The Wonderful World of Disney

Over the weekend, tiny toddlers in tutus and graceful ballerinas from Victoria Dance captivated a packed Al Raja School auditorium with their bippity-boppity magical moves in a Disney-themed dance recital that would have made good ol’ Walt proud.

More than 250 families and friends turned up to see toddlers and teens perform in the two-act, end-of-the-year spectacular entitled The Wonderful World of Disney, which was choreographed by professional dancer and founder of the school, Victoria Shaban.

For the past 15 years, boys and girls aged from two to 18, hailing from various schools across the kingdom and of different nationalities including British, American, Norwegian, Jordanian, Bahraini, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, Sri Lankan, Jamaican, French, German and Indian have been coming together as one through the beautiful art of dance.

After months of dedication and intense practice sessions, the 120 show girls and boys displayed their versatile skills including ballet, tap, modern jazz, hip hop, Riverdance and lyrical, contemporary style in routines celebrating 36 Disney classics such as Cinderella and Mickey Mouse to adventurous Aladdin and Lion King.

According to Victoria, who was accredited by the International Dance Teacher Association (IDTA) and has helped many boys and girls secure places at leading performing arts schools, colleges and dance companies around the world, the annual recital is a superb way to show parents what her twinkle-toed students have learned while also celebrating their achievement.

She said: “It’s a great way to share my students’ progression and love for dance with their families and friends. The children really enjoy it and the parents are excited to see their children dance.

“It’s beautiful to see all their hard work pay off in the end … and who doesn’t love Disney?

“This year I will bid farewell to some of my students who will be heading off to university, such as the boys who are my heroes. We don’t get many boy dancers and they always step up around this time of the year to perform alongside the girls.

“I hope that the audience had as much fun watching the show as the kids did performing it.”

This show was especially near and dear to the heart of one particular teen who was with the school from the beginning and will now be pursuing her professional dance dreams at the prestigious Bird College in the UK. While the British School of Bahrain student, Alex Rodney, 18, from Hamala, is sad to say goodbye to Victoria Dance, she is thrilled to be stepping towards a future career in dance.

Alex, who also teaches hip hop and tap to children aged six to 10, said: “Dance is my passion and I want to be a professional, dancing in music videos, at concerts as backup and maybe theatre.

“I learned so much from the school and will miss everyone. I love recitals as it’s just amazing how everyone can come together after a year to show off their talents. It’s a great way for parents and those that don’t know about Victoria Dance to come out and see what we have all learned. It’s entertaining and Disney is such a solid theme as everyone knows all the songs.”

Alex, who played the part of Mary Poppins in a ballet number, also danced in 11 other sets including all the Aladdin songs, Beauty and the Beast and other musical medleys.
Another performer excited about the show was Mizharika Nilmini, 16, from Budaiya, a pupil at Al Noor International School, who danced as Pocahontas in Just Around the Riverbend.

Mizharika, who has been with the dance school since the age of three, said: “It’s a fun interactive place and everyone unites here and puts everything into play. It’s wonderful to see.”

Before the curtain call a young man dressed in a suit appeared on stage. He greeted the audience ‘Walt fashion’ and introduced them to the Victoria Dance troop while promising them a memorable afternoon full of fun.

Soon after, without missing a single beat, bright lights lit up the stage and music echoed through the auditorium, crisp and clear, signaling the beginning of a beautiful journey through the Wonderful World of Disney.

The show kicked-off with a tribute to Disney’s favourite son, Mickey Mouse. Children donning red shirts, black leggings and mouse ears leapt into action, showing off their gymnastic skills as girls were lifted in the air in a fast-paced interactive number entitled the Mickey Mouse March.

Afterwards, Snow White’s little dwarves set off to work in an adorable Heigh Ho routine which had parents humming along. The next scene featured Alex in her role as Mary Poppins, teaching beautiful little ballerinas how to twirl around during the Spoon Full of Sugar Song.

The audience laughed loudly when two kids dressed up as musical notes ran across the stage during the ballet number.

The song Eye to Eye from A Goofy Movie featured girls wearing doggie masks dancing to an upswing modern jazz beat.

Next up were a group of precious Pinocchio pals that were brought to life jumping, tapping and proving that there were no strings on them at all.
 
The show continued in high-spirited fashion with girls demonstrating jazz hands, acrobatic moves and high kicks. Parents cheered on in sheer delight and sang along too.

Lest we forget the leotard clad ladies in pink oriental robes and ballet shoes as they mesmerised in the Aristocats’ song We are Siamese, followed by the swinging Everyone Wants to be a Cat jazz number with chairs and sticks.

Girls dressed as minions in overhauls, hipster glasses and gloves, made the audience clap along to one of the most popular songs to hit 2014, Pharrel Williams’ Happy from Despicable Me 2.

The Lion King mash-up was another sensational scene which featured a group of girls dancing in different genres from lyrical ballet to upbeat jazz to a variety of songs from the movie.

There were little mermaids for Under the Sea and girls in princess gowns for Tangled and Cinderella sketches.

The older girls captivated in many routines especially the Beauty and the Beast song when they wore flouncy white dresses and floated around the stage as though they were dancing on a cloud.

The Celtic dance would have made Lord of the Dance himself smile from ear-to-ear as the girls kicked up their feet with every beat along with aerial tricks that created a crowd reaction full of ‘oohs and aahs’.

During intermission guests were treated to refreshments from Piece of Cake and had the chance to mingle with friends over how wonderful their children did.

In the second half, Aladdin stole the show when girls dressed in harem pants and belly dancing costumes told the Arabian street-rat’s story from the beginning to end. The audience swayed at a whole new world and cheered at the animated Prince Ali version, paying homage to Robin William’s genie. The tap number One Jump Ahead kept guests on their toes throughout a sword battle scene.

An Alice in Wonderland mad hatter tea party followed as did a Frozen version of Let It Go. Little ladies wearing leis and grass skirts entertained with their surf-boards and hula-dancing skills in Hawaiian Rollercoaster, while Geisha girls showed their Mulan-inspired Reflection in face mirrors.

The event was enjoyed by all, including Amal Al Kooheji, from Tubli, who watched her 13-year-old daughter Noor Saffy dance in the Mickey Mouse March. She said: “She has completed three levels of tap and I love seeing her perform. Any live performance is positively overwhelming and this show has been so good. The kids have done a wonderful job; especially the little ones … and I loved the Riverdance!”

Alex’s father, Derrick Rodney of Oak Utility Solutions and Development, who sponsored the photography and videography by Echoes Production for the event, was impressed with his teenager’s stage craft, as well as the talents of his two younger daughters that took part in the show, Charlotte, 11,  and Grace, 10.

He said: “This is a special recital for Alex as it’s her final one in Bahrain. My other girls have also been dancing for the past four years and love it.

“Both my wife, Joanne, who works with Vicky backstage and helps with administration, and I, come to every show. I think this one was absolutely superb and every year Vicky does an amazing job. I don’t know where she gets all these ideas from but she always manages to come up with a creative story to tell through dance.”

l Victoria Dance is a leading dance school for children and adults based in Hamala. Classes include ballet, tap, modern, jazz, Riverdance, hip hop and burlesque. It was established more than 15 years ago and former students have moved on to prestigious colleges and companies such as the Royal Ballet School, Bird College, Sylvia Young Stage Academy and Laine Theatre in the UK, as well as New York’s Joffrey Ballet in the US. For more information contact 39876215 or email victoriadancebahrain@gmail.com

– Mai Al Khatib-Camille