Fanfare for Forty
Talented young dancers at the Priory Theatre, Kenilworth.
IntaDANCE: Fanfare for Forty at the Priory Theatre, Kenilworth, Friday 13 October and Saturday 14 October 2023.
Review by Ashley Hayward.
The Kineton based dance school, IntaDance have recently celebrated their 40th anniversary and are showcasing some of the highlights from their previous shows alongside some newly choreographed routines.
The Priory provided an excellent venue for what was a very diverse production. The vast range of dance genres and tunes was illustrated in the opening dance mix which included some 1920’s type Charleston, a bit of rock and roll from Elvis, a sprinkling of ABBA and a Greek folkdance!
The performers ranged from primary age children through to those of far more mature years and they all appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as well as giving it their all.
There was a theme of the four seasons throughout the performance with the first act creatively covering winter and spring and involved some ballet from the Nutcracker, excerpts from the Wizard of Oz and a splendid finale from the Lion King.
The junior performers took their bow at the end of Act One (it was probably already past their bedtime!) The highlight for me had been their version of Cruella de Vil in which the youngsters appeared as the Dalmatians (there wasn’t 101 of them but quite a few nevertheless).
In Act Two the senior performers again covered an enormous variety of songs and dance styles ranging from traditional ballet and tap to Acro, Jazz and belly dancing.
The themes of summer and autumn were nicely portrayed and amongst many other performances we enjoyed a day in the life of Beatrix Potter, a rendition of All that Jazz from Chicago as well as readings from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a dance to the James Bond theme and a beautifully performed version of Colours of the Wind from Pocahontas.
The whole performance was very well choreographed with highly colourful costumes, tuneful singing, effective lighting and simple but imaginative sets and props. It was quite a feat to have so many performers going on and off in a relatively small theatre and was a credit to the Director, Geraldine Rouse.
The audience certainly showed their appreciation at the finale and I’m sure it contained many very proud family members of the talented cast.
