BBK Showstoppers, a dance and theatre troupe made up of performers aged 10 to 14, performs at charity events and fundraisers in the Toronto area.
The BBK Showstoppers in rehearsal. [Jason Presement photo]
The dancers have to audition to join the troupe, which is directed by Brianne Buckman-Kalechstein.
The troupe’s current set-list features upbeat musical theatre material as well as routines about serious subjects, including children finding foster homes, autism awareness, women around the world, and children of the Holocaust. Buckman-Kalechstein also choreographs event-specific routines when necessary.
“The BBK girls are a great group, and they are really gaining experience not just in performance, but as future leaders,”she said.
The troupe rehearses six hours a week and receive technical training in jazz, ballet and musical-theatre choreography.
At a young age, Buckman-Kalechstein developed a passion for helping others. As a dance teacher, she has always choreographed routines with meaningful stories, either in memory or in honour of specific causes, but her routines were never performed for the audiences she intended them for.
“I really wanted to do more as a mentor and teacher, and have the dancers get out there and perform for the community and the groups we were supporting,” she said.
Buckman-Kalechstein created BBK Showstoppers, in partnership with the Koffler Centre of the Arts, in 2009, to inspire young dancers to use their talents for a purpose.
“As a firm believer that not all classrooms have four walls, I take great pride in teaching my team about the various causes and charities we support, and showing them that they can make a difference, regardless of their age, by giving back with their talents,” she said.
Last October, the BBK Showstoppers performed at Light the Night, raising more than $2,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of Buckman-Kalechstein’s aunt, Shirley Kirsh. The girls also created blogs, where they wrote about their volunteer performance work.
They have performed for Women’s Habitat, and they danced at the press kickoff for Mount Sinai Hospital’s Yoga in Motion fundraiser last month.
Last month, the BBK girls served tea and danced at Baycrest’s Café Europa in memory of the children of the Holocaust.
“After doing the Holocaust workshop with me in January, the BBK girls were very excited to perform for a group of survivors,” Buckman-Kalechstein said. “While our presentation was upbeat, it meant a lot to me and the team to perform for this special group.”
The BBK Showstoppers are invited to perform their memorial routine for an audience at Baycrest’s Wagman Centre on the evening of May 2. That same afternoon, the girls will also dance at Associated Hebrew Schools and Leo Baeck Day School.
“This routine [built around a choral reading from the poem The Butterfly] takes us on a journey from freedom to hiding to ghetto to camp, through resistance and final uprising. It concludes with a message of ‘no more hate,’” said Buckman-Kalechstein.
Christine Ting, a dancer in the troupe, said she enjoys performing the Holocaust dance because it “tells a good story, starting from the start of the Holocaust, through the war and ends when the war is over.”
BBK Showstoppers “makes everyone happy and smile,” she added.
On May 26, the girls will host the BBK Showstoppers Dance for Sick Kids. Proceeds go to the Crafting For a Cure Fund at the Hospital for Sick Children. The dancers have made posters, and they have created a blog. Their parents are donating items for a silent auction.
For more information about BBK, visit bbkshowstoppers.com. E-mail [email protected] for information about auditions on June 1 and 4 for the 2011-12 troupe.
