By Joanne Oostveen - The Weekly News
A group of local gymnasts are gearing up for the biggest show of their lives.
Nineteen members of Dartmouth's Titans Gymnastics and Trampoline Club have been chosen to perform in the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo next month.
"This year it is a little bit different," said Titan's head coach Susie Gallagher. "The gymnasts will be performing with the world famous Sapeur Pompiers."
The Pompiers are professional firefighters who perform 30 shows around the world every year. They are a breath taking act who manage to combine firefighting skills with ladders and other equipment into an edge of your seat display of bravery and strength, said Tattoo production coordinator Jim Forde.
"It is a world class mentoring opportunity that is an incredible privelege for youngsters in Halifax and Dartmouth to be able to work with the best in the world," said Forde.
The routine will be a three minute extravanganza of tumbling and athletics, said coach Gallagher. And the group has been practicing hard and is ready for their nine nights of performing, she said.
Gymnast Sophie Jobin,18, said she cannot wait to perform at the Tattoo. This is her second year performing at the event and said she hopes she can pull it off with no accidents and no mistakes.
"There will be 34 Pompiers and we will run out, jump and we will be flipping over them while they are tumbling over us," she said. "It will take a lot of leg strength."
Ten-year-old Kassidy Gallagher is excited that she too will get to perform at the Tattoo with the world famous group.
"I love to perform and the Tattoo is a big show," she said. "I have to tumble and it is going to take a lot of practice."
As a newcomer, Kassidy said she knows she has to be on her mark and do everything right. But along with the nervousness she cannot help but smile through her excitement.
"I have been involved in gymnastics my whole life," said Kassidy. "It will be so much fun to show the world what we can do."
Forde said it is an honour for local performers to be attached to an event like the Tattoo.
"Over the past 31 years the musical community in Nova Scotia has benefitted from the Tattoo," he said. The same thing is now being achieved through direct contact between incredible international gymnasts and local youth groups taking part in the Tattoo."
joanneoostveen@accesswave.ca
