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When she completed medical school and began working at the Montreal Chest Institute, Marie Weber probably didn’t think it would mean taking a line dancing lesson.
But Weber was one of about 30 employees who donned straw cowboy hats during their lunch break on Thursday and tried line dancing with the help of an experienced dance teacher. Weber will be part of a group representing the MCI at the annual MUHC’s Got Talent show, a fundraiser Nov. 5 at the Beanfield Theatre (formerly known as the Corona Theatre) in Little Burgundy. The group got a dance lesson from the Winslow Dancers, who will be part of the Lasso Montreal country music festival next month. Evenko, which puts on Lasso Montreal, arranged for the dance lesson.
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“We want to dance for people who can’t dance, and hopefully people will be inspired to give generously” said Weber, a family doctor who works at the institute. “It was my first time line dancing. I liked wearing the hat.”
Weber said she’s looking forward to the event, but as she is not a dancer, she hopes to be able to get a lot of practice time before performance day.
While several dozen people participated in the lesson on Thursday, only about 14 will be part of the line dancing act when they go on stage on Nov. 5. They will hone their line dancing routine until then.
Each team that participates in the event chooses its own charity it wishes to support through sponsors. The MCI group chose to raise money for itself, with money pegged for lung regeneration research and pulmonary rehabilitation. All teams are vying for two prizes: for fundraising champions as well as the fan favourites of the night. Ticket sales also go towards the MUHC foundation.
“Beyond the money that is raised, there’s also camaraderie,” said Marie-Hélène Laramée, the CEO of the MUHC Foundation. “For them to laugh and sing with each other. They work so hard here, to have a moment of levity in their day is a way for them to be happy. I’m very excited to see how they progress from here.”
Tarah Schwartz, who hosts the event, said Thursday’s practice was a way for would-be performers to shake off some of the nervousness that they have about performing.
“I think this will give them some confidence, because they are going to be performing on stage in front of 500 people. Some of them have never been on a stage before,” Schwartz said.
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