Although the Evening of Dance has passed, and the arts year is winding down, many performers on campus still had one final performance hurdle before the school year was over: the Steps Ahead dance school’s Performing @ Home VI. Headed by Brentwood’s head choreographer Ms. Lorraine Blake, Steps Ahead offers dance classes in three schools of dance – ballet, modern jazz, and tap – to children ages 4 and up. Though classes start in September, the rising tension of the final performance in May builds continuously over the year.
But how does this fantastic show (which was performed three times over the past weekend – Friday night, and a matinee and evening show on Saturday) connect to our school, aside from utilising the Bunch Theatre? For one, Steps Ahead uses Brentwood’s studio space for classes. But most importantly, roughly twenty Brentwood students and children of Brentwood faculty dance with Steps Ahead.
Those dancers whose creative aspirations reach beyond the Brentwood dance program are often invited to attend Steps Ahead classes, to improve technique, and participate in performances. In the case of day students, it is likely that they danced with Steps Ahead prior to enrolling at Brentwood. In addition, potential Brentwood students-to-be dance with Steps Ahead as well: various staff members have students enrolled in the dance programme.
The show itself was dance at its finest. The first act – featuring ballet only – was themed “The Dream”. Numbers portrayed elements of a child’s dream, including mischievous Night Elves and enchanted toys. The second act – modern and tap numbers – were themed around love. Songs with love in the title, the song, or with love-like themes were used to tie the overall genre together, finishing with a dance titled “LOVE”: a mixed medley of Beatles songs, each with a theme of love.
Now that the final dance recital has been performed, Steps Ahead students only have one final week of dance before parting ways for the summer. For Brentwood dancers, this means that at last, performances are over. And as the 2009 arts year winds down, the dance program already begins generating new ideas and themes for future performances.