught over 30 workshops for more than 1500 students. Yup. That's a lot of students. I don't know how the dancers do it. They are machines!

Why am I here? I'm acting as a travelling sound technician, school-company liason, prop manager and speaker during the shows. The space and the set-up is a little different in every school and it's keeping me on my toes. For the most part, everything is running smoothly. I have to say, the kids in the valley schools system are some of the nicest I've ever met. Really enthusiastic, polite and eager to learn.

The valley schools have also treated us well in terms of food! Port Williams Elementary was kind enough to offer us baked potatoes with cheese (pictured) and today's lunch at Evangeline Middle School was a genuine feast! I'm talking chicken burgers, salad, yogurt and berries, cookies, muffins, rice crispie squares and juice. This cafeteria was not messing around. There was no way we could have finished the spread they put out for us. It was awesome. Thanks to all the schools for making us feel so welcome (and sometimes so full!).

More to come...

Kathryn

Mocean takes a detour!

2010-04-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Oakville!!

2010-04-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

So I need to catch you up on several days of our Ontario Tour!! Sorry - we've been slacking a bit on the blog posts, but so much has happened!

We arrived on Friday, did a little teching at the Oakville Performing Arts Centre. I have been suffering from this nasty little cold virus for a few days and my voice was beginning to sound a little groggy. By Saturday morning (show day) my voice was pretty much non-existant. A few squeaks was all I could muster when I woke up that morning. Now....this might not be a big issue for a dancer in most shows....but this show literally has speaking, singing or yelling - or combinations of all of the above, in EVERY PIECE.....one of which is my solo. Not good.

I called on my sister Erin (Opera singer) for advice and tools of the trade. Hot drinks, no caffeine, advil, losanges (lemon, not menthol), sleep and hydration were all necessary. Also - we looked into a few controversial things like Cortizone shots (not recommended - so we didn't go there). It was a stressful day of tech wondering whether I'd be able to squeak it out! We made a few modifications. Erin showed up with the homemade "wonder tea" that saved me. The raspy voice actually ended up working well for my rock star solo (Live From the Flash Pan) - it just sounded like a partyed too hard the night before. I made it through the rest of the show with a few modifications. Close call.

Minor glitch in my solo....the sound computer decided to reboot and my music shut off towards the end of my first song. Had to improvise once again. This piece is totally keeping me on my toes! The beauty is.....it usually seems to work alright! The audience actually liked it and thought it was deliberate. Ok - enough curve balls already.

Oakville was a warm and friendly audience! They laughed a lot - which we love. They also cried! I totally heard some sniffles during Lisa Phinney's piece (Beside Myself Gasping)! Nice! We were delighted that Paula Citron came to the show and reviewed it! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/moceans-fine-line-accessible-but-never-simple/article1530653/

Sunday was a day off for us! We headed to Toronto on the Go Train for a little shopping and visiting with sisters. Lishe's baby sister Talia and my voice saving sis Erin met up with us. Sarg (Marcel) came shopping with us and often waited near the entrance reading on his Sony Reader.....we felt a little like celebs shopping with a body guard. It was a fantastic day!

This morning we headed to St. Catharines and to our first outreach workshop at Port Colborne High School. Amazing dance students there with a fantastic dance studio right in the school! On the way back to the hotel we decided to take a quick detour into Niagra Falls! My first time there!

More to come.....

Hitting the hay for a full day of outreach and tech tomorrow

CC (Carolle)

Creation and Performance at the Imperial......check!

2010-02-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a fantastic time in-residence at the Imerial Theatre. Peter D., if you'd like to have a new company in residence just move in...well, we're available. That space is just incredible! and a great staff and crew too!

Our creation group did an outstanding job. The piece was tight and their dancing was stunning! We were so inspired by their passion, creativity and unwavering focus. We were very proud of this group and of the quality of work we were able to create together in such a short time! Bravo ladies! ....and thank-you again for the lovely hand-crafted gifts (from the market that we fell in love with) and for the thoughtful card! We hope to see some of you again!

As for us....we had a great show! The crowd was warm and very alive in Saint John (lots of laughs and energy). That stage is just a pleasure to perform on - it's luxurious to have that much space!!!!!! We ate it up! Mel was particularly funny in Lesandra Dodson's piece (You Tackle A Staircase Face On) Saturday night... she had the crowd roaring during her improvised speaking part. Could have been the slight concussion from a mishap earlier in the piece....but hey, it was working out for you Mel!

We left lovely Saint John at 6am Sunday morning to make it home in time for a bit of time with our families before starting a week in studio at home working with Toronto's Bonnie Kim. Just enough time to wash all of those sweaty dance clothes from the week!

As always - Mel provided the comic relief on the ride home with her "larger than head" sized rice crispy square from the Saint John market (Java Moose!). We love you Mel!!

Thanks to Peter D., the Imperial staff and crew, the residency dancers, Marcel (Sarg), the Korean place at the market (we love you), Java Moose, and Carol and Janet at the Courtney Bay Inn!

We'll be back writing in Feb......when we hit Summerside, PE!

CC.

Last Rehearsal Day

2010-01-29T18:15:00.001-08:00

A quick video post of our Day 5 rehearsal!! We're ready for tech and showtime!
CC.

Day 3 and 4.....a short clip from our process!!

2010-01-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Well it's now the end of Day 4....so we have some catching up to do! Yesterday started with an early rise for me. I've been hitting the local Nubody's in the early mornings (it's massive and pretty empty in the morning which I love). After some "hotel administrating", i.e. working on stuff back at the Courtney Bay Inn, we all headed down to the Port City Ballet Studio where our friend Sarah Johnson introduced us to a great concept....."Express Barre"!! We loved this fast paced barre without breaks between exercises - it was a great warmup for us in 25 minutes! We plan to bring this back to Hali and make it our own for those pesky after lunch warmups when you just don't feel like kickin' it into gear! Thanks Sarah!

After a great 2 hour rehearsal on the Imperial stage, we headed back to Saint John's famous market (our new favourite place) for some eats. We all tried the Korean food this time.....(extra spicy for me).....glorious!

Day 3 with the Creation group was our first day of crafting the piece. We began to draw on all of our vocabulary and phrases and set the first half to 2/3 of the dance! These ladies were ready for anything and so focused!

Today we decided to have a massive Cora's brunch. This is a bit of a tradition for us when we're touring. We LOVE a big breakfast! Sa (Sarah Rozee) headed to an Ashtanga class where she was told she was "born to be an Ashtanga Master" (nice one). The rest of the afternoon consisted of more hotel admin, some hotel rehearsal for next week, and a ballet barre at the Imperial (gotta keep the bods ready for Saturday night!).

Day 4 with the Creation group was truly amazing and inspiring!!!! We are very excited about this piece and what we, as a group, have been able to accomplish in only 4 rehearsals! The group is such a strong group of 11 females ages 13 to 34, and it's beautiful to see them all moving together. They are going to rock that Imperial stage Saturday night!!

Tomorrow we clean the piece, work on quality and on details! Hope that you enjoy the clip of our process.

CC (Carolle)

Second Day!

2010-01-27T06:52:00.000-08:00

The second day is over and it was productive! All the material for the piece is there. The girls learned a lot of movement, like... a lot! They are great! We are going to start putting the dance togheter tonight and it's very exciting.

