MacLean featured in dance recital
Somerset Dance Studio presents ’Spring Fever’ at Harbourfront Theatre
Award-winning singer-songwriter, Tara MacLean, will be one of the special guests at the Somerset Dance Studio’s yearend recital at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside on Sunday.
From break-out pop hits to country-crossovers, MacLean’s style is reflective of her deep roots in gospel and the folk music of her East Coast Canadian upbringing. She is a member of the band Shaye Kim Stockwood and Damhnait Doyle, but also has three solo albums to her credit, which have garnered film and television placements such as in “Coyote Ugly.” She was recently on tour with Tom Cochrane. MacLean’s fourth studio album “Atlantic Blue” was released in late May 2017, and as part of its promotion, an EP called “Evidence” was released as a free download, which featured a mix of released and previously unreleased tracks. Now she has an “Atlantic Blue” show, in which MacLean, a P.E.I.-born veteran of the stage, tells the story of how music arrived and thrived on the East Coast of Canada. Using film to tell the life stories of these writers and song to illustrate their work, MacLean transports the audience to a place of deeper understanding and connection with Atlantic Canada and our most treasured music.
“Atlantic Blue” will be running Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday nights at The Guild in Charlottetown, throughout July and August.
The show is funny and heart wrenching, with an up and coming guest artist each night to take the audience into the future, to where East Coast music is heading.
This show also features three of the Somerset dancers. Tucked away on the West Coast artist-colony of Salt Spring Island, B.C., MacLean now focuses on collaborative songwriting more than recording and touring. This allows her a professional creative outlet while still being present for her small children.
The dance studio’s June 25 show in Summerside will also feature music from the Irish group, Celtic Spirit, and, of course, dancing.
Under the direction of Marlys Hamilton-MacLaren, students will be dancing reels, jigs, Strathspeys “and lots of cute little ones with step-shoes and tutus,” noted Hamilton-MacLaren.
The “Spring Fever” show features dancers ranging in age from two to 16, starting at 2 p.m.
Tickets for Sunday’s show are available online or by calling the Jubilee Theatre box office.