A mob of 120 amateur dancers from across Ottawa-Gatineau shimmied and shuffled outside the National Art Gallery last Saturday, performing choreographer Sylvain Émard's "Le Grand Continental." The 30-minute performance was a highlight of this year's Canada Dance Festival. Dancers spent two months learning and perfecting the routine.
The spectacle made its debut at Montréal's Festival TransAmériques in 2009 and has since been performed with local dancers in New York City, Philadelphia, PA, Portland, OR, and Mexico City. Ottawa was the second Canadian city to perform the dance.
Centretown News spoke with Émard to find out why he enjoys working with amateur dancers.