We found kind of a little indoor market close to the theatre, so we went there for supper. It's a really cute place with goooooood Korean food according to Sa and CC! We might go back today, so maybe Mel and I will get to try it =)

Other than this, today we are going to try an "express barre"! A 25 mins ballet barre with no break between exercices.I have no idea how it's going to be, but we will tell you more about this after we did it =)

Day number 3 in process
Yééééééé!!
T

First Night!

2010-01-26T05:44:00.000-08:00

Saint John

And so it begins again - the blogging.... dun dun dun, and similar to our other tours this one is not without an entertaining beginning.

This time however we had winter tires!!! To be honest we feel like princesses because we don't usually have such luxuries. Now mind you we had to pay extra for those at the car rental because they are considered an "add on" in the winter (yeah I know that sounds crazy) but CC was more then happy to get that" add on".

The drive was pretty nice. The Cobequid pass was clear and uneventful (thank god) even though the toll guy told us it was "getting better", what ever that meant. We of course got a little lost trying to get into the city because the roads are crazy here and the GPS doesn't seem to like them. However can you really go on a road trip without getting lost, I think not because its too much fun!.

We started our first day of creation with the residency participants and it was fabulous! We have 10 lovely dancers and it is great fun. Two of them are even driving from Fredericton each night to participate. They had a lot of material thrown at them last night and they did amazing. It will be an intense few days but they are up for the challenge and the piece is going to be really great. We are all excited for day 2.

Our hotel is sweet and the front desk ladies are so lovely. They have helped us out A LOT. We got back to our hotel late last night after the workshop because we had to get groceries. Both of our rooms have fridges and microwaves which is awesome because then we don't have to eat out every meal. Tania and I finally settled in and were going to play on the internet when we sadly discovered we didn't have internet. After calling the front desk we found out we are too far away from the server and we would need to switch rooms. Luckily there was another room on the same floor that had a fridge and microwave and also internet. So at 11:15pm we started our move. Also keep in mind that we had completely unpacked, filled our fridge and our all drawers. So we re-unpacked in another room and were happy little clams until I sat on the bed. Yes its true I broke the bed. I sat on the bed and broke it. Good god. I would like to think it was already broken because come on - I am not that big but hey such is life. So after T and I died of laughter we thought we should call the front desk. I was a little nervous because sometimes they make you pay for things like that in hotels but the ladies were so nice and were more worried about me then the bed. Someone is coming to look at it today but there is no fixing this bad boy and T and I are NOT changing rooms. So last night we made a new leg for the bed which consists of a book and an ice bucket! It is really sturdy and I am completely happy sleeping on the bed all week - I just avoid the right side... ha ha ha.

Maybe we will post a picture of our new bed leg. I sat on the bed and broke it and I am going to leave you on that note.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Here is my first post on the blog, how exciting!! I don't know where to start? Let's start with the plane. I discovered that Mel is instantaneously sleepy on a plane which is the total opposite of what I am during a flight. I was very excited and could not sleep at all and she slept on the shelf all the way to Newfoundland. What a nice contrast =) During the week, we met a lot, a lot of elementary kids and they were amazing! It is always fascinating to see their creativity and their energy. Same thing with the dance school, the students were motivated and talented. It is a pleasure to watch them dance. We also ended the day celebrating Valentine's Day in a room watching 'The Notebook' and crying every 5 minutes=) A Happy Valentine's Day isn't it =) Tomorrow is the show and it's going to be very interesting to performe Susie's piece in an intimate theatre. Can not wait!

À plus tard...

Tania

Signal Hill and Burlesque!

2009-02-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings from The Rock!
The sun was shining when we had breakfast with Karen in the "penthouse kitchen" (the dining area is on the fourth floor of this awesome B & B!) and it was the start of another great day. We took the opportunity of a morning off to take in some of the sights and headed to the famed Signal Hill! The scenery was beautiful and we had fun taking pictures at the top. Nothing like 3 cameras with self-timers to keep everyone entertained!

We then took a quick drive around Quidi Vidi Village before heading for lunch. We were a bit pressed for time before our workshops, so Tim Horton's to the rescue!

Our workshops were at Holy Cross Elementary and they were a rowdy (I mean lively), but enthusiastic crowd to saw the least. We had two groups of grades 4-6 and they learned step-digs and step, cross-over, step-digs like the best of them thanks to skilled teachers Carolle and Sarah. Unfortunately, CC strained her eye muscles from having to yell for quiet so much...All in all, they had fun though and it was another successful workshop.
Tonight we were off to The Dance Centre where Mel taught modern to a lovely group of hard-working and talented young dancers. They learned alot in only an hour and were very appreciative.

Our last event of the night was a Burlesque show, which was a fundraiser for Neighborhood Dance Works at the Dusk Lounge on George Street. It was so much fun! They reserved the best table in the house for us and we were treated to an evening of dancers, jugglers, magicians, musicians and an overall good time!

Now we're back at our cozy inn and it's time get some sleep before gearing up for more workshops at MacPherson Elementary in the morning...
Saragan

Bishop Field elementary and Jill Dreaddy DanceCo

2009-02-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Today was a stunning day in St. John's....god, I love this town! We awoke to a lovely breakfast made by Karen at our Inn - The Roses. We promptly hit Bishop Field Elementary in downtown St. John's for 4 workshops.....250 kids served!! They were amazing kids with some stellar moves.

Maria from the Arts and Culture Centre was our guide today, and she showed us around the Arts and Culture Centre. We checked out the Basement Theatre.....the performance is going to be intimate....should be exciting! During our break time this afternoon we split up and did various things: I hit the Nubody's downtown and stared at the Harbour on my treadmill, Mel and Tania explored downtown, Saragan and Sa went for lunch, Saragan and I did some administrative work, and we watched a bit of our recent mainstage on dvd....newly edited version by Rohan (thanks Man of Mocean!).

Tonight's workshop was an adventure and a half! We were headed to Jill Dreaddy's DanceCo which is quite a drive - just past Conception Bay South. Now - google maps failed us tonight I have to say. We got off to a shaky start and stopped to ask directions at a gas station where a lovely taxi driver gave us directions....then he actually lead us on to the highway!! what service! We managed to get lost again though and ended up finding the dance school exactly on time! I taught a Jazz class (Mel and Sa took the class and saragan was DJ preggo while little T observed). The girls were great and it was nice to meet Jill. We hope to get back to work with them again sometime.

I had fishcakes for dinner. Gotta love the seafood!
Over and out.
CC.

2009-02-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

So now lets pretend it is Feb 10^th and we are going to the airport - bahahha – I like to pretend. The two Sara’s were driven by the lovely John to the airport and little T, CC and I were picked up by the Big Guy (aka my dad or you can also call him alex, or mr. investor) which was obviously quite the adventure. We got there in record time – to be expected with papa driving and checked ourselves in and went upstairs. I was pretty excited because this was the first time I would be flying with the girls. The two Sarah’s met us upstairs and then it was pretty much time to board. We were at the back of the plane because we were the rowdiest bahahahh – I was actually asleep right after the plane took off and the only reason I was awake that long was because Tania was beside me.. hahah. Planes + Mel = sleep.

