DANCE ME A SONG Directed by Delia Sainsbury. Musical director Garth Tavares. Presented by Waterfront Theatre Company and Artscape. Artscape Theatre. SHEILA CHISHOLM was there.
TAKE four student choreographers. Add two guest choreographers, four resident choreographers, three guest singers, three singers, Diana Neille on electric violin and 47 dancers. You then have the requisite ingredients to present 47 items in song and dance routines.
Over 150 minutes our dance journey comprised tap, Broadway, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, classical ballet and African genres.
Our song journey had Germandt Geldenhuys, Mary-Jane Zimri, and Candice Michelle singing (among others) such favourites as Nassum Dorma(which brought the house down), I Know Where I’ve Been and Broadway Baby.
Other singers included Thembilihle Benenengu and Earl Deetlefs singing (among others) And I’m Telling You and One For My Baby.
Singing and tapping under a spotlight Robin Timm’s Mr Bojangles opened the evening leading into seven energetic tap items. Coming as it did after Neille’s spirited Duelling Violins, Simone Marshall’s Celtic Spirit(a la Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance) proved the highlight in this section.
A glitsy curtain and a New York skyline backdrop provided ideal settings for nine trips to Broadway. Here choreographer Sonwabiso Sakuba’s saw Natasha Hess and ensemble thoroughly enjoying imitating Liza Minnelli in Mein Herr(from Cabaret).
Nine jazz items by four choreographers kept dancers busy rolling shoulders, swinging arms, leaping in attitudes derriere with some lads successfully completing a “couple of cat swings”.
And Hope Maimane’s Granny Dawn caused giggles in the six Hip Hop pieces.
Waterfront dancers are a gifted, bubbling, bunch of youthful energy.
However it made a pleasant change to watch gracious classical moves from Amanda Julies, Natasha Hess and Shona Brabant in Arabesque Dans Le Temps by William Jones. And a little gum boot dancing – under the African banner – brought us to home territory before the finale wound up a slickly produced, attractively costumed evening of dance and song.
However, while it is appreciated that at dance studio shows the aim is to “show off” students capabilities, it is important not to overload a programme with too many same-style items as this leads to repetition and loss of entertainment value. Perhaps a good proverb to remember is “less is more”.
l The Waterfront Theatre College presents Legally Blonde the musical by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin at the Masque Theatre, Muizenberg from August 27 to September 6. For more information call 021 418 4600