COUNSELLING, TRAINING OFFERED AFTER ALLEGATIONS
Stampede ‘ being vigilant’ in wake of sex accusations against Heerema
This is the time of the year the Young Canadians go into full preshow preparation mode.
In four weeks, the group of 120 young dancers and singers, who train year-round as part of the Calgary Stampede’s free performing arts school, will play their usual prominent role in the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, performing nightly through the 10-day event for crowds of 17,000 people a night.
On Friday, however, nobody was thinking four weeks up the road.
Instead, there were questions. Questions from the media. Questions from the police. Questions from Calgary parents and other family members whose world got rocked.
The Calgary police revealed that longtime Young Canadians volunteer and office employee Phillip Heerema, 52 — who worked with the organization for 36 years — was being charged with a number of sexual offences.
At a press conference Friday, it was revealed that, following the opening of an investigation in January 2014 after a complaint against him, seven victims, all male, have come forward to accuse Heerema of inappropriate sexual contact, with the initial incident dating back to 1997.
Upon learning of the allegations, the Stampede took immediate action, says Kurt Kadatz, director of community engagement.
“Within 30 minutes of hearing that allegation,” says Kadatz, “we suspended the employee, we removed him from the premises and directed him not to communicate with anyone involved with the program.”
Since the allegations were first made, the Stampede has been offering anti-bullying and intervention training for students, as well as confidential counselling sessions.
“Being vigilant,” Kadatz said. “I think that’s what we’ve done.”
The Young Canadians have trained thousands of young people over the years, many of whom have gone out into the world of show business, where they credit the group with giving them the chops to compete in the hyper competitive world of show business.
So for one such alumni, news of charges being laid against Heerema came as a shock.
“No way!,” said dancer Charmaine Baquiran, who lives in North Hollywood and performs on the VH1 series Hit the Floor.
“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” she said. “Oh my goodness.”
Baquiran’s memories of Heerema were good.
“Phil was always the nicest guy,” she said. “He took care of us ... so it’s really shocking.
“He would do what was needed to get the job done,” she said. “It was so many years ago for me — but he was always seen as this bodyguard type who got things done.”
Most people know the Young Canadians as a regular part of the annual Grandstand Show, but for the past couple of years, the group has had no organizational connection to the Grandstand Show beyond that, says the show’s creative producer Dave Pierce.
“It’s two separate entities,” says Pierce.
For many years, the Young Canadians and Grandstand Show were both run by Bill Avery, but when Pierce took over as creative producer of the Grandstand Show a couple of years back, those links to the Young Canadians were cut.
“When we get them for the Grandstand Show,” he adds, “it’s like when we get the acts from the Cirque du Soleil. We know we’ve got 42 minutes of Young Canadians and they have their own people that handle that.
“It has been separated to such a point that I have no involvement with it.”
I routinely write about former members of the Young Canadians who have used their training to go on to professional careers in the arts. Before I dropped the bombshell news on her, Baquiran talked about how dancing in the Grandstand Show during her six years as a Young Canadian helped prepare her for her biggest audition of her life. It was an audience of one: Janet Jackson.
“(The Young Canadians) gave me a great opportunity to perform in front of people at such a young age that I feel like that’s where I feel most at home,” she said.
There will be more time to talk about stories like Baquiran’s in the coming weeks, as Stampede draws closer. Friday, however, was a day to reflect for members of the Young Canadians and the Stampede.
“I know that parents and families will be reading this,” said Kadatz. “We know that they’re a very strong group, and have a lot of family and friends and Calgary Stampede and community support behind them.”