.  

With every event we get a chance to refine, improve, and polish the show.  The past and the present intermix with stunning results: each show builds on the triumphant realization of what the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® can do as athletes and entertainers.  In London, Hamilton, and Oshawa, you will get a chance to see “The Most Fun on Four Legs” in their renowned production, Hip Hop Hooray.  If you’ve seen them already this year in Calgary, Vancouver, or Toronto, you’ll know that the SuperDogs^® love the praise and attention they get when performing on stage.  Now you can see them in all their glory once more at four great facilities scattered throughout southern Ontario.

The wonderful thing about the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^®  is that the dogs are free spirits in a structured environment.  When they race, soar, and engage in amusing antics, the show sparkles with hilarious and unexpected delights and surprises cascade from the show floor. That’s why Hip Hop Hooray creates so much excitement everywhere it goes.

So what’s in store for the shows in London, Hamilton, and Oshawa?  Based on our recent success at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, we know the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® are primed and raring to go.  Will Retro master Eaves?  Will Mudpie jump higher than ever over the puissance bars?  Will Baloo get the job done in Gold Rush and Relays?  Will Brew dazzle the crowds with his elegant take on Frisbee freestyle?  The best way to find out is to attend a performance of Hip Hop Hooray during the holiday season.  Tickets are on sale now at the box offices in London, Hamilton, and Oshawa, or online.          

The SuperDogs^® return with their dynamic production, Hip Hop Hooray, already a hit all across the country through the summer months. Sponsored by President’s Choice^®, the show runs three times daily:

Grounded in the traditions of the season and primed to bring cheering families and school groups to their feet with excitement, the show features a stellar cast of dogs of various breeds and sizes with an amazing array of skills as well as numerous delights for the eyes and ears, from its beautiful costumes and dazzling props to its vibrant and eclectic sounds, including the pronounced rhythmic beats of hip hop music.

Whether attending as part of a group or visiting the show with your family, you can enjoy the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® on your own terms. There is something in the show for everyone. With dogs named Buzz, Blitz, and Buddy, Kai, Kobie, and Keno, Puff Daddy, Peanut, and Party, and Traffic, Truman, and Tonks, you can expect just about anything. Many are fan favorites; others are youngsters making their debuts. One thing is for sure: no matter what the names or breeds or sizes of the dogs, they are all trained like athletes and endowed with ineffable grace and charm. You will also see, among others, Slinger the Rottweiler, Groove the Viszla, Quest the Australian Shepherd, and Leap the Ibizan Hound. The myriad skills of the dogs greet you at every turn in the show. Watch how they express themselves through their physical prowess as they run, jump, and retrieve; learn how they use their senses to interact and communicate with their trainers; and enjoy their games, antics, and exuberant play, as they perform every day at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair runs from November 2 to 11 at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall D, at Exhibition Place, Toronto.  

The President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® continues the tradition of celebrating the festive season with a series of full-length shows in southern Ontario.  These include performances in London on November 18, at 4:00 p.m., at the Budweiser Garden; Hamilton on November 24, at 4:00 p.m., at Copps Coliseum; Oshawa on December 28, at 6:00 p.m., at the GM Centre; and Kitchener on December 29, at 6:00 p.m., at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.  Tickets, ranging in price from $15 to $30, will be on sale at the different venues’ box offices and will also be available online.  For more information and updates, visit our website’s Events section.

On December 15 and 16, the SuperDogs^® travel to the United States as well for a series of presentations in Orlando, Florida, at the American Kennel Club’s annual national championship dog show.  Here, in addition to four daily performances, we will debut of our new event, SuperDogs/SuperSoccer, an interactive feature where kids from the audience can put their athletic skills to the test against the dogs.  

We can hardly contain our excitement surrounding these coming events.  Over the course of the summer, the SuperDogs^® have had ample opportunity to find outlets all across the country – and in Indianapolis, too -- for their amazing talents.  Hip Hop Hooray refines and extends many of the show’s most celebrated features, with new twists and interpretations of its unique array of games and events, all enhanced by the production’s kinetic new look and dynamic music.  With experienced and loveable dogs, eye-catching new costumes, state-of-the-art props, dazzling lighting effects, and imaginative set designs, Hip Hop Hooray, starring the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^®, will bring the year to a close in memorable fashion for anyone who attends a performance, whether in southern Ontario, at London, Hamilton, Oshawa, or Kitchener, or in Orlando, Florida.  Keep an eye on our website for updates – and plan now to see the show. 

