It was a lovely afternoon. My plans for the day were to enjoy my home and be fully content. To write, to read and to have a quiet day. Then an invitation to join a friend for a Romp in the Park intrigued me. A Romp? Had I looked online, I would have been sceptical about ballet in the park, but I didn’t look. I welcomed the invitation which, after a couple of emails, expanded to the coffee shop first, the Romp activity and then to Big Wheel for a burger.
Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park was bathed in sunshine streaming between the tall Douglas firs. The abundant seating of green painted benches created a woodland amphitheater. Great blue herons are the first to arrive - actually we were invading their living room! They have their nests and noisy young in the highest branches. Spectators of all ages streamed in to watch the dancers from as far away as South Korea and from Guelph, Ontario. Dancers from Ballet Victoria completed the performers. (Did I mention dogs in the audience of all sizes, all seeking the shade?)
For the next hour we were entertained by the grace and agility of the beautiful dancers. Contemporary dance, ballet, jazz and tap kept me tapping and swaying. From Swan Lake to Jazz dance in ballet our attention didn’t deviate. Except to watch the children that attempted their own form of ballet, to look up in the trees when the herons squawked, and to see the dragonflies and butterflies that danced over the crowd.
Victoria’s own, Suddenly Dance Theatre is a charitable non-profit society. The ROMP Festival is a free two week program held annually in the summer, bringing dance and ballet to outdoor audiences. This was the 20th year of this wonderful experience.
“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair……”
~ Susan Polis Schutz, author
https://www.suddenlydance.ca
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