Fun Festival Of Dance!
By Lauren Ashford
On Monday 17th March, the Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare was lit up by dancers from 12 schools across the County. They were taking part in the 9th annual North Somerset Dance Festival (the biggest dance event of the year).
The Dress Rehearsal, Back Stage and The Dressing Rooms
On this marvellous night, there were 12 schools all joining in the fun. They arrived at the Playhouse at 12:30pm on Monday lunchtime, for a dress rehearsal. Allegedly, the other schools went wild when another school came on stage to dance. After a schools performed, they went straight off to their dressing rooms; everyone was so excited! There was only 6 hours and 15 minutes until the real performance…
The Schools That Took Part
There were over 44 schools dancing, over 4 nights of festival fun. Some of the schools taking part were:
- Hutton C of E Primary School
- Yatton Juniors
- Yatton Infants
- Clevedon School
- St Katherine’s
- Westhaven
- Ravenswood
… and many more. All schools were fabulous and they put a lot of effort into their dances.
The Show
The show commenced at 6:45pm on the evening of Monday 17th March, St. Patrick’s Day. The opening act was WesthavenSchool, with their dance to a song from the TV series ‘Glee’. We can safely say the audience were blown away! They were followed swiftly by a performance from St. Katherine’s School and the show was underway.
By far the most popular performances of the night came from the children of Hutton CE Primary School. Their two exceptional dances contrasted strikingly with each other. Their first dance, entitled ‘We Will Remember Them’, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the First World War; an extraordinarily moving and emotional dance. Zoe Hilton, a parent in the audience, commented that “The World War One dance moved me to tears… there was not a dry eye in the house.”
In complete contrast, their second dance (‘Dancing Through the Decades’) took the audience on a whirlwind tour of the past 100 years of dance; from the Charleston to disco, Lindy Hop to street, there was truly something for everyone. Rachel Stringfellow, a teacher from a participating school, said “Hutton’s ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ was like a trip down Memory Lane! Everyone looked like they were having so much fun! I wanted to get up on the stage and join in!”
For the finale, the entire cast of dancers took to the stage to receive their much deserved applause from an ecstatic crowd (and some very proud parents). In summing up the show, Fleur Denis, a student from Hutton CE Primary, said “I loved it! I want to do it all over again! This is the best night of my life!”
And, do you know what? I think it was mine too.
