Dancers, actors and acrobats fly across the stage in perfect unison, creating a mystifying blend of performance art and athletics.

The Okanagan Rhythmic Gymnastics (ORG) Club and Cirque Theatre Company is bringing its rendition of Pinocchio to the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre stage Nov. 24-25.

With roots in the classic Italian yarn, the club brings together talented actors and current rhythmic gymnastics Team Canada stars to create the captivating performance experience.

sa国际传媒淥ne thing I really found from coming from a high performance background is kids feel, sa国际传媒極h, I did sports, I cansa国际传媒檛 do that,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� said the showsa国际传媒檚 producer, director, choreographer and ORG head coach who competed in the sa国际传媒�96 Olympics in Atlanta. sa国际传媒淚 think the lines are way blurrier than we think.sa国际传媒�

And itsa国际传媒檚 an arts and athletics marriage that has sparked success for Martens and ORG, who have put on their yearly performance since 2000, consecutively filling more than 3,000 seats since their 2010 performance of Wonka.

This year is no exception, with the performancesa国际传媒檚 three special school-only shows filling up on the first day.

sa国际传媒淲e had to say no to a whole school,sa国际传媒� Martens said. sa国际传媒淚t used to be like, I wonder if anyone will come.sa国际传媒�

But these shows, which bring buses of students from across the area to the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, arensa国际传媒檛 about the profits.

sa国际传媒淲e donsa国际传媒檛 really make money on the school shows, itsa国际传媒檚 more about community outreach,sa国际传媒� Martens said, adding that she hopes the shows inspire kids to pursue athletics and/or the arts and show that theresa国际传媒檚 always more than one way to do things.

sa国际传媒淕rowing up in a family where we werensa国际传媒檛 told a lot of that, we definitely had more of a sense of letsa国际传媒檚 make our own way of doing it,sa国际传媒� the Vernon product said. sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 do something else. Letsa国际传媒檚 do our own thing.sa国际传媒�

Following Martenssa国际传媒� mantra of carving a new path, the cast of roughly 70 people ranging in age from five to 70 perused the storysa国际传媒檚 multiple versions to craft an ORG-specific screenplay.

sa国际传媒淲e thought at the end of it all, whatsa国际传媒檚 the story we want to tell?sa国际传媒� Martens said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 the whole fun of it. We get to look at the way itsa国际传媒檚 been done.sa国际传媒�

Drawing inspiration from multiple versions of the family-favourite tale, ORGsa国际传媒檚 Pinocchio features Madeline Sellars as the title character, Ben McLean as Grillo the Cricket sa国际传媒� better known as Jiminy Cricket from Disneysa国际传媒檚 take sa国际传媒� Gabriel Newman as Geppetto, Emmalee Holland as the Blue Fairy and Yann Brierley as Stromboli. The show also features renowned Vernon talents Brie-Anne MacPherson, , and Tammy Andreotti.

Itsa国际传媒檚 a show that had been suggested in the past, but Martens said it never felt right, until now.

sa国际传媒淲e had Pinocchio suggested a few times, but I shied away from it because I found it scary as a kid,sa国际传媒� Martens said. sa国际传媒淲hat draws us to it (now) is the whole concept of strings and looking at what does it mean to be real and in what ways do we avoid being real? For us, the metaphor of the strings are a symbol of numbing.sa国际传媒�

Martens asked the kids what they fear the most, and the resounding answer was being embarrassed. Unlike some adults who use drugs and alcohol to escape their problems, Martens said, kids often turn to TV or their devices. Pinocchio is about being true to oneself and breaking down those barriers.

sa国际传媒淟ooking at Pinocchio and his challenges to be honest, brave and generous and watching him go through a whole series of events is sort of joyous,sa国际传媒� Martens said.

sa国际传媒淲e all want to be real and sign up for the full human experience,sa国际传媒� Martens said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 what brought us to this story.sa国际传媒�

ORGsa国际传媒檚 Pinocchio takes the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 25 at 2:30 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $38.25 adult, $25.25 seniors and students, $18.25 child 12-and-under or $80 for a family of four (two adult and two youth passes, not available online) available through the Ticket Seller, 250-549-7469, .