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Karen Amirault Dance Company & KIDZ - a performance of dance.
The Karen Amirault Dance Company and KIDZ bring members of their teen and adult troupe to perform a program of dance as it relates to vaudeville and its aftermath in Vermont's historic town halls and opera houses.
Starting at the turn of the century with a vaudeville number incorporating chairs and tambourines, the program moves next to the Charleston and "Five Foot Two," with fringe and feathers flying. In keeping with the varied acts in a variety show, these dances are followed by swing, tap and dances from Broadway, highlighting "42nd Street."
The performance includes solos, duets and large group pieces with an authentic mix of male and female, young and old, always high energy!
Karen Amirault performs with a variety of guest artists that may include Casey Clark, Sidney Corren, Don, Jeanie & Paige Crickard, Tabare Gowon, Cassidy Mahoney, Theresa Martin, Zach Perron, Dana Rubin, Samuel Selman, Claire Shea, Sasha Tenenbaum-Lane & Emma Wollum.
View Sample clips of prior performances here
This program and related audience-participation workshops are appropriate for all ages. Teaching workshops in tap, the Charleston, musical comedy, Broadway, jazz and swing dance are also available.
Fees begin at $650 plus mileage for a 45-minute performance, $750 plus mileage for a one-hour performance, and range from $1850-2500 plus mileage for a full concert performance; $200-350 plus mileage for a Master Class (Jazz, Tap, Charleston, Swing, Musical Comedy, Broadway, African and/or Hip Hop).
From 1880 to 1940 traveling troupes of vaudeville players, opera companies, itinerant musicians and local productions were performed in local opera houses or town halls in Vermont, most of which also housed a community center with a stage. These unique variety shows ran the gamut from song-and-dance, comedy, magic, animal acts, and music to Shakespeare, ballet, lectures and opera.
Vaudeville marked the beginning of popular entertainment as big business, with organized circuits touring through big city theaters as well as intimate, locally-controlled houses. Appealing to the growing middle class, with their increased leisure time and spending power, vaudeville offered continuous performances of "polite" programs for mixed-gender family audiences in alcohol-free halls. It was only with the growth of low-priced cinema and free broadcast television that audiences lessened, live acts stopped traveling, opera houses closed, and local performances shifted to public school spaces. The Amirault Dance Company & Kidz provide a sampling of the types of performances that might have been seen in a variety show during this period.
Karen Amirault
33 North Avenue, Apt. 2
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: 802-862-0966
Email: amirault@sover.net