Museum Dance Off: FINAL THUNDERDOME

Just before we step into Museum Dance Off2’s 24-Hour Thunderdome, I just want to take a moment to pause and thank every person who helped get us this far…this is going to be long: In early February, when Museum Dance Off2 was announced, I was equally thrilled and saddened by its timing. This year I felt much more confident in taking on such a project, but knew with school there would be no way to find time to give that project justice. This is where I have to thank Peggy and Kirsten for basically grabbing me by the shoulders and going WE ARE DOING THIS AND WE WILL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY. With them on board we started brainstorming silly ideas - “What if Sir Sam came alive??”- and slowly a proposal started to form. I also have to thank my boss and coworkers for supporting us entirely through this whole process. From the initial pitch to accommodating for production, they were cheering us on and I couldn’t ask for a better situation of freedom to experiment and have everyone support these crazy ideas. The magic really happened when I brought in 2 Media Studies classmates and good friends. You two helped keep me sane and some how managed to understand all my gobbledook ideas. After many walk throughs of the building, navigating and choreography of cameras and people (I still say the Gallery was a ballet of movement), and challenging shots (the chair dolly is the best brain-child of all of us) we became a stronger team. Through a lot of convincing and some arm-twisting, we managed to make this project count for our Internship and Video Production marks at school - opening up the doors to having a longer production schedule, allowing us to dedicate the time and detail we wanted. It became a huge team effort and scheduling circus act and I literally could not have done this without you both. Of course then it came down to filling in the blanks. Our loveable Sir Sam, Libby & Erin added to our gallery dancers. Our Youth Arts Council, Drop In Programs, and March Break Campers all helped make this video sparkle. The energy of those kids were the only thing that kept us going some days. Just when we thought the hardest part was over, I had no idea what would be ahead. “Sir Sam Funk” in its entirety debuted at the Media Studies Spring Showcase (appropriately held at OMAH) with all the support from classmates and our professors. These are the few people who got to see the video throughout production and the feedback from each and every one of you was taken to heart. We uploaded Sir Sam Funk to OMAH’s YouTube Channel on April 9th to meet our submission deadline, knowing that the competition didn’t start until the 20th. What we didn’t take into consideration is the very nature of the internet. Within 24 hours of uploading, the video went slightly viral on Facebook amongst Orillians and the buzz had started. By the time our first Round of competition hit on April 23rd, the video was already pushing 2000 views. Not knowing what to expect in that first Round, we went in slightly blind but that first day was a wonderfully fun adrenaline rush. In every single exhilarating and exhausting round since, I’ve continually said I’m ‘blown away’ by the response - to the point of sounding like a broken record. But it’s so very true. Watching Orillia’s local community band together and get SO excited about it. Watching friends, colleagues, and acquaintances spread word of the competition and just being EXCITED about museums. I need to thank the AMAZING dedicated staff and volunteers who learned the “Art of the Captcha” as I like to call it. My Late Night Voting Party crew deserve a special shout out for being goddamn heroes and allowing others to sleep and be our Early Birds. Kristina & Jamesthank you for crafting the greatest Playlist of all time.

Finally, just thank you to ALL. OF. YOU. Every single person who threw in a vote, who told a friend, who even just watched the video. We were seriously dedicated to dancing like idiots and you all made it so SO worth it.

In all honesty, if we win or lose today - it doesn’t matter. I’m finally seeing my passion and beliefs reflected in the eyes of people: Museums are magical places, you just have to find your passion.

This has been a whirl-wind of a journey and let’s do this one more time. When You Work at a Museum’s ‪#‎MuseumDanceOff2‬ THUNDERDOME: Orillia Museum of Art & History VS. Canadian Museum of Immigration Pier 21

VOTING STARTS AT 9AM EST. 24 HOURS. UNLIMITED VOTING. LETS DO THIS.