Why you should listen
Trevor Copp was a full-time ballroom dance instructor and regional Fred Astaire's Canada American Style Latin/Ballroom Champion. He retired from teaching to pursue his love of theater and now runs Tottering Biped Theatre, a professional theater company emphasizing social justice and highly physical work in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Copp has performed in over 30 international cities and theater festivals. The salsa scene keeps him dancing, however. Locally, he coaches the World Salsa Champions, and internationally he's an avid salsa tourist, having danced it in 13 countries so far.
Copp and Jeff Fox met as colleagues during their shared tenure with Fred Astaire's Canada and remained friends after Copp retired from teaching. They would dance at social occasions where they developed their "playing fair" method of sharing the lead, which caught the eye of local dramaturge, Lisa O’Connell. Thus began the theatrical collaboration which led to the creation of a full-length Ballroom Dance/Theatre production, "First Dance," about the development of the first dance for a same sex wedding. Through building the show they formalized their "Liquid Lead" concept and continue to tour the piece at regional professional theaters, festivals and even as part of an international dance festival in Tirana, Albania. In 2015 Alida Esmail, a former student of Copp's, championed the TEDx Montreal proposal and graciously volunteered to help the Fox and Copp demonstrate their work on the TEDx stage.
