Project Dance's tribute to a fallen Sudbury miner has earned this year's people's choice award from the Federation of Dance Competitions (FDC), Northern Life has learned.
“A Tribute to Jordan Fram” earned accolades as the Sudbury region's People's Choice routine and went up against 28 other routines from across North America, vying for an international title with the FDC.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the local dance school's emotional routine earned Project Dance the FDC People's Choice Online Vote and an expenses-paid trip, courtesy of Thunderstruck Canada, to Cancun, Mexico in September to participate in the annual FDC Gala.
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A routine — A Tribute to Jordan Fram — performed by the competitive team at Project Dance (pictured), has earned international recognition from the Federation of Dance Competitions. Supplied photo.
The award-winning routine pays tribute to miner Jordan Fram who, along with Jason Chenier, lost his life in an accident in Vale's Stobie Mine on June 8, 2011.
The dance was choreographed by Maegan Fram, Project Dance owner and Jordan Fram's sister-in-law. It tells the story of a girl who yearns to see a loved one who has passed on.
"But all she has to do is ... look up to the sky and know they're there with her," Fram told Northern Life in June.
"It reminded me that no matter how much I miss (Jordan) and how badly I want him back, I know he's always here with us and always in our hearts and beside us, watching us and looking over us."
Maegan began choreographing the routine last fall as a way to honour her brother-in-law. She said of all the routines she has choreographed, the tribute was by far the most difficult to conceptualize.
“We are honoured to win for our team, the studio and for Jordan,” she said. “(The routine) has a very special meaning for me and my family.”
Fram said she was told by Thunderstruck Canada that of all the routines entered into the annual competition over the years, “A Tribute to Jordan Fram” received the most votes ever. It led by as much as 40 per cent of the votes during the competition period.
Fram said she knew the piece was emotional, and knew it would be meaningful for Greater Sudbury residents who were familiar with the routine's origin, but she did not realize how powerful it was until she witnessed the audience reaction, both in Sudbury and beyond.
“When we performed it, you could hear a pin drop,” she said.
Although the dancers will not perform the routine at the Cancun gala, the video of the routine will be showcased for those attending the event.
