Canadian Showtime Chorus #flattenthecurve!! (16-Mar-2020)

Canadian Showtime Chorus #flattenthecurve!!

The week of March 8, 2020 will go down in history! It is the week that Sweet Adelines International, in light of COVID-19, made the bold and courageous decision to cancel all regional competitions around the globe. A decision taken after hours of deliberation – one taken for the good of the whole – the health and safety of our membership. We appreciate their efforts and thank them for exercising their duty of care.

For choruses and quartets around the world, contest season feels like a special birthday or holiday – it equals the excitement of a kid in a candy store! You know what I am talking about, right? Feel it!! That moment enroute to contest when you bump into Sweet Adelines picking up a Timmie’s or Starbucks latte or other road snacks; the thrill of seeing a friend you haven’t seen since the last regional or international education event or contest; when squeals and hugs prevail. The smiles that light up the room. The hugs! The impromptu and spontaneous outbursts into song. The excitement of cheering ALL competitors crossing the stage. The euphoria you feel when you as a competitor put your best foot forward and aim for the heart of every single person in the audience. The hugs! That is what we will miss this contest season!

But there is a plan - a video contest! One that will provide an alternative and socially distant approach, affording choruses and quartets the opportunity to qualify for the next round of international contests. Social media is bursting with ideas on how to make this special and I have it on great authority ;) that our Regional Management Team and Convention Team have great ideas to make this an experience to remember and almost as special as being all together at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Center in St Catharines, Ontario.

Canadian Showtime Chorus is doing its part to flatten the curve and help prevent the spread of the virus. Rehearsals are cancelled for the next few weeks and this week’s coaching with our new best friend, supporter and coach extraordinaire, Tim Waurick, is postponed to August! What are we going to do without our regular together time? Exercise individual responsibility!! Our family members are not used to having us around on a Tuesday night anyway so why not plan on turning a corner of our home into our very own chorus rehearsal space – sans amis(es) – and work on our music. We do, after all, have several new charts to work on and perfect. Let’s be creative! Plan a Facetime or Skype session with a buddy (buddies) and sing through our repertoire and our new songs. Help one another through difficult passages – tricky notes – interp. Learn the breathing plan and figure out our personal breathing plan! Record ourselves and write out our three nuggets – what are you most jazzed about; what are you least jazzed about; what can you work on to improve. We have great resources at our disposal on our website for both singing and visual plans – let’s make good use of it! Social distancing is important – as good a time as any to get proficient using social media and virtual solutions to keep connected!

This too shall pass! The most important thing is that we do our part and limit gatherings of any kind to stop the spread of nasty COVID-19. Our love runs deep and provided we all exercise caution and play our part, we will survive. We have heart!

Be well and stay healthy!

#socialdisancing #flattenthecurve #iamsweetadeline #canadianshowtimestrong

JD Crowe

CSC Blogger