Students at Humboldt Collegiate had a special musical group come into their school with Saskatchewan Express dropping by on Feb. 16.
Students had the opportunity to dance with the eight member group during a workshop before Saskatchewan Express performed for the school.
Students were invited back on stage to finish off the performance by showing the school what they learned in the workshop.
The Saskatchewan Express is a great opportunity within the province for young people interested in the performing arts, says Amanda Brochu, music and art teacher at Humboldt Collegiate, and she wanted the students to see that as a possibility for them.
“The kids were a little hesitant at the beginning of the workshop,” says Brochu, “ but they got right into it and it was a lot of fun.”
The workshop was more than just getting the students comfortable with the number, but also getting comfortable adding all the different elements.
“Some of them were singers, some of them were dancers, but none of them have done it all together. We’re giving them the chance to take all their skills and put it together in one piece.”
While musical education was a major focus for the performance, the Express also touched on other school subjects like history, science, and anti-bully, which is not a school subject but still needs to addressed, said Saskatchewan Express cast members, Aerhyn Lau, during the performance.
As former students who were bullied for their love of theatre and performing, cast member Neilson Tiefenbach says that they want to promote the idea of being comfortable with yourself and not being afraid to make mistakes.
“Just have fun doing what you love, and if people judge you, even still, just do it with a smile and know someone else is probably happy and accepting of what you’re doing.”
The cast has been together since September, learning the music before performing their original winter show, then coming back in January to learn the choreography, says Lau.
“What you saw today was the culmination of all the hard work.”
And that hard work has been on school stages across the province, says Tiefenbach, as they have performed the show in Watrous, Look Lake, and Lloydminister, basically anywhere schools will take them, he says.
“This is a chance for us to share our a capella show with them and teach them about music and teach them about the performing arts.”
For those who missed Saskatchewan Express at Humboldt Collegiate, they will be performing throughout Telemiracle as part of the cast.
Auditions for the summer cast of Saskatchewan Express are taking place until the end of February for young people looking to continue their careers as Saskatchewan performers.
