Just over 100 dancers from ages two to 34 took the stage at École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge on Thursday evening for the second of three consecutive performances of the Corriveau School of Dance’s year-end show.

Historically, the event has been a two-night affair, but this year a third performance was added because both shows last year sold out in record time. This year’s additional night also sold out.

Before the show, the performers, teachers, and parents were bustling backstage, finishing hair and makeup, warming up, and making sure all the props and outfit changes were ready to go. Some of the dancers would only have one number between their own, a short time to change into entire costumes.

By 5 p.m., the lineup of keen ticket holders had already begun to form, and by the time the doors to the auditorium opened, the line ran out the school doors into the parking lot.

At 6:30 p.m. sharp, as family and friends flooded in to find the best seats, tiny feet could still be heard tapping behind the tall curtain, signs of the performance to come, before the friendly chatter of attendees drowned them out.

The show began with the piece performed by the dance school’s elite group, Ivy League, which began to tell the story of the show’s 2025 theme: The Wizard of Oz. What followed was a medley of pieces in different styles, rhythms and tempos of dance.

The stage welcomed 35 numbers of acro, ballet, jazz, tap and Irish dance, hip-hop, swing, and African-style pieces, all of which were met with encouragement and enthusiasm from the audience.
Notably, the crowd rhythmically chimed in by clapping along as the Ivy League group performed an Irish dance number to the song Heave Away.

Natacha Corriveau, who opened the school with her mother Cindy Corriveau in 1997, now teaches alongside her sisters, Samantha, Geniviève (Geni), and her two sons who do some assistant teaching as well.
Natacha said she tells her students to just have fun out there, that they have all worked very hard for this.

“Just smile and have a good time, don’t stress about the little things,” she said.

She explained how sometimes the students will get overwhelmed with little mistakes.

“I always use this expression, like Fight Club, you know, ‘What happens in dance class stays in dance class.’ So we know our mistakes, but they don’t know our mistakes,” Natacha said with a laugh.

This year’s lead dancer, Olivia Draper, said she would share similar advice with some of the younger girls.

“Don’t be nervous and just smile,” she said. Draper has been dancing for 13 years and held the lead role of Dorthy in this year’s title performance of Wizard of Oz.

A special dance dedicated to Annabelle St-Cyr, a member of the dance school who passed away in January 2023 at the age of 15 after contracting meningitis, was performed by the school’s Ivy League to commemorate their friend, with whom many of the school’s dancers once shared the stage.

This year, the Annabelle St-Cyr memorial scholarship was awarded to dancer Alexie Savoie-Morin.
To be considered for the scholarship, students are tasked with writing a letter describing how they live by Annabelle’s values, which is then submitted to the parents of Annabelle for consideration for the award.

“She always played a character, she always practiced hard, and she was hilarious,” Natacha said about Annabelle.

“If I ever gave her a move or gave her something, I didn’t have to ask twice, she always came back with it exactly perfect,” she said remembering back to when Annabelle played the part of The Cloud in Trolls.

“He [her character] does this crazy handshake, and he’s like, fist bump, and then he’s like, turkey, and jellyfish and all these different hands. I showed her one time, and she came back and knew it.”

“We want the [winning] dancer to show how you live by her ways, how committed you are to your craft,” she said.

The parents of the dancers take turns volunteering backstage to help ensure all the dancers are ready, so that others can watch them perform from the audience.

“We’re really like one big dance family here,” laughed Vickie Soucie, whose 10-year-old daughter has been dancing for eight years.

She said something special about the school is not only watching friendships form between the girls, but also between the parents.

Many students who were recognized at the end of the performance wore shirts embossed with the slogan never missed the chance to dance – a credit to students’ commitment to the school, by never missing a single practice all season, or multiple seasons in some cases.

Before the final two numbers, Cindy and Natacha Corriveau came before the audience to thank the dancers and the parents for their commitment to the school. Cindy explained that by putting your kid into something, whether that be sports or dance, you teach them commitment, and with that, they will grow up to be responsible adults.

The high energy finalé of the evening, in which all dancers joined onstage, a few at a time, by performing one last act, was matched by an equal amount of energy from adoring members of the crowd as they flooded the stage with many flowers and congratulations.