Red Army

Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble

We started work 2 years or more ahead of this Autumn 1989 tour of the Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble. Communications at that time with the USSR were via telegram, fax, or diplomatic pouch. It was a slow process, and very exacting. The Red Army ensemble had last been to Canada 14 years prior and had never toured the USA. We dealt with picketing at many stops - 13 cities in Canada alone. But Canada's David Foster wrote a song for peace, "Love is the Light of the World" and had traveled to Moscow in January 1989 to teach it to the ensemble. The Chorus also sang Gilles Vigneault's "Mon Pays". It was a big group, 80 male voices, a mixed dance ensemble of 45 and a 45 piece orchestra. They traveled with 3 tonnes of equipment, sets and costumes "to provide an authentic folk theatre experience." The dancing from various folk traditions was astonishing, the sound soaring.