OTTAWA – Backstage tours, karaoke, dance workshops, classical music, “yarn bombing” and a rare showing of a classic work of art highlight the 2013 edition of Culture Days at the National Arts Centre on Sunday September 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.    

Culture Days is a free, annual event designed to invite the public to celebrate, participate 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 :

Beauchemin Curtain Viewing
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Southam Hall
Rare opportunity  to admire a masterpiece by one of Canada’s most renowned visual artist: Micheline Beauchemin.  This curtain was commissioned for the opening of the National Arts Centre, and was the first work of art presented at the NAC.

Backstage Tours
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Enter from Southam Hall Foyer
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--new this year is the addition of our props department.

Tour of NAC visual art collection
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
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 noon with the last tour at 3:00 p.m.
Duration: approximately 45 minutes

O-Town Bombers Invitational Yarn Bomb
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Main Lobby
Did you hear that? It may have been silent but a soft and fuzzy yarn bomb was just dropped on the NAC! For Culture Days this year the NAC lobby will be decked out in a truly inspiring array of colours and textures never before seen in the NAC’s history.

Not your Grandma's Crochet Workshop
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Salon
Want to learn the basics of crochet so you can unleash your own evil plot to yarn-bomb your community? Learn from some of the O-Town Bombers in this fun and interactive workshop. Bring your own materials to make something to take home with you OR use the materials provided in the workshop to contribute to a future O-Town Bombers yarn-bombing project.

Dance Workshops
12:00 p.m.       Luv2Groove Hip Hop Workshop          
1:00 p.m.         Aboriginal Hoop Dance Workshop                 
2:00 p.m.         Introduction to the Waltz Workshop (with instructors from Dance with Us Ottawa)           
Southam Hall Stage
It’s never too late to learn how to dance!  Come and join us for an introductory 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: approximately 45 minutes each

Dance Demonstrations and Activities

12:00 p.m.       Aboriginal Hoop Dance Demonstration
2:00 p.m.         Luv2Groove Hip Hop Demonstration
Main Lobby

1:00  p.m.        In Motion with The School of Dance!
Studio Lobby
Join Nicola Henry and dancers from The School of Dance to explore the wonderful world of dance as we celebrate Culture Days 2013. Suitable for children ages 3 and up.Duration: approximately 1 hour

Physical Theatre Workshops
with Ottawa Theatre School Artistic Associate Andy Massingham
12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Theatre
in English
In this movement based workshop, Andy will lead participants through exercises geared toward physical storytelling, strengthening body awareness and confidence. You will also discover a range of emotions and freedom of expression easily within your grasp to expand your innate creativity. Above all, it will be fun, active and help awaken your inner clown.
Duration: approximately 1 hour each

Live Band Karaoke with Two Pierres and a Piano
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Fourth Stage
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 kids’ tunes and sing your heart out in the cozy atmosphere of the Fourth Stage cabaret.

NAC Rideau Lake Brass Quintet
1:00 p.m.
Main Lobby Stage
Join five prominent members of the NAC Orchestra’s brass section before they embark on their international tour to China!  From traditional classics to well-loved popular melodies, the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet will demonstrate the highest technical and musical demands made on today’s brass players as well as share their experience of being part of a professional orchestra. A Q & A session will follow the performance.
Duration: approximately 50 minutes

Clowning around Workshop
1:00 p.m.and 2:30 p.m.
Panorama Room
In French
Duration: approx. 45 minutes
5 years and older
DynamO Theatre offers you a glimpse into the world of clowns through a three-tiered workshop:
- Awaken the joy of play, which is the driving energy that thrusts the clown on stage;
- Break the fourth wall and meet the audience;
- Accomplish a feat in front of your astonished spectators, the complexities of which are known only to you.

Theatrical Improv Workshops with Canadian Improv Games
1:00 p.m.and 3:00 p.m.
Studio
in English
Learn about and participate in a hands-on workshop in theatrical improv. Learn the art of improvised plays and skits using not much more than your imagination, sense of humour and a few simple props.
Duration: approximately 1 hour each

Percussion Workshops with Jean‑Sébastien Dallaire
1:00 p.m.and 3:00 p.m.
Theatre
Creativity alert! Using a classroom chair as an instrument, participants’ creative imagination is stimulated into action. With a pair of drumsticks, participants are asked to discover as many ways as possible of doing music on or with their chair. Using everyone’s ideas, little by little the group builds a choreography.
Duration: approx. 1 hour each

NAC’s Institute for Orchestral Studies
3:00 p.m.
Main Lobby Stage
Enjoy a performance of chamber music given by the Apprentices of the Institute for Orchestra Studies. These five aspiring orchestral musicians will be “apprentice” members of the NAC Orchestra for 11 weeks during the 2013-14 season. This performance will include repertoire the apprentices are preparing for the NAC Orchestra’s upcoming China Tour. A question and answer session will follow the performance.
Duration: approximately 30 minutes

Come and Sing with a Massed Choir
with Jackie Hawley, Artistic Director of the Cantiamo Girls Choir of Ottawa
3:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m.
Southam Hall stage
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!

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 27, 28 and 29, 2013, 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