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Upcoming Acronaire Home Show features collaboration among students

The Easter-themed performance takes place next week
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ASTOUNDING - The Acronaires will take to the stage

BY KALISHA MENDONSA

Lacombe Express

The Acronaires are working hard to prepare for their annual Home Show, which has a number of special features this year.

The performance will take place on April 15th, and will also feature a number of other student groups from Burman University as they work together to carry through the Easter theme.

The Home Show is free to attend, and will take place in the Burman University P.E. Centre at 7 p.m.

“This season, our Home Show is going to be an encompassing Easter production. The Acronaires will feature other parts of the University, such as an acting group, a sign-language performing group, as well as a praise-singing group. We’re all doing the Easter show together,” said Richard Gray, one of the lead organizers and coaches with the Acronaires.

Gray said he’s very excited to be able to bring together these many different groups from the campus, because it allows the community as a whole to get a better appreciation of the local talents.

“I was a student leader when I was in University at Burman. I was on the Acronaires, but also involved in other parts of campus. I always felt as though it’s good for the campus to come together, and it builds up school morale to do that. When we come together to put on something for the community, it’s beneficial for all of us.

“I also think it’s great for people to be able to see the kind of community and camaraderie that we have on campus - not just in the Acronaires.”

The event will focus on Easter and specifically encourage people to always look a little bit further when they are feeling lost or disappointed, Gray said.

“Nearly everyone has heard Jesus’ death story, in either a loose form or a more dedicated understanding. With that in mind, I’d like people to imagine how Jesus’ followers might have felt when he died. They expected him to come and take over, but when he died they would have been in massive shock,” he began.

“I think people can apply that to their own lives, too. When Jesus doesn’t come through for them, or they feel like he hasn’t, it’s important for them to realize they aren’t the only ones who have felt this. However, He always will come through.”

The performance will carry this theme throughout, however it is open to all community members of different faiths and creeds to enjoy.

Each Acronaire Home Show is a little different than the last, but they all carry a very similar theme throughout: an excellent performance. This year promises to be no different, as Gray and the rest of the troupe have been preparing hard to give another stunning performance this month.

Acronaires are primarily acrobatics performers who focus on slow, calculated strength movements, mixed with stunting - high energy, and quick moves such as tosses or flipping.

Gray said the team works hard to bring in new ideas and to offer a show that all guests can enjoy.

“We’re sort of like a refined acrobatic circus. We try to involve as many different types of performance and skills that we can - we work hard to not limit ourselves,” he said.

The group uses performance tools such as lyras - suspended circular hoops - as well as blocks or elevation tools to bring a wide variety of showmanship to the audience. They move between group formations, doubles, trios and individual highlights to captivate and engage the audience in their performances.

However, as Gray points out, they are the only sport team on the campus that is not driven by competition.

Rather, the team is driven by self-improvement, supporting one another and recognizing the amazing potential of hard work.

“For some athletes, it can be hard to measure if they are doing well or hard to know how to gauge their skills. That’s where championships and things come into play. For us, we are performers. I always try to emphasize the fact that we can only be better than our last day,” Gray said.

He explained that this philosophy translates into the personal lives of the performers, as well.

“It’s not about someone trying to out-shine someone else or compare their performance to another person’s. It’s a personal growth, and about becoming<span c