Divas & Dudes Dance Academy Stage Roar-some Rendition of ‘The Lion King’
The Divas and Dudes Dance Academy transported people to Pride Rock last Friday with their roar-some performance of ‘The Lion King’. The show, which took place at Holy Trinity Church, was the culmination of DDDA’s annual summer workshop for children aged 5 to 12.
The workshop began on Monday 25 July, giving the group just four days to rehearse before the final performance on Friday. Despite having little time to practise, the young stars still manage to pull it out of the bag, producing an accomplished and entertaining production of ‘The Lion King’. Lines were learnt by heart, songs were sung confidently, and every dance move was perfectly in sync! From the talented actors playing the principal roles of Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumba and Scar, to the adorable ‘cub bugs’, every child played a part in making the show a roaring success.
The DDDA summer workshop has been running for over 10 years. This was the first time that it has taken place at Holy Trinity Church, having usually been held at Trinity Hall. However, as the Hall is being used as a hub for refugee Ukrainian families, Reverend Duncan Carter offered the use of his church as an alternative.
The show could not have gone on if not for the dedication of the DDDA team: helpers Alex and Lauren, head of dancing Miss Natalie, script editor and musical director extraordinaire Miss Laura, and of course the creator of Divas & Dudes Dance Academy, Stephanie Maxwell.
Stephanie said about why they chose ‘The Lion King’, “We’ve gone through quite a few musicals now over the 10 years. Last year we did Aladdin. We have pretty much covered them all, and we just thought The Lion King, because we had such a diverse range of children from five to 12, it’s just got a part for everyone. It’s a very easy show to put on.”
She continued, “I couldn’t be prouder. They really pulled it out of the bag. Each year, they amaze me more and more. We think it’s going to be good, but they just blow me away, it’s amazing. This is the most amount of children we’ve ever had — there are 37 altogether up on stage now. I remember the very first show we did was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and we had about 12 children. We’re running out of shows! I’ve heard whispers from children for Mary Poppins and Encanto next year. Leave it with us, we’ve got another 12 months, and I’m sure we will see you all next year.”
