Local trip to
All three nights of York High School's performance, Disney Cabaret, were sold out - and with good reason. The show was an exuberant display that mesmerised the audience. Under the skilled directing of dance teacher Linda Johnson and music teacher Michael van der Walt, the learners put on their best voices, showed off their best steps and enchanted the audience.
Congratulations to those in charge of the costumes. Clever variation for widely varying themes was achieved by simply adding different accent pieces to a basic costume of black leotard and leggings.
Johnson said they had tackled an "audacious and daunting" enterprise, and as the show started one could see why. Significantly, in a time when most schools use recorded music for concerts of this kind, the accompaniment for each and every item on the programme was provided by an ensemble consisting of learners and a few adult musicians.
The programme covered various Disney movies, concentrating on Beauty and the beast, The little mermaid, Tangled, Pocahontas and The lion king, and spiced up by single hits from other films. The upbeat songs from Jungle Book, especially, provided enjoyable interludes. The casting of the singers was spot on, with voices suitably paired with the characters they were depicting.
The lyrics were successfully reflected in the choreography. Both the chorus line dances and dance duets were impressive with all the dancers seemingly immersed in their parts and thoroughly enjoying it. There were rousing chorus line dances (They're savages from Pocahontas) and beautiful moments with poignant dance duets (Colours of the wind from Pocahontas). Among the singers, who performed well overall, a few stood out with excellent voices and good execution, but the absolute favourite of the audience was the superb performance of Someday from The hunchback of Notre Dame.
The little ones in the audience were
enchanted, as can be expected. But one of the dads elicited chuckles when he let slip a loud "Let it go!" along with Queen Elsa. The magic of Disney is undeniable.