The flight landed after one dip down and no free food – boo to no free food. Dick was there to welcome us and that was a lovely surprise. It was nice because he showed us how to get into the city and where to go to eat – which was good because in the end it was actually the only place open and we were STARVING! But before we get to that we should discus the car rental process. It took a really long time to get the vehicle because it wasn’t ready of something (to be honest I wasn’t paying much attention because all I could think about was the smell of fries and ketchup that was in the airport). Then the doors on the van were frozen and either we couldn’t get them open or if we did get them open, they wouldn’t shut… good god that was funny because Tania and I were sitting next to the ones that wouldn’t shut and we were laughing about us falling out, which lead to some stories about saragan almost falling out of a vehicle two times. She is funny.

Anyway we made it safe and Dick was lovely. He showed us to the cutest bed and breakfast ever and we all love our rooms. It is old and Victorian and so wonderful. We have the best breakfast maker in the morning and she is super sweet.

So yes we finally made it to dinner after walking down a street to find some other place to eat because there was apparently a wait at the restaurant recommended. The walk failed and we had to return and then there wasn’t any wait. All I know is by the end of the night I was eating fries and ketchup and everything was all-good.

It’s good to be in NFLD!

2009-02-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Ummm apparently I am not smart enough to figure out how to copy and paste the text in this message and get it to be at the top so we will also pretend that these pics are at the bottom.

So we may be a little late (it's actually Feb 11th and we are in NFLD) but for these purposes we will pretend it's Feb 8th and we are leaving Charlottetown. Last night was interesting and I apparently had too much garlic or maybe I am actually allergic to red wine because I had some crazy dreams and didn't sleep well on my cute day bed at all - sad because I thought it was extra cute. The morning was nice, we checked out and found a little diner to eat at, which was really great. The food was good and there were no lines. It was quiet and comfy. Then we went to the dance studio and taught a couple of modern workshops. They were great and we had a lot of fun. I think everyone left happy and you never know, maybe we'll be coming back sometime soon.
We ate our last meal at a sweet little coffee shop and it was nice. I was a little sad we weren't staying longer because there was a lot of restaurants I would have like to have tried.

Then we hit the road. We had to stop for gas and money when CC realized she had left her purse at the coffee shop - holy poop that was scary and would have been really bad if we didn't find it - but we were silly and of course it was still there - everyone is so nice there.

To be honest I wasn't awake for much of the drive... if I'm not driving I find it hard to stay awake and since I had all those crazy dreams I passed out in the back. Apparently the roads weren't all the great and CC was glad to be off the road when we got back. It was fun and I liked it there. All the dancers were super cute and I had a good time at the gym and hot tub.

here are some photos for your enjoyment!

Jazz and Oysters in C-town

2009-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Well it was a lovely day of workshops at the Confederation Centre for the Arts today! Lots to tell.

This trip is just three of us.....Mel, Tania ("little T") and myself (Carolle) for a residency in Charlottetown, PEI. We left Halifax yesterday for a lovely drive over the Confederation Bridge - totally pleasant driving unlike our recent Cobequid Pass fiasco! ....Little T's first time on the island! We arrived at 7pm, but the hotel room wasn't ready (strange), so we hit the Dublin Pub for some eats. It could have been the hundreds of hockey families in town for the "spud" tournament.

This morning we took advantage of the Delta's fitness centre - did a little morning training and then brunched at Cora's (a Mocean staple!). After a quick tour of the Confederation Centre backstage, we began our workshops in their brand new Studio 2 - a fantastic space. I led today's series of 3 Jazz workshops (Intermediate, Advanced and Performance skills) with assistance from DJ mel. Lovely dancers here in Charlottetown. They really brought a lot of passion and energy to the classes.

After the workshops...Mel had her heart set on Oysters Rockefeller. PEI is known for its Oysters....and apparently she grew up on this stuff with her grandfather being from PEI. We headed back to Dublin Pub where you can eat and drink for cheap, but order nice Oysters from the downstairs restaurant!! Mel got her wish, and also continued on her quest to learn how to drink red wine because it's good for your heart (not something I have any problem with, but her face gets really red). I tried some of PEI's famous "slidders" (raw oysters) - Yum!

Now we're settling down for a cozy night at the Delta getting ready for tomorrow's modern workshops.
Photos coming soon....
good night!
-CC

Frenchy's and Sally Ann are lighter because of us!

2008-11-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

It's our last day in Sackville and we've had a few more adventures to report. Yesterday began with a self-directed ballet class (Catherine, our ballet teacher would be proud!) at the university fitness centre and then we headed back to Patterson's for a classic diner breakfast (guess that cancels out the ballet class!)

After that, we stopped back at the hotel to drop off our sick little Mel (seems she always gets a cold while we're on tour...there's something suspect about that...) to get some sleep and Carolle to slog away on the operating grant appendices. That's a full-time job in itself!

Sarah, Tania and I then took off on a cross-province adventure (meaning we drove back to Nova Scotia, to go to Amhearst). We'd been told that the second-hand shopping was something to write home about (and as you can see I'm doing that, so they must have been right!)

We started off at Guy's Frenchy's and wasted no time jumping into the 2-for-1 bins. We were also shopping for Carolle too, so each of us were constantly pulling out items and calling out who we thought it might be good for. We quickly filled up our laundry baskets and headed to the dressing rooms. Sarah, as usual, was the most successful and came away with almost a whole new wardrobe, including the "piece de resistance"...a pair of black, snake-skin, high-

heeled, shin-high boots! We then headed on to Salvation Army to discover that it was "Bag Day"!

This meant that you could fill a garbage bag for $5! The tricky part was that we had less than 10 minutes to do it because they were closing! Well, we took this as a challenge and grabbed anything that we thought might be good for anyone we knew! This included some choice finds like this pink hippo sweater jacket, a fur lined hat (CC was looking for a russian model hat, but I don't think this is what she had in mind!), and some black snake-skin pants!

After dinner, it was off to the theatre to meet up with Marcel and Tom to start our tech. Those two are so good that we were even able to start an hour earlier that we thought. (There boys, how do you like those accolades!)

Today, we're about to begin a very long day, which starts with teching the rest of the show, doing a dress rehearsal, then the show and then driving back to Hali tonight. Ahh, life on the road...

Till next time (which will be Moncton in a few weeks),

Saragan

Patterson's, Jean Coutou and more....

2008-11-05T18:43:00.000-08:00

After lots of admin work at the Bridge street cafe this afternoon we hit up the local Sally Anne and it was 50% off! A few good finds! Mel (not able to second hand shop due to extreme allergies...see previous posts) and little T (Tania) walked home through Waterfowl park instead. They saw waterfowl - 2 ducks, muskrats and bull rushes. There are mysterious skinny birch tree sticks just stuck into the ground all over the place here....we're on it and will let you know why as soon as we solve the mystery.
We then stopped back at the Coastal Inn for some quick modern and jazz combo "hotel choreography" (between the bed and tv) in prep for the workshop with the Mount Allison Dance Society. Then...we found it.....Patterson's. Oh yeah baby. The best diner food haven ever. The fish and chips was more than Saragan could handle. Sa finally satisfied her unstoppable hunger with some jalapeno slammers, a haddock dinner and an old fashioned milk-shake. Mel was really disappointed that she didn't realize you could get breakfast all day, so we'll be heading back there for an after class brunch.
After dinner we took a stroll to Jean Coutou for some candies and spa treatment face masks (anti-aging for the old hags - Saragan, Sa and myself, and moisture treatment for the young ones). Then we were off to Mount A dance studio to teach a workshop for the Dance Society. We had a great turnout of about 25 women. Mel taught a modern class (cunningham technique)....highlights include her elaborate "you're underwater and a fisherman catches your chest with hook and starts to reel you up" image for doing a high lift properly. I taught a jazz combo at the end of class. Such a great group of ladies!