Despite the seemingly irrepressible nature of the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® and the wild and frenetic pace of the show, Hip Hop Hooray never loses its step or deteriorates into chaos.  Exactly the opposite is true.  At every turn, reassuring patterns of order and stability give the production an imaginative life all its own.  The fundamental appeal of the show is that it channels the natural spontaneity of its skilled and resourceful four-legged stars into structured events, giving the dogs just enough license to be their nimble and exuberant selves.  The tension between athletic prowess and comic shtick, and between purposeful training and the potential for unforeseen results, projects the show into a kind of twilight realm of thrills and excitement.

The Canadian National Exhibition and the Pacific National Exhibition both showcase the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® in prime locations on their grounds.  And it’s no wonder . . . the show is meant to be seen!  Hip Hop Hooray runs until Labour Day at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall D, at Exhibition Place in Toronto, daily at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.; and at the Pacific Coliseum, in Hastings Park,  in Vancouver, daily at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

In Toronto at the Canadian National Exhibition, we saw the Boston terrier Beans outrun a Rottweiler in Relays, a dramatic and completely unexpected finish to an exciting race; we enjoyed Captain Kangaroo lose his way doing barrels, suggesting to more than one audience member that he could do better with a GPS; we cheered when Teacup caught three out of four throws in Frisbee; we gasped when Smash and Smeagal ran for three consecutive ties in Relays; we marvelled when Rally, the Pyrenean shepherd, played mats as a Toronto Maple Leaf . . . and won!  To top it all off, we lapped it up when the puppies Viv (a border collie) and Follie (a mix) invented their own event, Puppy Play for the Crowd.  It was the biggest hit of the day!

In Vancouver at the Pacific National Exhibition, we noticed all the girls in the audience go crazy when the bearded collies, Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake, came out on stage; we gazed in awe when Meaghan with Wynd, Romy with Lily, and Alicia with Sage, took turns doing freestyle dancing to the show’s hip-hop music; we were exhilarated by the antics of Beeker, Tracy’s little Italian greyhound, staking out his place in Musical mats against a host of much larger contenders; and we roared with excitement at Laurel the whippet and Kizmet the Pharaoh hound engaging in some friendly competition in puissance jumping.  Perhaps best of all, we watched Wynd the Border collie float through the weave poles with an elegance that left us breathless and score a perfect ten from the judges.

The thrills and delights of the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® are simply too numerous to summarize adequately.  Come to the Canadian National Exhibition or the Pacific National Exhibition and see for yourself just how enchanting the show’s “moments of glory” can be.  The show runs three times daily in Toronto at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m., and three times daily in Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

Part of the thrill of watching the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® arises from the excitement surrounding the young dogs making their first tentative steps as first-class performers.  It can take one’s breath away.  For the younger dogs, performing before large crowds in a setting with dramatic lighting and the exquisite strains of Hip-Hop music comes with lots of preparation and training despite their tender age.  Indeed, a great deal of behind-the-scenes training gives the young dogs enough self-assurance to step into the spotlight like pros.  Dogs typically enjoy hours of practice – and suddenly they make their debut, like Jane Book’s True did over the first week at the CNE in both Frisbee and Gold Rush, and like Kyla Ballard’s Dexter did in weaves.  Kate Gartley’s Tonks has been clearing nine bars in practice on the puissance jump and will soon make his debut, while Amy White’s Captain Kangaroo recently jumped a personal best of ten bars.  At the PNE, Alex McNeill’s Auto stepped into the limelight for the very first time, 7up the viszla jumped an unprecedented eight bars, and the Sedin boxer twins, Henrik and Daniel, are now doing synchronized high-jumping. 

