Lively rhythms, glittering costumes and mesmerizing dances wowed the audience at Bollywood, a community dance production held on Wednesday and Thursday evenings this week.
This was the second year for Flin Flon’s Bollywood, a show designed by Dr. Chaitasi Intwala, general practitioner, ER physician and obstetrician at Flin Flon General Hospital.
The event takes its name from a commonplace name for the Indian filmmaking industry, and particularly its musical films, which are punctuated with colourful song-and-dance scenes.
Intwala, an experienced dancer, choreographed all of the dances, coordinated the costumes, and participated in five of the seven dances on Wednesday evening.
The event is a major fundraiser for the Flin Flon emergency room redevelopment project. Provincial policy mandates that the community fundraise $2.2 million, or 10 per cent of the cost of the project.
Brent Lethbridge, chair of the Northern Health Foundation, the organization managing fundraising for the project, addressed the crowd throughout the night.
He expressed gratitude for the donations received already, and implored residents to contribute to the project, which still requires $750,000.
“It will be a reality,” said Northern Health Region CEO Helga Bryant of the project, affirming that the provincial government is fully committed to building a new ER in Flin Flon.
While the new ER was the reason for the event, the dances were what brought audiences out in droves to the RH Channing auditorium, with approximately 310 attendees on the opening night. Thursday featured an additional treat for audiences: a dance by members of the Flin Flon Bombers.
