LATEST NEWS

At the end of last year we performed a dance telling the story of the Aberfan disaster. Due to the success of the show we decided to revisit it as the start of the new term. We managed to secure Watermans Arts Centre as the venue for the show, and we started to rehearse. We had decided to change aspects of the original dance, not just to fit to the new space but also to fit in our new (and ever expanding) Year 7 group.

We only had 3 weeks to put the evening together, however the commitment, dedication and talent of the students shone through, as always, and we were more than ready.

One of the most extraordinary aspects of this show however was the way the Year 7s jumped in immediately and the way the rest of the performing arts group from Year 8 to Year 13 supported them. In total we had 75 students on the stage, and this was only possible because of the way they all pulled together.

The show itself was in two halves, the first half being three dances that we presented last year (re- imagined for a new cast) and then the second half was our production of Ysgol, the story of Aberfan.

It was, in the words of the packed house, extraordinary. The students performed with flair, sensitivity and high emotion. The new Year 7s lifted their game and really integrated well into the rest of the cast. One of the main triumphs of the evening was the way the other year groups really looked after the new students and made them feel welcome.

We will return to Watermans later in November, and it is hoped that this will become a regular booking for us.