NLDA dancers to showcase latest collaboration with the band

By Robert Williams

Editor

Despite being separated by 900 miles, Frazee’s Northern Lights Dance Academy and Detroit, Michigan’s the Lion Heart Experience have used technology and a shared commitment to mental health awareness to collaborate together through original music and choreography.

Another anomaly, given the distance, is that Frazee and Vergas Event Centers provided a springboard for Lion Heart to find the transition between dynamic school performances and impactful community events.

“Performing at the Event Center two years ago was a big deal for me because up to that point we had done evening concerts, but we were really nervous about them as a group,” Producer and Lead-Presenter Joe Vercellino said. “Sometimes it was just a couple students and their grandma. Every time we do an evening performance we get very self-reflective as a group because this is where we really get to see if people believe in us.”

The difference is being scheduled to perform in front of students who must attend and performing for willing fans and ticket buyers.

“In a school, everyone has to be there. You can have thousands of students but they don’t have another option. We have to win them over,” said Vercellino. “At the Event Center, this is where we really get to see if people believe in us and what we do. That night, there were over 300 people there and it was life-changing for us. We got to have a taste of what we believe our group could be in communities around the country. To have that first experience in Frazee was special to us and that’s why we always make an effort to get back there.”

NLDA Assistant Director Kiala Rae Velde saw Lion Heart after a hint from her mother dance coach Ta Fett.

“I remember thinking this has got some beat and I could use that in the studio,” said Velde. “I think we could use that in class, but that was the end for me. I got to see them; they were really cool and I could use their music in class sometime.”

Vercellino met some of the dancers at the show and got Velde’s contact information to discuss working together in the future.

“When we’re at our shows, this is very common for a lot of performers; we’re humbled by the people who decide to take their time and spend their money being able to come and view and participate with a group like ours,” said Vercellino. “I had heard in Frazee, Perham and Detroit Lakes that there was a dance crew and that they were an award-winning championship dance crew.”

Velde and her team of instructors have earned industry awards for their productions, along with multiple teams bringing national performance championships back to Frazee, Perham and Park Rapids.

“I don’t know why we would not be collaborating with them, because part of what we are as a group is we love to build connections, creating live art and live music,” Vercellino said. “If there is an opportunity to create something original in a space we’re going to try to collaborate to make that happen. When we were at the event, the dancers came and skipped their technique class. It was very genuine of me to be able to run up there. I was extremely honored that this dance team would come and spend time with us and see what we do and what we bring.”

Vercellino and his band began the collaboration by constructing a song and sending it to Velde and choreography partner Greta Nelson. The dancers added the choreography and it would continue back-and-forth with edits on both sides.

“By the end, we had a custom built song that was uniquely our group, but also 100 percent based off of the movements and creativity of Kiala and her dancers,” Vercellino said.

On Lion Heart’s next visit to Frazee, they debuted “Cold Streets” with NLDA.

“Our dancers know what a privilege it is to get opportunities like this,” said Velde. “We’re a small town studio and to get to work with other artists is a big thing. Art is art and I love everyone that is creative. That’s why I was always drawn to Lion Heart. They’re creating something from nothing and that’s how I feel. Not only are we getting to create a dance to a song that no one’s ever heard but every week Joe would send me another edit with some extra beats and it brought so much energy in our room. Talent only takes us so far. The Lion Heart brought more heart to the studio. It’s more than just winning the medals.”

NLDA dancers saw six performances by Lion Heart in the area and were both touched by the message and each show was different and with a different audience.

“It was fun for the girls to be a part of it,” Velde said.

“Cold Streets” make “our song” between the two groups.

Lion Heart is more than a performance group; they are a premier mental health resource for schools. Because of that, they regularly have to win over audiences.

“It’s a very common experience for us to have 700 teenagers and teachers who are missing their prep period and bothered that they have to be there,” said Vercellino. “To find a way to move their hearts, inspire them, and win the room so that in 90 minutes everyone is happy that they were there and would have been bummed if they missed it.”

The show coming up at the Perham Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 9 is a completely different experience.

“It’s already a win because everybody that is coming is spending their money and time to come and see us,” Vercellino said.

Finding success in rural America has been an unexpected delight for a group created in the inner city of Detroit.

“Lion Heart was created out of my Detroit classroom,” Vercellino said. “We’re from the inner city and when I started creating music with my students and performing I thought The Lion Heart Experience was going to take off in the inner cities of America. We thought we would be in Chicago and New York because of our natural grittiness as a group, our style of music and our way of interacting with audiences. We thought it would be an immediate hit with the inner cities, yet, over the last five years when we look back at all of the places that have booked us, we have found ourselves traveling out to the fathers, most rural places in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado and somehow this tiny, inner city music group has become a hit in small town American and that’s an honor for us. It’s not somewhere or something we would have envisioned for ourselves. Like Kiala was saying with the dancers, we’re here for the adventure and the experience and we are interested to see wherever our talents and relationships will take us.”

Vercellino highlighted coming to small towns like Frazee, Vergas, Perham and Detroit Lakes as a contrast to their lives in the inner city. 

“To get to see the rest of the world in a way we don’t get to experience here is very special,” he said. “We cherish that.”

NLDA Elite and Hip Hop teams will be performing two new songs “Rollercoaster” and “Ashes” at the upcoming Perham show.

The online collaboration combining the dancers with the music is done in little pieces with the Lion Heart production team in Nashville. A new beat from an edit might add a dance move and the dancers moves and interpretations in part allow Joe to add sound effects or riffs to match the movements.

According to Vercellino, “Rollercoaster” is a very high energy song about life being crazy and embracing the ups and downs, while “Ashes” is more lyric-focused, about repeatedly giving the best of yourself to people who don’t really appreciate who you are.

“Which is a relatable experience for a lot of individuals who pride themselves in being a good friend, supporter or partner,” he said.

The Lion Heart Experience and NLDA dancers will be sprucing up the Perham Auditorium with a special lighting setup and performing some of their songs in ways fans have not heard before. 

“I’m looking forward to being in the auditorium because it’s a little more intimate than a gym and people are paying for tickets,” said Vercellino. “We’re truly giving them a show. They’re coming to see a performance.”

For more information on either group visit: www.thelionheartexperience.com and nldadance.com/

Lion Heart Experience with NLDA will be performing at the Perham High School Auditorium at 200 5th Street SE on Monday, Dec. 9. Merchandise will be available at 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. The groups will perform from 6:30-8 p.m.

There are 150 presale tickets ($15) available at The Monarch Coffee House in Frazee and the Perham High School Activities office and there will be 200 more available at the door.