| Media Releases 2012 |
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Flash mob our cherry trees with superstar Shiamak choreography VANCOUVER, BC (Feb. 07, 2012) – There are a lot of goofy ways to find yourself on YouTube. Here's a really good one: take part in a flash mob choreographed by dance superstar Shiamak Davar - India’s “Guru of contemporary Dance.” The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) invites would-be celebrities to master the Umbrella Dance: an upbeat Bollywood routine that pays tribute to the rain, without which our beautiful cherry trees would not exist. This is Vancouver; of course an umbrella is involved! Anyone can learn the dance; it's funky, flashy and moves to a contagious Bollywood (read: "Brollywood") beat. Watch Shiamak’s choreography on YouTube live now at vcbf.ca. Shiamak Instructors and Vancouver Performance Team will teach the dance routine at many rehearsals in community centres around the city, starting February 20th. Listen to the music and imagine 500 people, as good as any group on YouTube, with a couple of rehearsals under their belts breaking into cheery cherry happiness this spring with a flock of pink umbrellas aloft and dancing feet below. "Being a part of the Umbrella Dance, choreographing it and seeing how much joy unique festivals like this can bring, enthralls me," Shiamak says. "I always feel proud when people from different backgrounds come together through dance, and I look forward to many more cultural fusions, both here and around the globe." To join in this fun (and spontaneous celeb-making event) grab some friends and sign up at vcbf.ca. For just ten dollars, you will receive a limited-edition official VCBF umbrella, rehearsals, a gift pack of free Bollywood jazz/yoga classes, and entrance discounts to the Vancouver Art Gallery and VanDusen Botanical Garden. The real value of this gift pack is $65; it's a rare thing to receive more than you give these days! Flash it forward to April 14th at 2 pm, when hundreds of pink umbrellas will descend upon the Vancouver Art Gallery with the Cherry Blossom Umbrella Dance to the delight of onlookers and amateur videographers alike. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival runs from April 5 to 28 and pulls together music, dance (that's you!), Japanese arts, festival food, the new SakuraB special spring bento featuring demonstrations by our top Japanese chefs, haiku, cherry blossom viewing, biking tours and painting into a month-long celebration of the cherry blossom: our city's official welcome to spring. Forty thousand cherry trees grace our streets and parks, and the number is growing. Each year the event grows too, and this year, the Umbrella Dance is new to the city and to the Festival. Watch the Umbrella Dance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYntdWrJgl8&feature=player_embedded. For photos, information and/or a private media dance lesson, please contact:
About the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival: The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Society is a charitable not-for-profit society whose mission is to sustain and renew Vancouver’s Cherry Tree Heritage, while educating and engaging community in the celebration of the cherry blossom through its unique cultural programming. The objectives of such community building events include public education through seasonal, cherry-themed citywide viewing programs, performing and literary arts, film screenings, as well as fine art and design exhibitions. www.facebook.com/VancouverCherryBlossomFestival About Shiamak: Shiamak is a dance superstar, creative visionary, singer, actor, director, choreographer and dance educator. With his unique blend of contemporary jazz fused with Indian and western dance styles, he is credited with modernizing the dance scene in India. Shiamak Davar International teaches dance in Canada, India, Australia, the UK and the UAE, bringing his distinct vision to audiences worldwide. Shiamak has co-starred in the Arts Club Theatre Company production of Evita, and his Vancouver Performance Team has performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics Celebration Ceremonies and the Opening Ceremony of the World Police and Fire Games.
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