After a few busy weeks preparing the arrangements, the groups, the video projections and the stage, I’m glad to say that “Dancing in the Clouds” was another successful production by the National Youth Choir!
Although the whole show was put together in record time, the two sections of the choir delivered the songs very well and I was happy to see them smiling while they were performing (incredibly, it’s not as usual as one may think!). The story of the show was beautifully narrated by Brandelle Knights, who also choreographed a trio of dancers to perform in one of the songs, bringing some extra magic to it.
The show combined Caribbean folk songs (from Montserrat, Guyana, Dominica and Jamaica) with songs by renown artists such as The Beatles and Peter Gabriel, also including some songs from movie soundtracks. All these tracks followed every moment of the story that was being told side by side with the video projections which made use of visual elements, such as local houses easily recognised by the audience. In one of the radio interviews before the show, we sum up this production as being “a local show with an international flavour” which I thought was a good description of what people should expect from the evening.
After the show we could finally have some relaxed days to prepare the farewell sessions with the groups in which we included some videos from whole year, as well as some videos both from this show and from the one we did in February, “Montserrat meets the World”. cSome of these videos are already available online, compiled in this playlist:
We’ve been now preparing our last public appearance, this time with the Ukulele Club and the adult section of the Choir, who also deserve to have the chance to show off the work they’ve been doing throughout the year. However, we wanted a more informal feeling for this concert, so we decided to do it at Uncle’s, a local bar with the best view on island. Scheduled for the first Saturday of July, it’s going to be a night full of well-known songs and the audience will be more than welcome to sing along.
Apart from that, I keep leading the sessions with the string students (who have been improving every week!), as part of the Small Beginnings Programme, as well as the music sessions in the prison. I just wish I had more time on island to keep following these groups progress!! But oh well, I'll try to enjoy every little piece of this lush green island while I have it close at hand.
Here are some pictures from our show "Dancing in the Clouds" - what a colourful stage we had!
