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Rupert dancer lands role on “Freaky Friday”

Hannah Cam was chosen to be a dancer on the musical adaptation of the popular movie
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Hannah Cam was selected to dance in the musical adaptation of “Freaky Friday”, which was shot in November 2017 for the Disney Channel. (Submitted photo)

Hannah Cam’s dance career soared in 2017 when she was selected for a role on a popular film Disney is converting into a musical.

Cam, an alumni of Spectrum Dance Academy, was a backup dancer for several scenes in the remake of Freaky Friday — which was originally released in 1976 before being remade in 2003.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a movie,” Cam said. “I’ve auditioned for so many over the past few years and I didn’t think that Disney would be the first movie that I’d get to be in so it’s really exciting.”

Cam said she auditioned for the role in September 2016 with more than 100 other dancers from the province and western United States. The group was given combinations and choreography to perform while the instructors eliminated dancers from the group.

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By the end of the day, Cam was one of 10 dancers remaining from the original 100 who were called back for a second audition the next day. She returned, and the group focused on more combinations to get an idea of how the dancers would be able to work on set with the movie’s choreographer.

“They said there was a chance I had the part, and if I heard back in a month, I had it,” she said.

A month later, Cam received the good news. She said she did not believe the person on the phone at first, but once she received an email with the rehearsal schedule, she knew she the part was hers.

“I called my family right away,” she said. “I told my mom, my dad, my teacher. It was a really exciting moment for me.”

Rehearsals started two days after Thanksgiving with a rigorous training schedule consisting of 12-15 hours days. Even though the work was demanding — she would sometimes begin shooting at 2 p.m. and wrap at 2 a.m. — Cam said she learned from the more experienced dancers she worked with.

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“Everyone was welcoming,” she said. “And being able to work with other dancers from Toronto, L.A. and Vancouver was great.”

Since the shoot finished at the end of November, Cam has been working and training in Vancouver. She said getting her first job motivated her to audition for more parts and keep the momentum going in her career. She added that she plans to find an agent to help her get more jobs in the future.

“Before I didn’t really think I’d be able to be in a movie and didn’t push myself to go to auditions when I had an opportunity,” she said. “Now I’m wanting more of it.”



matthew.allen@thenorthernview.com

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