A picture of the sky from Friday Night's Storm, via Indiana's NewsCenter.
Wow. What a weekend.
It’s ironic that last year’s June concert was called Mother Nature’s Nightmare, because this year, it really lived up to that title. In case you didn’t know, our Friday King’s Curse family concert was ended prematurely by high wind/tornado sirens going off. Our 140 cast members spent about 45 minutes in the basement, while our 450 audience members were asked to remain in the auditorium. The temperature dropped 15 degrees, it started hailing, and the sky looked like something out of the beginning of the Wizard of Oz.
Despite no tornadoes actually touching down, I think it was the right thing to do. Between the sirens, the sheets of rain, and the extremely high winds, it could have easily turned into a tornado situation, and when you have a cast consisting mostly of 3-12 year-olds, it’s better safe than sorry. And luckily, the Arts United Center is maybe literally the safest building in Fort Wayne. Between its box-within-a-box architecture, and the foot-thick concrete walls, it’s going to take a lot more than a tornado to penetrate that building. Having a few upset parents is better than even the small chance of severe weather injuring one of our students.
We’d like to apologize to our wonderful cast, to their dedicated parents, and the audience members who attended the performance. Although we got through the story portion of the concert, we were unable to finish the final dance number, the curtain call, and the awards ceremony. We’d also like to thank all of the above, as well as the Arts United Center staff for their quick actions to keep us safe.
Incidentally, I attended the Northeast Indiana Public Radio wine tasting dinner the next night at the Arts United Center (which was a fabulous event as well), and the fire alarm went off because of a contained kitchen fire. I think I need to steer clear of that place — it looks like I’m bringing the King’s Curse with me!
Please stay tuned for an upcoming post highlighting those who have been honored as a award recipient. Also: did you attend the event? Any thoughts, testimonials, or comments on the performance? Let us know in the comments below.
The first of a series of "King's Curse" rehearsals Saturday Morning, June 5.
The office is always buzzing this time of the year. We’re less than two weeks away from our June family Concert, “The King’s Curse”. We have a record 141 cast members this year!
Let me repeat that. One hundred and forty-one cast members. The majority of them are children.
Any big production involves some amount of chaos, and this is going to be no different. We have the Teardrops and the Knitters, both classes of 3-5 year-olds, We have Jesters, Witches, Drama Queens, Horses, Crabs, Bats, and more. Much more. Our narrow hallway has been clogged with dancers, parents, and crew members, and it’s been a challenge communicating details about the big performance to the masses.
Challenging, but fun.
It’s always amazing to me, even after working through 3 of these shows previously, how Liz and a score of other teachers and production people take a story, break it down into individual class dances, and then piece it together again. Although I participate in the crafting of the story along with the other FWDC staffers, Liz and our teachers make it happen. With rehearsal and time, the chaos melts into an hour-long story dance that is utterly charming.
If you’d like to come see the magic that is created by 141 dancers, let me know. Tickets are on sale for $12 (and $10 if you have a child 12 or younger)
The Fort Wayne Dance Collective is funded in part by