We ended a great day with our spa treatment face masks (slightly gluey, but nice). Thursday is tech day and Sarg and Tom are on their way here.....more to come as we prep for the show!
CC

Bridge Street Cafe

2008-11-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

So here we are at Bridge Street Cafe. We're hard at work with each our own laptop and Carolle contacting Rohan through the banana line. Everything is calm today. We all went our separate ways this morning and were free to explore the town with no scheduled activities until 8pm. I enjoyed a walk through the water fowl park which was stunning, Carolle went to the gym, Saragan worked on Nutcracker, Melanie did some internet shopping and Tania pondered her new roles in Susie's and Roger's pieces. We've hooked up here at the hottest coffee shop I've ever been in. It feels like we're in Cuba and our pregnant member in a turtleneck sweater feels like she's going to expire of heat exhaustion very soon. She's hanging in there. What a trouper!

Anyway, across the street is the cutest theatre I've ever seen and I wish there was an afternoon show but no such luck. Next door is also the most authentic diner of diners called Mel's Tea Room which we decided to pass on because they served Jo Louis, Packaged Brioche and Canned Heinz Soup under bright floursescent lights that turned us an unusual shade of green. I would like to go though because it looks perfect with the mint green and dirty beige plastic furniture and old vinyl floor tiles.

I may hit Sally Anne later and walk back through the park. Sackville's a nice town. It would have been a fun place to go to University. OOOOH no! Actually we just found out this second that they don't compost here. On second thought I wouldn't be able to live here. So sad.

Until next time. Sa

Tania's first time in NB

2008-11-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

So we are back on tour - this week we will spend our time in Sackville NB, yes that is right in sweet old NB... It's kinda exciting to me because I have never been in Sacville and even more exciting for our new girl Tania who has never even been in NB - she is very excited to say the least, hence the title of this blog.

Now I must admit I am not the "best" with computers and because this "fall time change" has really got me all messed up I am too tired to figure out how to put this photos in the right order so I will explain them in reverse order.

These first two photos are from the last workshop of the day. We went to the local curling club and taught a wonderful group of little ladies who seemed to have a great time. Unfortunately my allergies and asthma don't allow me to hang out in environments such as Frenchys, musty rooms, mildewy spaces and old buildings like the Sackville curling club, I lasted about a half hour and then had to leave so I could pass out in the van and start to breath normally. No worries though because the rest of Mocean suffered through it and prevailed. By the end of the workshop there was 12 smiling little girls which was wonderful.

Now this last photo and the next few that follow are almost the highlight of our day - don't get me wrong the workshops and performance were great and the kids were sweet but we found this playground and thought it was unreal. I don't know about you but when I went to school we didn't have mini zip-lines on our playground - woap woap - it was so wicked fun.... Sa (Sarah Rozee) was the star and we now know where her little Sophie gets her monkey skills from.

I am pretty sure these photos explain everything and I don't need to add anything, except I will take this time to say that solo shot of me on the zip-line is actually way cooler then it looks and I am really doing some fancy trick with my leg and I am not actually just scared.

These next two photos are from our first workshop of the day - we had three workshops and one demo today. The kids at this school were great!!!!! They were sweet, energetic and extremely creative. What a treat.

So I know I said earlier that the playground was almost the highlight of our day and I am assuming you are wondering what the "actual" highlight was..... Well today on our hour break we drove to Dorchester to see the penitentiary. CC told us that it was maximum security or something. Anyway I highly recommend driving by it if your ever in the area! It was crazy cool. We couldn't get too close because apparently only authorized vehicles are allowed up the driveway and also your not allowed to smoke, have cell phones or video cameras on their site. Anyway it was awesome!!!! and the town was really interesting.

Now my friends it is time for me to run off too bed and finish watching the election!!! fingers crossed. I will also address the fact that this entire paragraph is underlined. Actually you can choose one of two options, 1 - either I thought it was extremely important or 2 - somehow the underline got turned on at the bottom and I have no idea how to fix it.

Good night and sleep tight!

Last Show!

2008-05-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

So sad - today is that last show!

Yesterday was awesome. The photo shot was very, very successful and we got some wicked shots, which is always good news. So check out the website soon and you can see the new pics.

The show was also great. The Lieutenant Governor came (we call her the LG for short - everybody needs a nickname) which was such a treat. Afterwards she came to speak to us and told us that she loved the show and it really made her think. She was a lovely lady and I hope she will come back to see us again. - we also got our picture taken with her but I think we might need permission to post it. :)

It was also great to see Alicia. She came and spoke for us at the top of the show and it was nice to have her hanging around backstage with us. I love when the gang is all around!

After the show Carolle, Sara and I went to the "shoe shop" for some eats and drinks!!!! Unfortunately I won't be able to go out after our last show because of my friends wedding so we had to go out last night - that is sad because I couldn't have my traditional after show food - DEEP FRIED PEP. That particular cuisine is only for instances when I don't have to do anything the next day. ----- but I had spring rolls which was a good compromise.

So tonight is that last show - and the last pre-show banana which makes me sad. You should all be happy to know the life of Nutella is still going strong and I still carry a container of it around with me. During this run of shows, we decided to test the banana theory I came up with last time we were in Fredericton and I must say this particular pre-show practice is a keeper!!!! woap woap. Feel free to try this - Before a show at about the half hour mark, eat a banana (I enjoy it most when it's accompanied by Nutella and CC even bought peanut butter to go with it) The effects are amazing. It totally calms you down and stops the shakes that most people have before a show. I now swear by this "law" - yes I just declared it a law and I will practice it before every show - Jon if your reading this make sure Sara has a banana before her show, you ate her one from last night.

Alright back to the fact that it is the last show. I must admit I love this show. I love the continuity it has and I love the things it makes the audience think about it. Hopefully someone that runs a theatre will enjoy the show as much as me and we can tour it. I really believe that this show is worth seeing and sharing to as many people as possible.

My mother just phoned me and read the review in the paper. She started the conversation saying it wasn't a good review - I was sad and asked her to read it to me. When she was done I was laughing and saying mom that was a wicked review and you are a jokester.. she thinks she is funny sometimes. - here is the link if you would like to read it. http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1057795.html

This will be my last post until the fall, which is sad but don't forget about us when the fall comes because there is lots of touring - which means lots of new stories and fun adventures.

Cheers

Melanie

Dress Rehearsal and Opening Night!

2008-05-23T05:16:00.000-07:00

Well, as always, dress rehearsal and opening night go by in the blink of an eye. I'm always amazed at how things really do always come together in the end and yesterday was no exception. (it does help to have an amazing production team who you trust immensely!)

We started our day at 10:30am when we met at the theatre to go through notes from the technical run with Lesandra and Lisa. To give you a sense of how the chain reaction has continued until the very last moment, both of them were still making considerable adjustments right before the dress rehearsal. This can be stressful on the performers as you really want to feel that the piece is somewhat settled in your brain and body before the show opens, but at the same time you really want to fulfill the vision of the choreographer and need to trust that the changes are for the good of the piece. I didn't have a ton of mind-altering changes, but Mel and Carolle had lots to think about and I think they both did amazing to assimilate and experiment on the fly.

