Heroes & Stars
The spirit of Alberta shines through our people; people who inspire each other to realize possibilities and every-day people who become our heroes and stars.
Notable Albertans
Heather Connell & Jocelyn Peden
Small-town roots, big time roles. Two talented Albertans will join the 15 person, all-Canadian, creative team behind the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Considered to be among the best in their field, Fort Saskatchewan’s Jocelyn Peden and Mayerthorpe’s Heather Connell have been named as associate director/head choreographer and associate producer of the dramatic celebrations that will mark the beginning and end of the Paralympic Games.
“We scoured the country for the last six months to find a great Canadian creative team to help bring alive the vision we have,” says David Guscott, executive vice-president, celebrations and partnerships for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “These two women bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team.”
Featuring 5,000 volunteer performers, including performers with a disability, the Ceremonies will embody the achievements of 1,000 athletes from 40 countries who will gather next March to compete for personal bests and Paralympic Gold.
Guscott says the production team wants to inspire the world to “celebrate people realizing possibilities as they watch the top Paralympians aspire to the performances of their lives here in Vancouver and Whistler.”
Heather Connell
Associate Producer
Mayerthorpe
Connell’s onstage career began in 2003 when she was a stage manager at the Western Canada Summer Games. She went on to oversee the ceremonies, medal presentations and protocol portfolios for the 2005 Canada Summer Games and 2007 Canada Winter Games. Prior to accepting this assignment, she worked with VANOC on its mascot launch.
Jocelyn Peden
Associate Director and Head Choreographer
Fort Saskatchewan
Peden’s career in dance has taken her across North America and put her on stage with some of today’s best-known artists. Her dance credits include appearances in the movies The Bodyguard, The 6th Day, The Sixth Man and Dudley Do Right. She has choreographed numerous music videos and performed with Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Vanessa Williams, Paul McCartney, Jay Leno, Bette Midler, Whitney Houston and Steve Winwood.
She is also a former NBA Los Angeles Laker Girl and was the director of the Vancouver Grizzlies Extreme Dance Team. Peden’s choreography works includes the 2010 Olympic Mascot Launch, Legoland Theme parks, 93rd Annual Grey Cup, and the Guangzhou China World Cultural Event. In addition, she has choreographed programs for international figure skaters, including former Canadian Champion, Emmanuel Sandhu. She has also staged multiple live sport productions for VANOC.
Tune in on March 12, 2010 to see what these ingenious Albertans, along with the rest of their creative team, come up with for the ceremony.
