Dance in SchoolsTRS South KentBreaking Waves
Written by Georgie, TRS South Kent Franchisee
This year I have been teaching at Morehall Primary and one week the sports coordinator Miss Ayers, came up to me with an excited look in her face. They had been asked to take part in a community dance showcase in Folkestone called, Breaking Waves and wondered if I would choreograph their dance.
Of course I was just as excited and I couldn’t wait to tell my club! I’ll be honest, there were some mixed emotions! Started off all excited, then it sunk in a bit more and some of them were quite nervous. I reassured them and told them what dance we’d be doing and they all perked up again, as it’s the one we had already started.
Weeks went by and the group were working so hard to perfect their routine, their class teachers came along for a preview and were so proud and impressed at how much they had learnt and how great the dance was looking!
Show day! As I knew most of my participants hadn’t danced on a stage like this before, I thought it was good to get them to rehearse in the morning and get used to the space and how it all works. I couldn’t believe how professional they all were. They were seated watching the previous group and applauded them when they had finished. Then when it came to their turn, although I could see more nerves creeping in they were so focused and took in every single comment that I made! We even practised going on and off the stage, and that was done beautifully too!
The night of the performance! We had all arranged a meeting point to go to before going into our changing room at Leas Cliff Hall. However we had a bit of a bumpy start, as one of them had read the time wrong! So despite a late arrival the girls were all very excited and couldn’t wait to get their costumes on! I had TRS teacher Kirsty come along to help with us and the girls were all telling her and showing her the dance proudly. In the dressing room we played a game to calm some nerves then had a final practice. Then we were able to watch the rest of the show on a screen just down the corridor. Even though we weren’t in the audience everyone was clapping and cheering the other groups! They were paying very close attention to the running order and when it was our time to head to the stage they had the biggest grins on their faces!
It was a longgggggg walk up to the stage, I honestly thought we may get lost! Luckily we didn’t! The girls all waited with anticipation for their dance to be introduced and for them to step onto the stage. The music started and BAM! They were amazing from start to finish! Every move was strong, their faces lit up the room and the audience were all clapping and cheering throughout! I was on the verge of tears where I was so proud. When they came off the stage and back to the dressing rooms they all couldn’t stop saying how much fun that was and was even asking me when their next performance will be! Yes, that soon!
We finished off the evening in the audience watching the rest of the dances. There were some wonderful talent there and I could see on my dancers faces the inspiration and admiration they had for them all.
After and exhausting day, the parents collected the children and it wonderful to hear their comments of just how proud they were of their children too. Literally every parent had bought tickets to come and see them perform, and some other teachers too! Seeing this support just showed me how lucky I am to be working in such a wonderful school! Thank you for all of your help and encouragement.
I would also, like to say a huge thank you to Particia Cullen from Folkestone Academy for inviting us along and allowing the children of Morehalll Primary School this wonderful opportunity! And also a massive congratulations for putting on such an amazing show!
Like I said, the majority of my dancers had never done anything like this before. They learnt the whole dance in around 5 weeks (that’s just under and hour per week), they remembered it, they performed it fantastically and most importantly, they had the best time. And so did I! We’re already onto working on our next performance for the jubilee! Keep your eyes peeled!