Overall, the dress rehearsal went well, with only a few minor hitches. Personally, I always like a few things to go wrong because it rattles you a little bit and then you're all the more focused for the real show.

After the dress rehearsal, we said goodbye to Lesandra who was driving back to Fredericton. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay for the show, but it was so great to have her theatre for the tech and to get some final notes on the piece. It always makes the piece fresher when the choreographer reminds you of some of the original nuances that may have been lost in the rehearsal process. I also rushed off to pick up the programs before the printer closed. Can't have a show without a program!

At 5:30pm, we all met back at the theatre to prepare for the show. After make-up, warm-up, review of the changes from the morning, and a pre-show set up, we were ready to share the show with an audience!

Things went smoothly and the show was well received by a very receptive audience. Following the show, we held a reception that was superbly decorated and co-ordinated by my mom and Alicia's mom, Irene with a crew of volunteers. We're so lucky to have such incredible moms and a network of supporters who are so generous with their time and effort.

My day started early when I drove Rebecca to the airport this morning at 7:30am and it was sad to see her go. I wish she was staying for the whole run of the show. She has been so amazing to work with and her lighting is awesome. I know we'll work together again soon. I took some photos during the dress rehearsal from backstage, but they might be a bit dark to see anything.

We're off to do a photo shoot at the theatre with Holly this afternoon and then two more shows. Hard to believe that our season is almost at an end. Bitter sweet...

Sara

Huge Tech Day at the Dunn

2008-05-21T19:25:00.001-07:00

So...a very long tech day today. We started at 9am and went right until 10pm! Cue to Cue with the lights and sound, running each piece with the cues...then a final tech run of the entire show at 8:30ish. The lights look great and things went very smoothly today. Rach arrived with some new costumes....things are really coming together now and we're ready to open tomorrow!

Dealing with a bit of nerves now with my solo, so I thought I'd be honest about that and write about it. I guess I'm dealing with the combination of lights (slightly disorienting), adrenaline and a technically challenging solo. I plan to eat a banana right before the dress and show tomorrow to see if this helps....it's supposed to calmn the adrenaline rush. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm also going to try some deep/centreing breathing to lower my heart rate slightly (recommended by my opera singing sister Erin who has actually taken whole courses on this stuff).

Here are a few pics from the theatre today....Hope you can make it to the show....we open tomorrow!!
Also - here's the link to a lovely article in today's Herald! http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1057103.html

2008-05-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Our photographer extraordinaire Holly (front row at the Dunn), choreographer Lisa Phinney and company member Sarah Rozee watch the tech run. Note the Sarg's special brief case sitting in the front row to the right....he can fix anything with this box of tricks!

2008-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Mel and choreographer Lesandra Dodson work on some final details during the warmup before our tech run tonight....something about a lightening flash!

2008-05-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here's Sarg and our crew chief Deb hanging something that I won't give away...you'll need to come to the show to see it.

Given The Circumstances Opens in TWO DAYS!

2008-05-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

We're in production this week for our home season mainstage, "Given the Circumstances", which is set to open on Thursday! Production week began on Sunday at the Sir James Dunn. Our lighting designer Rebecca Picherack arrived from Toronto for a full day of hanging and focusing the lights.
We spent the "holiday" Monday in the studio. It was a doozy - we started at 8:30 working on some final changes with choreographer Lisa Phinney for her duet; ballet bar at 9:30; more work with Lisa at 10:15; cleaning rehearsal with our rehearsal director Catherine Walker at 11:00 and an interview with the Herald over lunch at 12:00. The afternoon was spent running the entire show for Rebecca. It felt great to do the four pieces in a row and get a sense of how the evening will feel. It feels like a FULL show....lots of dancing and lots of emotion!
The whole process for this show has been so interesting. You may know this already, but we decided to make the 4 works in sequence like a chain reaction. Each choreographer in the chain used the previous works as inspiration (in whatever way they wanted) for their own creation. The works are connected in a number of ways. The "reactions" have continued to evolve over the last month as we returned to the process and made final changes! Last Friday we had an in-studio showing for some invited guests who were asked to provide feedback.....and some final changes came out of that showing.
Today was spent partly at the studio and partly at the Dunn while Rebecca and Sarg (that's Marcel - our tech director - see previous posts) continued with the focus and levels for lights and worked out other technical details. It was also spent partly on the administrative details that go along with producing/presenting your own show! (i.e. finishing the program, making a plan for the photo shoot that will happen this week, final postering efforts, etc....) Tomorrow will be the first full day in the theatre for the dancers (9:00am - 10pm).....can't wait. The Dunn really feels like a second home for us and we're anxious to get settled in the theatre!!
I'll try to take some pics tomorrow and we'll let you know how it goes!
Have you got your tickets yet???
CC

Post show Post

2008-04-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it really was a fantastic run! We so enjoyed dancing this new work by Susie Burpee. Thanks to everyone who came to see us, and for all your feedback and response!

The shows on Saturday and Sunday went very well. Sunday was a particularly nice house of people (I think that there was a lot going on last weekend and lots of people had to wait until Sunday). Sunday was also a very emotional performance for us....the last one. We all felt that the shows were over too quickly. With such a physically and emtionally demanding/satisfying work....we were craving more performances. I could have had a few days off and then another run of 4 shows!! (my meniscus says otherwise)

I spent my down-time after Sunday in a bit of a post-show daze - a bit sad that it was over. Iced some parts. Went to physio for my knee. Saragan spent her time eating.....her body still thinks she's going to put it through the paces, so it's storing up! Lishe and Sarah spent some quality time with their babies.

We know that this work will have a life in the future and we look forward to dancing it again soon! We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Susie.

So, what's up next for us?? Our Home Season Mainstage is only about 4 weeks away!! We're back in the studio preparing for "Given the Circumstances" - at the Sir James Dunn Theatre May 22-24th. Don't worry - you'll be seeing posters and flyers very soon for this one! We'll be doing another full week of bloggin' for this production. So stay tuned for more Moblog.
CC.

Show #2

2008-04-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hey there. Show #2 last night. The second show in a run always has it's particular challenges....especially when opening night goes well! The challenge after a successful opening show is to accept that the next show may feel different...to continue to be in the moment...and to not be phased by the differences. I think we were well prepped for this (words of wisdom from Susie and our rehearsal director Catherine certainly helped).

So being mentally focused and emotionally prepped for night 2 was key. We do this in various ways - during warm-up, by running short sections of the piece together with music, alone time where ever you can find it....we all do what we need to do. Funny story....So we're mentally prepping for our emotionally intense piece, when Dustin Harvey (one of our amazing crew members at Neptune Studio) comes to get us for our "places" call....we walk through the huge cast of "Producers" in mid-performance of their opening night....a sea of purple lycra and glittered show-girl costumes...the last thing we see before taking our places backstage is Jeremy Webb in full drag as a purple show-girl! Hilarious! But not exactly a helpful last image before starting this piece. Luckily, a few precious moments in the darkness of the wing is all we need to get back to that focused place.

We feel fortunate to have two great reviews this morning. (Ok...I'll admit that I tore out of bed to check the internet for these this morning). One in the Halifax Herald http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1050793.html and one in the Globe and Mail! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080419.HALIFAX19/TPStory/?query=Mocean%20Dance
I'm looking forward to tonight. Only two shows left!
CC.

