658 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2022
in minor sports and hockey coaching. Danny Zack was active in Maccabi
Canada, an organization devoted to developing Jewish identity and future
leaders through sport. Perry, meanwhile, had enrolled his daughter Lisa in
a summer musical theatre program. There were things that Perry liked
about the program, and things he did not. He therefore set about designing
a program that he would want his own kids to be in.
Initially, Perry founded a show choir for teens called Sound Sensation in
1994 together with Simon Isherwood, who ran a drama program at Notre
Dame Secondary School. Sound Sensation performed at the World Figure
Skating Championship and started a Canada Day performance tradition at
Canada Place that has continued for nearly 30 years.
Perry had previously witnessed musical programs focused on competition
and creating stars. He saw only a few who might be elevated and many
who were defeated. He therefore wanted to create a program where the ultimate
goal was not to create musical theatre professionals, but to help young
people develop their self-esteem, work collaboratively, learn to focus and
benefit from a sense of accomplishment. Perry wanted to set young people
up for success.
To these ambitious ends, Perry approached the Jewish Community Centre
in Vancouver about establishing a musical theatre program for kids aged
9-19. While he feels it was no different than the father who wants to coach
his kids in sports, Perry actually set about creating the entire league, developing
the rules of the game they would be playing and populating the pitch
with coaches and mentors to develop the various skills necessary for the
kids to become the best players.
Perry assembled an impressive list of educators, actors, musicians and
choreographers as his “faculty”. He took on the role of overall director,
which has evolved over the years to “impresario”. His initial goal with Gotta
Sing! Gotta Dance! was to get 25 kids to sign up so as to break even. He got
72. Do not let the title of “impresario” fool you. Perry is the heart of Gotta
Sing! Gotta Dance! He is the person who puts fire into the bellies of the
young performers. Perry is all about positivity and energy. He invites kids
to go all in, to believe in themselves and also in one another. He invites
them to overcome whatever shortcomings they may think they have and to
commit to the event they are staging.
With a ratio of one faculty member to ten students, Gotta Sing! Gotta
Dance! is a safe environment for young people. Perry wants to pass on what
he knows, and what he knows is that hard work and dedication pay off. He
comes from a time “when dinosaurs ruled the earth,” he says, so he is “no
nonsense.” You will not find a smartphone or iPad in sight during