Moose Jaw’s 34th Invitational Dance Carnival

On April 19 - 22, 2018 Barb Jackman of Dance Images by BJ and Denise Maisonneuve of Denee’s School of Dance will be hosting their 34th annual Invitational Dance Carnival at Peacock Collegiate. This fourday event will welcome more than 800 dancers from 14 dance studios across the province! During the Invitational Dance Carnival dancers will showcase their skills in a wide variety of dance disciplines: tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, ballet, pointe, hip hop, acro, and musical theatre. An incredible event like this can’t take place without local support and a tremendous number of volunteers from both the host studios. It is thanks to such overwhelming volunteer support that this competition has celebrated continued success and been running for 34 years! This year’s adjudicators are: Sarah Dolan has served as the Artistic Director of O2 the Dance Company since it’s creation in 2010. Her commitment to the art and its artists provides a critical framework under which the contemporary company and its members thrive. She has had the privilege of being part of numerous works and diverse dance shows. Sarah has had the honour of assisting on CTV’s So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Fox America’s So You Think You Can Dance, BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance UK, The Junos and CBC’s Over the Rainbow. She has enjoyed being a part of Art on Ice as a Dancer and Assistant Choreographer/ Creative Director, working with musical artists such as Jessie J, The Jacksons, James Morrison, Chaka Khan, Nelly Furtado, Tom Odell, HURTS and skating champions such as Tessa and Scott, Meryl and Charlie, Kurt Browning and Joannie Rochette. Sarah has had the pleasure of choreographing for musical artists Paul Brandt, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Alessia Cara, Shawn Hook and Hockey Canada. Joey Matt was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. After competing as a child, his passion led him to audition and make it to the top 16 of the first-ever So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Having a love for commercial dance as well, he joined Nico Archambault (Winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 1) and his band, The Pinup Saints for their North American Tour. After the tour came to an end, he teamed up with Sean Cheesman to assist on So You Think You Can Dance Canada (Seasons 2 and 4), and So You Think You Can Dance America, (Seasons 6, 8, 10, and 11). He returned to Vancouver, BC to be a dancer/actor on the CW series, Hellcats. While performing on the television show, he choreographed and danced with a group that opened for such artists as Tyga, and Nelly. Throughout his journey, Joey has been fortunate to work for such artists as Sarah McLachlan, K’naan, Carly Rae Jepsen, These Kids Wear Crowns, Mariana’s Trench, Ciara, and other greatly talented artists. In 2015, Joey toured Switzerland in a show titled, Art on Ice, where he performed alongside Nelly Furtado, and Tom Odell. He was then asked to be apart of the 2016 tour for Art on Ice, performing alongside Jessie J, as well as the Jacksons. He is currently a member of O2 the Dance Company founded by Sarah Dolan and is teaching across western Canada Sessions run daily Monday to Thursday at 9 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 6:30 pm and Sunday at 9 am and 1:30 pm, followed by awards in the late afternoon. Session Passes are $4, Day Passes $8, and Weekend Passes $20. For more information please contact Barb Jackman at: (306) 630-4975, or, email: info@danceimagesbybj.com or check out the Facebook page: MJ Invitational Dance Carnival