Dance Works Academy showcased their senior students on Saturday evening, June 19, in Curtain Call before a full house at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons.
It was a recital that brimmed with joy in the art of dance.
The school has always shown strength in tap dancing and this show lived up to its reputation. First tappers on stage were a crew of delightful preteens under the instruction of Keely Cavanagh. Later in the show, Wendy Campbell's teen tap class did a lively dance inspired by the Bugle Boy of Company B.
Graduating student Franklin Cottrell performed in several styles: the pas de deux with the talented Taylor Greenaway was excellent. Later, the intermediate ballet group of Greenaway, Cottrell, Keeley Park and Etta Degnan donned fabulous costumes to dance in Safari, choreographed by Dance Work's artistic director Penny Hudson.
Acting and theatre classes put on good shows: The Cat and Dog skit from Kevin Crofton's acting class had the audience in stitches, while Forget About the Boy from the senior musical theatre group was cute and funny. Dramatic vignettes from Cottrell and Ginny Cardinall balanced the comical moments.
The biggest surprise was the high quality of the competitive hip hop, choreographed by Angela Lowndes. The eight dancers twitched and popped with vigour. The terrific adult hip hop with Laurel Sukkau and Corinna Allenback was inspiring for those over 40 in the audience. Sukkau, Allenback and Darianne Burnett, the adult tappers, couldn't seem to stay in harmony with one other during Spider Man, but individually each turned in a good performance.
Other styles included world dance, jazz, contemporary and Highland dancing when the teens, under Tara MacDonald's teaching, performed a Circle Sword dance. Costumes by a crew of teachers and mothers were colourful, and stage management by Wendy Campbell kept the performance flowing.
Cottrell opened the show with a song accompanied by Anthony Wilmer on guitar, then closed it by dancing for a finale in which he tapped himself right out of one tap shoe. Like a trouper, he kept going.
Awards were handed out at the end, and many students were honoured. Overall achievement awards were given to Ginny Cardinall and McKenzie Flumerfelt. In a nice touch from this academy, Hudson also honoured one of the dancer's moms, Cheryl Greenaway, with flowers for her ongoing support.
Summer school and the fall schedule for Dance Works will be posted at www.danceworksacademy.org.
