Joseph Goble just had to take a shot but it sure paid off.
The 18-year-old Smithereen had heard through a friend that there may have been an opportunity to be a part of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Several months later Goble, a product of Creative Roots in Smithers, was in front of 60,000 people at GM Place tapping away while famous punk fiddler Ashley MacIsaac strummed away at his fiddle.
The segment was called Rhythms of the Fall, a dedication to the autumn season.
Goble said he applied in September and it wasn’t until November that he received an e-mail back asking if he could make an audition on short notice.
Goble’s workplace was understanding of this opportunity and allowed him the time off for him to go to Vancouver and join 120 other dancer-hopefuls.
“At the end of it we all had these numbers on our chest ... and [they] called four numbers, one of them was my number,” said Goble.
They asked if he wanted to be a part of the performance and the answer came naturally.
Two hours later was the first rehearsal.
Goble has been a dancer with Creative Roots since he was seven-years-old,
“At that age I was just a really hyper, crazy kid running all over the place.”
His mom thought he was too young to go into soccer so he started dance classes and he kept with it because he liked it.
His parents were rewarded with their choice of hobby for their son by getting tickets to a dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony.
“When I first got there I was just ‘oh, wow, I don’t know if I can do this’,” said Goble about starting rehearsals after being picked.
It only took a few days for him to get into the swing of things and build up his confidence.
“I still don’t understand half the things I was doing,” he admitted. “I need to watch the footage and see some of the aerial shots.”
The perspective of being on the main stage was a lot different than for spectators above, he said.
“Once we were in the stadium, it was just kind of overwhelming how big it was,” he said. “You watch on TV and it looks big but you just don’t really get it.”
Goble hopes to enroll in a “triple threat” arts school –acting, dancing and singing.