Finally! After two years of Zoom rehearsals, followed by outdoor rehearsals in hula hoops, then indoor rehearsals in masks and more hula hoops, Westcoast is now on the risers, with energy and enthusiasm like never before as we prepare in earnest for International in Phoenix.

The last time we checked in with you, we had just cancelled our first coaching weekend in two years with Ryan Heller because of the ever-shifting provincial guidelines. A couple of months later, we had to move from an in-person coaching weekend with Erin Howden to Zoom. How do you coach visual performance on Zoom? Well, Erin does, extremely well!

The cancelled weekend with Ryan Heller finally happened in April, and was it ever exciting! Ryan told us we hadn’t lost anything in the two years since he’d seen us. How could that be? It’s because of our brilliant director, Anne Downton, who made sure we maintained and improved our skills throughout the pandemic.

Then in May, we were coached by the one-and-only Lori Lyford, director of Scottsdale Chorus. That, too, was a weekend to remember—so many new skills, so much enlightenment!

And our coaching isn’t over, not by any means. Both Ryan and Erin will be back with us in the next few months in the run-up to Phoenix. Lori Lyford assured us that this International will be like nothing before—fresh, exciting, new! We can’t wait!