Opening Night

2008-04-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the shoe shop....it's midnight, so I'll do a quick post about opening night before bed.

We started our day with warmup and notes at 11:30, and a dress rehearsal (with some invited students) at 1:00. Sarg (Marcel) also came to watch which was really nice. As you may know from previous posts, Sarg is our usual tech director....who is about to get married in a few days - so isn't working with us this time. What a devoted member of the team though....thanks for dropping by Sarg and we'll be thinking about you this week! Anyhow, it was a pretty good run of the piece this afternoon.....Coach (Mel) and Catherine had a couple of really key notes at the end though that we thought about, discussed, tried out afterwards and then put to work tonight......making all the difference. I'm not sure what we would do without our outside eyes!

We left the theatre around 3:30 for a dinner break (time to eat and ice my knee - it's ok...just needs ice and advil). We came back to the theatre for 6ish to work on some notes on stage, do make-up, hair and warmup. Backstage before the show was a busy place!!! Producers was in full swing tonight in the mainstage (PS: singers are much louder than dancers warming up), but it's a great place to be back there with so much creative talent in one building! Also, Lishe's sister Katrina surprised her by flying in from Toronto (for one night) to see the show!

8pm showtime...We opened with a pretty full house tonight, but more importantly a very warm house. The work was very well received and there were a few tears in the house tonight. We felt good about the performance - both emotionally and physically....this work is such an authentic and full experience for the dancers and we feel so fortunate to be doing it!

After a lovely reception, some of us grabbed some food and drinks at the shoe shop.....I'm telling you...this piece makes us eat like crazy!! We all said our goodbyes to our amazing lighting designer Ron....he leaves on an early flight in the morning. Thanks for everything Ron!

Ok. I'm off to sleep. We'll see what the reviewers say over the next couple of days! only 3 more shows left....I can tell that it's going to go too fast!!
CC

Pre-Show Day

2008-04-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today we spent another day at the small and sweet Neptune Studio Theatre with all of our wonderful crew. Well actually, we first began our day with ballet barre at Halifax Dance and then proceeded have some alone time to fix several corrections and go over parts of the creation that needed fine tuning. It was then our favorite time of day... LUNCH TIME! You know some days you just live for this hour... well today we all ate the hugest lunch ever. During these intense weeks of creation and performance, especially during a vigorous piece like this one, we need to take in all the food we can get. The rice crispie cakes we often eat as dessert usually do the trick.

Tech day # 2.
Today we spent the afternoon and early evening doing our cue-to-cue with our lighting designer Ron (who was cracking a couple jokes today by the way). For those who don't know, a cue-to-cue session is when we go through the dance bit by bit and add in all the lighting cues and sound cues to match our movement...over and over, for hours and hours. It went amazingly smooth and all were satisfied. Catherine and Mel are our eyes and ears in the house (seats) making sure the piece is looking as fabulous as it can. These are times when you sometimes wish you could just watch the dance from the outside to see what the final product looks like. After a wonderful creative process we are now ready for an audience! Yeah!

All in all a beautiful and sunny great day. No major dramas. We left the theater at about 6:00ish and headed home to recuperate. No major dramas to report except that..... Carolle has a swollen and extremely painful knee and ripped her costume (which we got a new one tonight), I have a serious flesh wound on my knee that Saragan thinks I should sew together with a needle and thread from my drawer, Sarah Rozee has a purple knuckle that comes and goes every few hours or so, and aside for me nearly taking Saragan's head off while exiting the stage in a mad dash during a run, she just needs a good soak in the tub!

We can hardly wait for you to see the show this weekend. "Rescue Left Her to Her Plight" has certainly made an impact on our lives in this short time and we hope after you watch the performance, it will do the same for you.

As I pop my Advil, I am off to bed!
xo
Alicia
Oh yah..... SUSIE WE MISS YOU SO MUCH AND WISH YOU WERE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Techin' Pics!

2008-04-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well folks, this is where it's all going down tomorrow night....the Neptune Studio theatre on Argyle Street! I wish I had some good pics from inside the theatre today....but, well....we were on stage techin' the whole time. Ron was crackin the whip....there wasn't a lot of time for photos. Here are a few pics from before we started the hard work.....to set the scene!

Mocean Dance (minus CC - I'm taking the picture) catching some vitamin D before the long tech day in the dark! What a nice spring day in Halifax!

Our lighting team....Tom Barkley and Ron Snippe catching their vitamin "C" before the long tech day.

Resting Up

2008-04-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was bittersweet as we spent our last few hours with Susie before she headed back to Winnipeg. We're so sad that she won't be here to see the premiere, but we're thrilled to have at least had a few rehearsal days over the weekend and a morning in the theatre with her.

Our morning began at 9am when we met at Neptune's Studio Theatre to go over notes from Sunday's rehearsal, while Louisa and the crew finished laying the dance floor. It was pretty hairy backstage when we arrived because "The Producers" has been using the Studio Theatre as storage for their props and set and they were busily moving stuff into the Mainstage Theatre at the same time as they were making final painting touches and repairs! That show opens this week as well, so the whole Neptune complex is alive with opening show excitement.

At 10am we were able to start a full walk-through of the piece on stage. Basically this means that we go through the piece slowly, not really dancing things full-out, to see where we need to be in relation to the wings, the markings on the stage, the edge of the stage etc. and we need to make lots of mental notes as things are often slightly different than how we've been rehearsing it in the studio. After that, we did a full run of the piece with music and house lighting, as Susie, Mel (she took on Catherine's role!), Ron and Louisa took notes. Everything went pretty well considering it was our first time doing it on the stage. We're still trying to work on the sound at this point because for some reason it wasn't filling the space and encompassing the audience as we had hoped. I'm sure that Louisa and the Bucklemaster will figure it out! We also got to try out a hand-held light that we're using in the piece and without revealing too much, I think it's going to be really effective! You'll have to come and see....

After lunch, we met again at Halifax Dance and went over some final notes before Susie headed to the airport. She has been such an amazing person to work with and as I said earlier, it will be sad not to have her in the audience on Thursday night. She has led us through an incredible creation process and we're really excited to share the results with the public this weekend. Carolle, Alicia, Sarah and I are also really excited to be sharing the stage again after over a year, especially in a work that is so emotional and personal for us.

We're taking the day to rest as Susanne and her cast work in the theatre today and then we'll be in there again tomorrow for teching with the lights that Ron has designed. Another exciting step in the production process!
I'm off to ice a few body parts and then enjoy some of the sunshine before banishing myself to the dark for the next few days!
Sara

Production Week Begins...

2008-04-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we're happy to be back on the Mocean blog this week bringing you all the action from our production week as we prepare to premiere our new work by Susie Burpee this Thursday (through Sunday) at Neptune Studio Theatre in Kinetic Studio's Mainstage Production. This weekend was a working weekend for Mocean. Susie came back to Halifax to fix some last minute things with the piece.....and we were so happy to have her back!! We worked at Halifax Ballet Theatre Saturday and Sunday (thanks Claire) with an amazing team present in the studio....in no particular order: Louisa (Stage Manager), Ron Snippe (Guru lighting designer for Dance from Toronto....you name em, he's lit em....), Tom Barkley (a new budding lighting designer who's been with us in the studio a lot....we like him and hope that some day he'll be the Mocean Dance resident lighting designer, what do you think Tom? you in?), Brian Buckle (aka the BuckleMaster on Sound editing), Sheilagh Hunt (Kinetic Studio - the one who made this whole project happen!) Rachel Grant (Costume designer extraordinaire), a mom or two for positive feedback, and the most dedicated rehearsal director on the planet, Catherine Walker (happy birthday CW!).

