DREAMS INTO REALITY
June 30, 2013
A night out:
I attended this show called “Dreams into Reality” on 22 June
2013 at the CTICC. It started at 8pm and ended about 10.30pm
with an interval in between. The main reason I wanted to go was
to support one of the dancers whom I know. I love dancing so I
figured a night out with my sister watching a dance show should
be quite entertaining.
Well boy oh boy, in hindsight I realise that I surely set the bar
quite low. The show was mind-blowing, exciting, entertaining,
colourful, value-for-money and besides show casing a variety of
dance genres it had an awesome storyline! In short, I was so
impressed that I’m considering enrolling my daughter at this
dance academy.
Dreams into Reality poster
This is Kaylin- the dancer I was keen to see and support. It was great to see her acting as MC as part of the
drama.
Synopsis:
The evening took place in the form of 6 drama/dance scenes. This is how I saw what was happening.
There was a new dance school opening and they were keen to get dancers to join. The show opens
with a scene where a hip-hop rehearsal was taking place. These youngsters are keen to use their
talents to make a positive difference and contribution to the community they’re from. This set the
stage for the rest of the production.
Scene 2 was a ‘street corner scene’ and here we saw the typical ‘naughty kids’ who are bunking
school, doing drugs etc. They seem to have some hidden dance talents and have heard about the
auditions for this new dance school but are sceptical about going because they are not the ‘good and
boring’ teens. I found this scene to be outrageously funny as these youngsters dramatized what
usually takes place with kids that hang out on street corners.
Scene 3 is a ‘home scene’. There are a few girls who are super excited about the dance auditions and
can’t wait. There is however one girl whose parents don’t think dance is a viable option and this
provides for some interesting conflict and convincing.
Scene 4 is a scene set at a ballroom dance rehearsal studio. There’s this young teacher who has
been working really hard to teach ballroom/Latin to both able and disabled people. They’re all
devastated when their community studio is vandalised and they find themselves with no formal
structure to rehearse in. During this scene we
were enthralled by the most spectacular ball room and Latin dancing by both able and disabled
people. The cool part about this scene was when some of the able-bodied hip-hop dancers rock up
with this small cd player, borrows it to the teacher and is then left standing ‘mouths-open’ when they
see the flawless moves that the wheelchair dancers have. They then show them a hip-hop move and
the wheelchair dancers surprise them with their top-class upper body moves and pop-a-wheelie.
Spectacular!
Scene 5 is the opening of the dance school and the small group of hip-hop dancers are overwhelmed
by the brilliant response. Hip-hop dancers pitch up, the ballroom studio dancers join, the young girls
including the one with the strict parents join and then just as they think that that’s the whole bang lot,
the street corner boys show up. This caused quite a stir because the street boys were frowned upon
but once they show the rest of the dancers their fabulous dance moves they are warmly welcomed.
Scene 6 is the culmination of the whole drama and is the exhibition scene which happens 6 months
after the dance studio, named ‘Dreams into Reality’ was launched. In this scene we saw how well
able and disabled dancers dance the different genres together. The colours, costumes, dance
sequences were ‘out of this world’. It was the longest scene of the entire drama and every single
dancer danced with as much energy and zeal as they did at the beginning of the performance. What
was really great was that the producer of the show also danced in this scene to a lot of applause.
What did I think?
Oh my word, I was completely and utterly overwhelmed and impressed by the spectacular dancing
and drama that I was watching! The energy and excitement of the dancers were palpable throughout
the show. The easy way in which they all related to one another was remarkable. I was particular
moved to see how well the able and disabled people danced together without any prejudice. The
music was so upbeat that I don’t think there was a single moment that I was not shaking my stuff in
my seat. Move after move, scene after scene I sat there absolutely captivated right to the end. My
hands were rather sore afterwards from all the applauding I had done.
And then my highlight of the evening: the story line! Dreams into Reality was about just that. It was to
showcase that dreams can become a reality when opportunity, interest, supporting structures and
resources all meet under one roof. It highlighted that the medium of dance was not restricted to race
or physical ability. It made the audience do some introspection about their own prejudices and I’m
sure many of us received the ‘proverbial’ smack whilst imbibing this message. I reckon it also
emphasised that our reality in general can improve in its quality if we have a purpose and so as I sat
there I simply thanked the Lord for this amazing group of young people, their dance leaders, their
talent and for the message that their dance shouted out to the hundreds in the audience that night!
Priceless!
**Below is the cast of Dreams into Reality and the last pic is of myself and my sister when we got to
the CTICC.**
5 Comments
1.
Felecia Sassman permalink
Wow thanks Levona. So u and Hilary had a really awesome time at our show. The dancers really
outdid themselves. Performances were so great.
Reply
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levonajeanjohnson
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Yes Felecia, we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Reply
2.
Courtney Davis permalink
Thank you so very much for that amazing review. I can tell you that as one of the dancers and on
behalf of all the dancers, hearing and reading something so true and beautiful that was written by
someone so appreciative, means more than anything. One of the best rewards!
Thank you!
Reply
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levonajeanjohnson
permalink
It’s all true and deserving of praise, Courtney! Thank you for reading the blog post.
Ps: if you have any photos you’d like to send, I’ll put it on the post.
Reply
3.
Hilary Sauls permalink
Felicia….this was one show I will neva forget. It was way beyond awesome! Each and every act was
not only educational, but extremely entertaining as well. Dreams into Reality chose a superb name for
themselves cos it just encourages all youngsters out there that dreams can become a reality….if you
just put your mind to it. Well done guys and dolls!!!