Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Open seats were few and far between this weekend at the Caribou Performing Arts Center as scores of family and friends turned out to see 240 students of The Maine Dance Academy performed their annual shows that once again brought down the house.
Photo contributed by Carol Carangelo
The annual performances of The Maine Dance Academy once again filled the Caribou Performing Arts Center during shows last weekend, as spectators gathered to see TMDA’s dance-rendition of Sister Act and The Wizard of Oz. Of the 240 dancers participating in the show were, from left, front row: munchkins Kallee Parent, Renee Lapointe and Lainey Bell. Second row, Kaci Bates as the Mayor of Munchkinland and Kaitlyn Kinsey as Dorothy. Third row: Lullaby league ladies Karlee Willette, Elizabeth Collins and Emily Michaud. Please see next week’s issue of the Aroostook Republican for additional photos.
This year’s performance of The Wizard of Oz and Sister Act featured the use of more props and set complexities than ever before; paired with the academy’s talented dancers, TMDA’s Facebook page is filled with postings along the lines of “best show ever.”
Best show ever is something that TMDA fans seem to claim every year according to Colleen DuPlissie, lead choreographer and owner of TMDA; considering that the dancers get better and better — students worked since September to polish their moves for the shows —the axiom that each show is better than it’s predecessor may have some truth to it.
“The shows went extremely well,” said DuPlissie, “students had a lot of fun doing it and the audience really saw something different from The Maine Dance Academy this year.”
With imaginative costumes and choreography to boot, audience members are still talking about the talent they saw this past weekend.
Not every student could be the center-stage star in a performance 240 dancers strong, but that’s part of the learning experience at TMDA.
DuPlissie and ClairAnn Flynn teach their students how crucial every single dancer is to the performance and “that each dancer is equally important in putting on such a high-quality show,” they said.
“To be a good cast, you need a good supporting cast,” DuPlissie explained.
The idiom “there are no small parts, only small performers” is not lost on TMDA students, some of which are, indeed, rather small.
The youngest group of dance school start at a particularly early age two, and the toddling tikes are sometimes to awestruck to remember their routine when enveloped in the shining lights of the stage.
Juxtaposing the toddlers are the towering point dancers and the twirling, tapping teenagers. It’s plain as day that the students of TMDA learn more than dance-steps — they learn poise, stage presence and the dedicated discipline it takes to develop their skills.
TMDA students, particularly the graduating seniors who each had a special role in this year’s performance, have learned those lessons over the years.
“The seniors were fantastic — they came prepared every single week and they knew the choreography for every song,” DuPlissie said of seniors Kaitlyn Kinsey, Hannah Nelson, Cintamini Johnson and Brianna Gorence, adding that each dancer also became a better actress throughout the season. “They had great chemistry together.”
Surprisingly, what many consider to be the most important lesson of the year was learned away from the sequins and bright lights of stage.
Taking inspiration from the Lady Gaga song “Born This Way,” TMDA spent the last class of the year focusing on their self-image.
With T-shirts that read “Born This Way,” younger students of the academy discussed things they either didn’t like about themselves or were insecure with. It was a candid, open discussion between students and instructors, during which students were encouraged to embrace the things that made them unique that they might not like now.
Sharing their experiences with the children, DuPlissie and Flynn explained that the things they didn’t like about themselves when they were kids are the things other people like about them now.
“It was one of the most significant things we did all year,” Flynn said.
The Maine Dance Academy is currently accepting applications for dance camp and gymnastics camp, which both feature guest instructors (including special guest instructor Ashley Hebert, from the television show “The Bachelorette”). For additional information regarding The Maine Dance Academy, call 498-4027 or visit www.themainedanceacademy.com.