It's been a whirlwind weekend of changes, notes, and new transitions. We're feeling good about the piece and so happy that we had this bit of extra time. We did get to relax tonight with Susie, a little Tomasino's, salad and wine at Alicia's house....good times.

Monday will be our first day in theatre. We're all looking forward to getting in the real space. This piece uses the space to the max and in specific ways....so we're itching to get our bods on that stage and get settled. We'll keep you updated this week through the production process and the run of the show!

Carolle

Sign up for our e-newsletter and win!

2008-04-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Want to win tickets to Mocean's Home Season Production, Given The Circumstances? We will be drawing for two tickets from everyone who signs up for our e-newsletter in the month of April. If you're not on our mailing list already, sign up today for your chance to win!

To sign up, visit our website.

Stay Tuned

2008-03-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there. Just a quick post to let you know that we're in the middle of a 4 week creation process with the amazingly talented Susie Burpee (from Toronto). Check out our facebook for weekly updates on the creation and a new batch of photos from the studio. Our next show is April 17-20 at the Neptune Studio Theatre (Halifax). Kinetic Studio is presenting us and we'll be performing the brand new work by Susie!! Exciting! We plan to do a full week of blogging during the production week for this show, so check back then!

Oh....and mark May 22-24 in your calendar.....that's our Home Season Mainstage, "Given the Circumstances" at the Sir James Dunn Theatre!

Show Day!

2008-03-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the slight delay in posting. We're actually home now....so I have to catch you up on the events of Friday and the return to Hali.

So Friday was show day! We got up at about 7:30am packed up and began our tech rehearsals at the theatre at 9am. The Sarg runs a tight ship and everything ran on schedule....we teched our two pieces from 9-12 then took a little break for lunch. The Kingswood girls came for their tech rehearsal at 1:30....their first time running the new piece with lights and wings! very exciting for them! We were absolutely amazed by their ability to immediately adapt to the lights. (Lights are not easy to deal with.....they are hard on the eyes and the balance.....it can take some getting used to). This was another example of how their gym training and their amazing ability to focus helped them....such a professional group! Yeah....we were holding back the tears watching them rehearse!

Our videographer, Chris Beckett arrived to film the dress rehearsal and show (Thanks Chris....that was a lot of driving and filming all in one day!! you rock). Warm-up #1 started at 2:30 (ahh "musical gems"....makes ballet barre so enjoyable). We had a dress rehearsal in full costume, make-up and all (for the video) from 3:00 to 4:30. Thanks to Lesandra (choreographer) and Anne (the Chair of our board) for watching the dress! Always nice to have a couple of peeps in the house.

Sarg was so on the ball that we actually had a nice long dinner break (4:30 - 6).....this doesn't always happen if things don't go as smoothly....but when it happens it is so wonderful. Really helps with the mental prep. We snuck into the Kingswood girls' dressing room to leave them each a rose and a card to thank them for such a wonderful week!

Then....warm-up #2. Always hard to convince the body to warm-up for the second time. But old faithful "musical gems" ballet barre did the trick and we were rearing to go once again.
8:00 show time! We're estimating between 275 - 350 in the house. Pretty good size. The Kingswood girls opened the show and made us so proud! Beautifully executed and the crowd was so impressed with their accomplishments for such a short time. Next: Mel, Saragan and I performed Lesandra's piece (You Tackle a Staircase Face On) - we were really happy to be performing it at the Playhouse because Lesandra lives in Fredericton now. After an intermission Mel, Saragan, Lishe and I performed "5 Breaths" by Roger Sinha....with our stylin new costumes from Rachael Grant (costume designer extraordinaire). Good Show! We were feelin the love in Fredericton. After the show Lesandra joined us for a "talk back". A good portion of the audience stayed to ask questions. My favorite comment came from a parent of one of the gymnasts....."I don't usually go to see modern dance.....but now I will....I want to see more". Yes!!!!

After the show we hit up the Snooty Fox with Lesandra, her friends, Tim Yerxa (Director of the Fredericton Playhouse) and the Sarg for.....................that's right.........what ever deep fried goodness you want and a bevy!! We never eat that much on the day of a show cause you don't want to feel overly full or weighted down. After doing the show twice....we're ready to EAT! This after show eat fest was a quick one though because we decided to hit the road to beat the ice and freezing rain storm forecast for NB. I know this sounds crazy (it was a little), but we decided it would be the best option. Lishe was missing her baby and we all had things scheduled for Saturday that we wanted to make it home for!

Soooo....Sarg made us leave Snooty at 11:30 (his watch alarm goes off every half hour I swear....and he also set his watch for when we had to leave to beat the storm). Lishe drove and Mel took shotgun/de-fogger/Co-pilot/"beast watch" duty. Beast watch was key for the jumping deer, Moose or any other beast with a death wish. Lishe and Mel did a stellar job. Mel was on constant look-out for beast eyes and would sound the alarm....."Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes"....when necessary. A quick stop in Truro was required to stretch the limbs.....you see, dancing the show twice and then hopping in an over-stuffed car is pretty hard on the bods. It's almost like rigor mortise sets in. We hobbled into Irving looking like we were 80 years old at 3:00am with remnants of our stage makeup. Not a pretty sight. Arrived home around 4:30am safe and sound! A very long and eventful day. Thanks Lishe and Mel for getting us home!

A great tour! Some good dancing, some inspiring work with the Kingswood gymnasts, a chance to work with our choreographer Lesandra again and a great show at the beautiful Playhouse. I feel so lucky to work every day with my wonderful friends doing something I love.....we work hard, and have so many good laughs along the way. I love you guys!
xo CC

Tech Day

2008-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Awww tech day - nothing like a little bit of chaos before a show - I am pretty sure the faces explain it all (actually she might have been looking at me like that because I was taking a picture so early - but the tech day excuse sounds way better! so I am leaving it)

Yes aww tech day...

Sara is just getting back to the room and its 11 pm... oh and did I mention we have a show tomorrow... yeah

Tech day also means that our stage manager aka The Sarg arrives.. which makes us all happy... plus he likes to go to the pub with us after the show and that is lots of fun. Just for your information we also call that night "Deep Fried Night" or "Deep Fried Pep Night" but I don't want to explain that because it makes me look kinda bad.

It was a very productive day though. The Youth Group dance is finished! And it is great! Those young ladies are so wonderful and absolutely amazing - I can't believe how much they have absorbed in this small small amount of time. Congrats ladies! You made us so proud.

Their dedication and commitment to getting the movement style is refreshing... I am not going to lie we have been like drill sargents with them and they haven't complained once - not even once...

Today we had twenty minutes left in the day and they ran the piece three times. Its a five minute dance and they were glad to keep trying... I can't wait until they see the lights and stage tomorrow, it will be so exciting.

Now this is SWEET!!! woop woop - Our name in LIGHTS. I know you can't see it well but squint and get really close to your computer and maybe it will be visible.

