This event turned out to be a surprise. When I went to photograph it last Sunday, I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be a fun experience that I really enjoyed. White Bird celebrated its 15th anniversary of bringing the best dance from around the world by presenting "Le Grand Continental," a thrilling line dance choreographed by critically acclaimed Canadian choreographer Sylvain Emard. There were two 30-minute performances, danced by 160 non-professional members of the Portland metropolitan community, of different ages and backgrounds. The dancers rehearsed for several months to prepare for the performances. There was a tremendous crowd, which I suspect was a result of the 160 members of the dance group constantly upgrading their status on Facebook and Twitter for the past few months. I saw thousands of photographs taken. It would be fascinating to know how many photographs posted on social media outlets of this event. Viewing space was at a premium, and people had to resort to finding unusual places to view the dancing.
