OTTAWA – Backstage tours, karaoke, dance workshops, classical music, poetry and an exhibition featuring Glenn Gould’s piano highlight the 2012 edition of Culture Days at the National Arts Centre on Sunday September 30 from noon to 4 p.m.  

Culture Days is a free, annual event designed to invite the public to celebrate and explore arts and culture in every province and territory in Canada. All activities are free (no ticket required), bilingual and open to all ages except where noted.

Here are details of free Culture Days activities presented by the National Arts Centre (open to all ages except where noted):

NAC Backstage visits
Entrance from Main Lobby
See the National Arts Centre backstage areas like you’ve never seen before: up-close and personal! You’ll have access to visit the NAC stages, dressing rooms, backstage corridors and set-building shops in a self-guided tour. Experience the excitement of live performance from behind the curtain.
Duration: approximately 45 minutes

NAC Art Guided Tour          
Main Lobby
Get a guided tour of the NAC’s extensive visual art collection (indoors and outdoors) departing once an hour on the hour starting at 10 a.m. with the last tour at 3 p.m.
Duration: approximately 45 minutes

Display of Glenn Gould’s Piano        
Southam Hall Mezzanine
Glenn Gould’s beloved piano, Steinway CD 318 is now on permanent display at the NAC.  This significant cultural artifact is accompanied with an exhibition about Gould’s life including an award-winning film produced by Canadian filmmaker Peter Raymont entitled “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould”.  

Interactive Musical Activities for Young Children
Southam Hall Mezzanine
Music for Young Children's multi-sensory approach to musical learning makes piano lessons fun!  It's the ideal way to learn to play!  Come, find out more and try our interactive activities with musical instruments of all kinds! (Ages 3 and up)

Interactive Website Displays
Main Lobby
Interactive display of the NAC's arts education websites ArtsAlive, Music Box and Timeline.

Intro to Dance Classes
On Southam Hall Stage
It’s never too late to learn how to dance!  Come and join us for an intro to dance class, where you will learn different dance styles from some of Ottawa’s best dance teachers. No dance experience required. Bring comfortable clothes to move in and your dancing feet!
Duration: 45 minutes each
Noon               Hip Hop
Noon               Tango (This workshop takes place on the Theatre stage
12:45 p.m.       Gumboots South African dancing      
1:30 p.m.         Afro-Caribbean

Tango Dance Party (a Milonga)
Theatre stage
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Slip into your tango shoes! Learn a few dance steps and dance with some of Ottawa's best tango dancers–or just come to watch–on the Theatre Stage, led by Ottawa’s favourite tango dancers Brigitte and Francis Caron of Siempre Tango. A milonga is a form of Argentine tango with strongly accented music and an underlying “habanera” rhythm. It is also the name given to tango dance parties!

Live Band Karaoke  
Fourth Stage
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
You’re the star in this version of karaoke where you’ll be accompanied by a live band of top-notch Ottawa musicians! Choose your favourite selection of jazz standards, musical theatre hits, rock classics, old favorites or kid’s tunes and sing your heart out in the cozy atmosphere of the Fourth Stage cabaret.

Open Choir Rehearsal          
Southam Hall stage
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Come to the National Arts Centre and sing with adult, youth and children's choirs from the Ottawa area in an open choral rehearsal. Feel the exhilaration of raising your voice in song together with others in a massed choir. Come and go as you please, or stay for the entire rehearsal. Experience the joy of singing along in a massed choir of adults, youth and children in an open rehearsal at the National Arts Centre.

Acting Workshop: Building an Ensemble & How to Work with a Chorus
Rehearsal Hall A
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Workshop given by NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley.  Through several exercises participants will work to create a cohesive ensemble that works together for every moment of stage time, through music, movement, blocking, text and technical elements. Participants should be prepared to work barefoot and to wear loose comfortable clothing. (This workshop will be in English -- Ages 16 and upThe workshop is open to )
Note: Spots are limited, please register in advance by emailing ETculturedays@nac-cna.ca.  Confirmation of registration will be sent by return email.

Photography Workshop – Contemporary Dance
Studio Noon – 2 p.m.
Bring your camera and learn to shoot dancers in motion with professional photographer and instructor Lawrence Cook and students from The School of Dance Contemporary Dance Programme performing a choreography by Sylvie Desrosiers, Director of Contemporary Dance Studies.This workshop is held in partnership with Festival X.

Photography Workshop – Hip Hop
Studio
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Bring your camera and learn to shoot dancers in motion with professional photographer and instructor Lawrence Cook and the Luv2Groove crew led by Julia Gutsik. This workshop is held in partnership with Festival X.

Theatre/Movement Workshop: creating human tableaus
Panorama Room
1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Artistic director and choreographer of the company Bouge de là offers a workshop in theatre and movement open to all. Beginning with human tableaus, Hélène Langevin will lead the group in creating a human work of art. (This workshop will be in French)

Poetry Workshop
Le Salon
1 p.m. – 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.– 4 p.m.
Get to know poetry with these workshops full of discovery led by Éric Charlebois. You will leave this experience with your mind full of words…and some verses of poetry on paper too! (This workshop will be in French) (Ages 12 and up)

Interactive Performance by Ambassador Brass Trio
Main Lobby Stage
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Learn about classical music with the Ambassador Brass Trio featuring members of the NAC Orchestra.  They will share their experience of being part of this great orchestra and play some exciting and entertaining music.

About Culture Days
Culture Days is a collaborative coast-to-coast-to-coast volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. The third annual Culture Days weekend will take place September 28, 29 and 30, 2012, and will feature thousands of free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate “behind-the-scenes,” to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, designers and other creative people in their communities. For more information about Culture Days, visit www.culturedays.ca.

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For more information:
Carl Martin
Communications Advisor
Tel: 613-947-7000, ext. 560
Cell: 613-291-8880
cmartin@nac-cna.ca