OH OH I can see it there... so awesome

During a tech evening we all split up and do many different things. Sara was in charge of making sure the lights were correct with our wicked Sarg and Alicia wrote all the little ladies from the Kingswood Gymnastics Club thank you cards. Carolle of course unfortunately had to work on the grant, or I should say grantsssssss, But hey she's good at that stuff so we gotta put her to work...

and well for me... I most definitely had the hardest job, writing on the blog... hahah ok thats not so funny I guess, and on that note I am out..

Goodnight and wish us luck.

Update from The Crown Cut and Colour

2008-03-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Mel's hair - What a sweet red rat tail !!!!

I do believe Alicia's sweater is a little red too now!

I must admit I love my new hair, or hair refresher I should say.... I am sure I will like it even more when it stops dying all the towels red.

Also for those of you who know me well I would just like you to note that the colour was on sale... thats right on sale... Hey I figure if I am not paying 200 dollars at Life Spa it better be the cheapest dye job I can get... or wait maybe I am just cheap

So the colour went wickedly good and as for the cut .... well considering the scissors could barely cut paper we had to leave my split ends alone and wait until we get back to Hali.!

Wednesday... or Should I Say Hump Day

2008-03-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

Today's weather forcast...shocking....freezing rain and snow...whoa (whoa to be said extremely sharp and fast).
Another great day in old Feddie, NB. We survived the mid week wednesday, or hump day as we like to call it, where time and bodies seem to be moving more slowly than the rest. We are almost finished our creation with the wonderful gymnastics group. They are outfitted in costumes and almost ready to go!

We ran the show today in the theatre and it certainly felt good to dance on the big Playhouse stage. No major things to report there, lots of dancing.........oh and Carolle almost broke both of her feet coming out of a lift but the ever so hulky Mel saved her life, career, and a potential broken nose to boot.

As hump day usually goes, there is a lot of silliness to be had by mocean dance. Lots of laughing, making fun of one another and today...was photo day. Mel's photography was the best at trying to capture all of us as a group but somehow my head just kept on getting cut off!!!!

So I thought that my photography skills would be far superior than Mel's and was sure I would get us all in. The result... a stunning photo of.... yah...

Our afternoon ended with a soak in the hot tub. Yes!! We are so spoiled here at the Crowne Plaza since we are usually at very special motels running past the creepy man at the front office to get to our motel room.

We are now back from a yummy thai dinner and SH and CC are hard at work keeping the mocean beast alive, Mel is battling yet another cold, and I am dreaming of my little baby boy at home asleep. Soon we'll be off to sleep ourselves getting ready for a big day tomorrow.

Sweet Dreams,
Alicia

Tuesday Tales

2008-03-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this update from "Crowne Cut and Color".
Client: Mel Ferro
Stylist: Alicia MacDonald
Result of consultation: small trim and dying of a small strand underneath (red)
Seems a bit safe to me Mel...watch out, we might get creative with the scissors while you sleep!

Today was another successful day in Freddy. The girls arrived with a few aches and pains from yesterday, but still full of enthusiasm and we forged ahead with the piece. They have absorbed an incredible amount of material in the last two days and are still smiling, so that's a good sign! We're about halfway through the piece and should be able to finish it tomorrow. Express dance at it's finest!

We had another great rehearsal with Lesandra and have made some small changes that continue to make the piece even better. It's so great that we're able to have this time with her before the show on Friday. It keeps us (and the piece) fresh!!

Oh, just saw Mel's hair and it's way more red than I thought. Way to go Mel!!!

Back to the day. Tonight we were supposed to film a local television show for Rogers Cable with two of the gymnasts and we were going to be the only guests for an hour!!!! We couldn't imagine how we were going to fill that much time, but to our relief, we arrived and found out that the host, Trevor Doyle was sick! They are still going to come to the theatre tomorrow and film rehearsal and get some interviews, so we'll still get some publicity for the show which is good.

So, guess that's it for today. We're gearing up for an ice storm tomorrow and are really hoping that the girls will make it to rehearsal, as we have no days to spare. You can bet one thing though, the car is staying put tomorrow. No pushing for these dancers!

The last update is that the hot tub is fixed and Mel is a happy camper.

Good night,
Saragan

The latest Photos

2008-03-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

First day in Fredericton

2008-03-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Our first day in Fredericton was more than enjoyable. We started the day with the creation on the Kingswood Gymnast girls and they were amazing. These young ladies were enthusiastic, hardworking and funny; which made our job a whole lot easier. They will be opening our show with a 5 minute piece to Bach. As a group we accomplished a large amount and the company is very excited to continue tomorrow; hopefully they won't be too sore.

Then we continued with a little run to the local grocery store - oh how happy was I to buy some Multi-Grain Cheerios and Alicia even bought my favorite chips, Ms Vickies Roasted Red Pepper!!! So happy.

Next on the plans was rehearsal with Lesandra Dodson, the choreographer of "You Tackle a Stair Case Face on". As always it was a great rehearsal - I love working with her.

Tonight's dinner entailed a walk to the local bar, The Snooty Fox. It has been our home away from home and sadly we have almost tried everything on the menu... oh The Snooty Fox.

Alas we are in our rooms and relaxing for the evening - which is very enjoyable.

PS - I pretty much thought I would be living like royalty this week because the Hotel we are staying in has a hot tub and pool; however to an overwhelming large degree of sadness the hot tub is broke - yes broke I say.... I really hope it gets fixed before the end of the week so my bathing suit doesn't go to waste. I will keep you posted.

Mel

Arrival in NB

2008-03-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well it was an eventful arrival yesterday in Saint John, NB! We left Halifax early to try and beat the storm. It was smooth sailing up until Sussex.....we hit a wall of snow and drove for 2 1/2 hours in a whiteout. Saragan (Sara) handled that rental like a pro though. We couldn't get into the driveway of our original hotel, even with three dancers pushing the car.....nor could we get into the Delta because it was uphill, even with three dancers and two strangers pushing!) Luckily, the Hilton was at the bottom of Saint John, so we stayed there for the night! We all needed an adult beverage after that drive....maybe two.

We taught three workshops at the Imperial Theatre today: InterAct Children's Theatre, the Hampton Highschool musical group and some local dance students. It really was a pleasure - these students were sooo enthusiastic, talented and just full of positive energy! Also, we LOVE the Imperial space (we performed there last year for CAPACOA and this is our 2nd time to do a full day of workshops there). It's a beautiful theatre with a HUGE stage, well maintained, with a stellar crew.

So now we're at the lovely Crowne Plaza in Fredericton (courtesy of the Fredericton Playhouse). We love this place and it is totally unlike any touring experience to date! Adjoining rooms; we each have our own queen sized bed (much better than my fouton matress at home let me tell you, or the usual sharing of beds that we often do on tour....I love you guys and all, but you know); cable (beats my two fuzzy channels); internet; gym; pool.....it's all good here at CP!!

Tomorrow will be day one of our week long creation intensive with the Kingswood Gymnasts. We also have a rehearsal scheduled with choreographer Lesandra Dodson .....we'll be refreshing and spicing up a few things with her piece for the show on Friday!

Best line of the day:
(grade 10 boy)..."My hips don't lie"

CC

Mocean's blog is off and running!

2008-02-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Mocean's brand new road journal! Keep in touch with us as we travel across the Maritimes and beyond. Every community has a story to share.