Doris Michaux doesn’t get out as much as she used to. So when she does, she hopes it will be a fulfilling experience.
Michaux, 90, got her wish Wednesday when the Baptist Housing Society brought a busload of seniors to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church to join 200 others her age and younger — all the way down to two — at Tea for Tutu.
She came prepared to fully appreciate Ballet Victoria’s fourth such wheelchair-accessible event of its kind this season at Kirk Hall, where seniors and families got to see excerpts from A Secret Garden followed by tea and baked goods.
“I watched The Secret Garden [movie] last night,” she said. “So I knew what was going on. It was very good.”
Artistic director Paul Destrooper said the free 45-minute teaser for next weekend’s The Secret Garden performances at McPherson Playhouse was win-win, doubling as a warm-up for 10 dancers and making ballet more accessible.
“It doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada,” Destrooper said. “We started doing outreach a few years ago and realized a whole segment of the population — youth and seniors who can’t spend two hours sitting down — were missing out.”
Seeing youth and seniors socializing while sharing an arts experience has proven more popular than they anticipated, he said. Wednesday’s crowd included 95 visitors from senior centres, 32 independent seniors, 35 kids and 36 adults.
They couldn’t pull it off without community support, however. It cost about $10,000 to put the volunteer-driven program together, including purchase of a stage, lighting and other technical equipment to improve the audience experience.
Sponsors include the provincial government, Heritage Canada and New Horizon federally, RBC Foundation, Greater Victoria Savings Credit Union, and businesses such as Thrifty Foods, The Market on Yates and Origin Bakery.
Principal dancer Andrea Bayne, who plays Mary in The Secret Garden, said it’s a joy performing for such a crowd.
“To watch the genuine happiness on their faces is overwhelming,” she said. “It’s kind of our gift to the community.”
Katie Wilton, who brought her son Eli, a Selkirk Montessori kindergarten student, applauded the preview.
“It was also nice to have that inter-generational aspect where kids and seniors come together.”
Bethany LeCorre, dressed in white to play the ghost mother, was greeted after the performance by her mother Alison and grandmother Mollie Medcalf. She said they’ve been coming to her performances since she was four.
They were accompanied by family friend Susan Binns, who usually comes into town from Sidney to volunteer at the SPCA.
“This was phenomenal and breathtaking, much better than I had expected,” Binns said. “It was just magical.”
Jean Brown, 88, said the ballet sampler took her back to her 25 years as a professional dancer.
“I’d love to be up there doing it with them,” she admitted. “You never lose it. But I know those guys couldn’t lift me up now.”