Long-time favorites among the cast’s performers continue to inspire cheers at their antics and athletic prowess.  At the CNE, Sherry Etifier’s Lady Gaga always puts her own spin on weaves; Jack Jorgensen’s Skeptic remains undefeated in bullseye Frisbee; and Shannen Jorgensen’s mini-Aussie Tea Cup steals the hearts of the audience at every show.  At the PNE, Kizmet the Pharaoh hound has been wowing audiences with his high-jumping skills; Snap, Crackle, and Pop, Lisa Sun’s three little pugs, have been demonstrating skillful pole-weaving abilities, delighting their fans; and Bam Bam the Boston terrier has acquired a reputation for uncouth behaviour during musical mats.  

It’s no wonder the shows at both the Canadian National Exhibition and the Pacific National Exhibition have been sold out all week.  The performers in the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® give back to their loyal fans the ineffable joys of self-renewal, inspired creativity, satisfying doses of unpredictability, and plenty of canine exuberance.

The President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® perform at the Canadian National Exhibition at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall D, at Exhibition Place in Toronto, three times a day at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. They perform three times a day at the Pacific National Exhibition in the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Both shows run until Labour Day.

Just who are these amazing high-flying President’s Choice^® SuperDogs’^®?  First and foremost they are family pets.  Many have been rescued from shelters and humane societies.  Most of all, they are the embodiment of skillful training and the irrepressible bond between owner and canine companion.  The dynamics of the show, from the sets to the vignettes, give the dogs a dazzling forum for their attention-grabbing and hilarious routines.  In Toronto you’ll see, among the many dogs in the show, Mozart, Lady Gaga, and Prada; Meech, Smeagal, and Best; and Monster, Legend, and Teak; and in Vancouver, you’ll see Surf, Rush, and Jacuzzi; Ziggy, Sarge, and Cheech; and Lily, Puff Daddy, and Kismet.  

The dogs and the sets provide the show with a thrilling and glamorous aspect.  The theatrical lighting effects suffuse the scenery and eye-catching costumes with a radiant quality.  Graphic features adorn virtually every component of the theatre and show floor.  Starbursts suggest the creation of something new and exciting.  With the President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^®, that’s exactly what you’ll find as you gaze on the show in all its glorious splendor.  Be sure to catch the excitement!

The President’s Choice^® SuperDogs^® perform at the Canadian National Exhibition at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall D, at Exhibition Place in Toronto, three times a day at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.   They perform three times a day at the Pacific National Exhibition in the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.  Both shows run until Labour Day.     

By Jeff Green, The Province  August 24, 2012 9:35 AM

Justin Bieber is in town - sort of.

A bearded border collie version of the Canadian pop sensation is new to the President's Choice SuperDogs lineup at the Fair at the PNE.

And just like the real Bie-bs, the canine Bieber sits, stands and moves on command. He also comes complete with the mop top Bieber sported when he broke onto the music charts.

"He already had the Bieber cut," claimed producer and host Leonard Chase. "Justin copied him."

Meanwhile, the crowds continue to stay strong as SuperDogs moves into its 35th consecutive year at the PNE.

"There were 22,000 people," boasts Chase, tallying the total audience over the three shows on Monday, the free admission day at the fair.

He credits the numbers on the show's wide appeal to both kids and adults.

"We're the only family entertainment out there that is true family entertainment," said Chase. "The parents love it, the kids love it, the grandparents love it."

For Sonya Charpentier it's a great way to spend the after-noon with her three kids who are fans.

"I love watching them, too," she said.

Daughters Megan, 11, Genea, 8, and Madison, 6, were all front row before the 1: 30 show. The news that a canine Bieber would be in the show drew a barrage of questions.

"Is there an Adam Levine dog?" asked Megan.

"Is there a Selena Gomez?" Madison asked.

It's the kind of response Chase was looking for. He said attention spans in kids have dropped, forcing the show to take on a faster pace and new music. This year's show is called "Hip Hop Hooray."

At the first show with the new music, Chase admitted he was skeptical.

"What am I going to do about this music?," said Chase, describing the pre-show thinking.

And then "Party Rock" by LMFAO started up, and the place went nuts.

SuperDogs, that shares the Pacific Coliseum with the Peking Acrobatics, runs daily at 1: 30, 3: 30 and 7: 30 p.m. Admission is free.