BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Fireflies Dance School on Sunday (July 3) presented its 6th Anniversary recital, themed Playtime, at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
The school, which is directed by renowned dancer Heidi Slack, wanted to promote how important Playtime is for children.
In a previous release, Slack said, “Playtime is not only fun, but play fosters belonging, encourages cooperation and play is also our brain’s favorite way of learning.”
Over 60 students between the ages of four to 10, divided into three groups, executed well choreographed dance routines that depicted various childhood games that mar our memory.
The dances featured game themes including ‘Do the Hokey Pokey’, ‘Simon Says’, ‘Skip to my Lou’ and ‘Playing with Dolls’.
Performances by guest dance groups Children Dance Theatre, CFBC Dance Ensemble and Creative Sole were also a part of the production.
There were two solo performances.
The first one was done by senior Fireflies member Andria Esdaille, and the Maurice Hiller Memorial’s Rainbow Pageant winner depicted ‘Being a Bully is Never Fair’’ while the second one was done by former Fireflies dancer Kadeema Blanchette under the theme ‘We Need Peace’.
A notable guest performance was that of Samal Duggins and Sharalee Mourillon who delivered the important message of ‘Crime limits playtime’.
One of the anticipated highlights of the event was the Daddy Daughter Dance in which a routine was performed by fathers of some of the dancers.
The Daddy Daughter Dance was entertaining and showed that there are still fathers who are very much active in their children’s lives.
Slack’s son Raniq and a past dancer named Roberitine gave a thrilling performance of ‘Anything you can do’. They showed off dance and acrobatic skills while the 2011 Clash of the High School Champions gave a performance dubbed ‘My Hair’.
Eleven dancers who will be moving on from the dance school were recognised and those who displayed a perfect attendance record were awarded for their punctuality and discipline.
The Fireflies Dance School was founded in September 2005 with the aim of providing young students with the highest quality of dance instructions and helping them to gain a love and appreciation for the art form.
It is also aimed at enhancing their sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, imagination, creativity and their ability to work as a team towards a common goal.
The assistant tutors of the dance school are Kayla Farrell and Sonji Isaac while Liska Hutchinson and Tricia Greaux are on study leave.
The hostesses for the event, dressed in the Immaculate Conception Catholic School uniform, were Davia Doras-Cranstoun and Makida Collins who kept the crowd lively with their dramatisations.
