An
enchanting evening of dance
For
some reason, it seems, Dublin 15 audiences have been bitten by the balletic
bug. Ballet Ireland performs regularly at Draiocht – in fact they
are returning with an “extravaganza” at the end of April
– and children are turning to this art form in a big way, as evidenced
by the hugely popular Marion Lennon School of Ballet in Roselawn.
The school has delighted Draiocht audiences in the past with beautiful
shows such as “Peter and the Wolf” and “Alice in Wonderland”
and at the beginning of April, the children will showcase their huge
array of talents with two performances that incorporate everything from
classical ballet to modern and contemporary dance.
“Rather than putting on a full production, this year we are putting
on a series of dance routines from such pieces as the Rossini-Respighi
ballet La Boutique Fantastique (The Fantastic Toyshop) and High School
Musical and everything in between,” says the school’s founder,
Marion Lennon. “We have about 120 to 130 children in the school
which is too much for Draiocht to accommodate at once, so we will be
presenting two performances with abouut 76 to 78 children per night.
“Our students range in age between five years and twenty years
and we have been working on this show since last November, so, as you
can imagine, excitement is running very high!”
Aside from the obvious buzz that Marion gets from the children –
“I often say that if you could only plug them in, you could light
Ireland for a year” – it is a source of great pride and
satisfaction that the teachers and instructors all started out as pupils
of Marion’s and have progressed up through the ranks to be fully
qualified.
“I remember Jenny Holman coming to me at the age of three,”
laughs Marion, “and she has been with me all the way through ballet
school and also in the Inchicore College of Further Education, where
I am Director of Dance. Tanya Farrell came to me at four years of age
and is another graduate from Inchicore.
“It is actually quite humbling to think that at least ten of the
students that I taught continued to study in Inchicore and even worked
there as teachers!”
Even the highly qualified Elena Degtyareva from Uzbekhistan, who arrived
in Ireland fully trained in the Russian school of ballet, took her Royal
Academy of Dance exams at Inchicore under Marion’s stewardship.
“I love teaching,” Elena said recently. “It is very
satisfying when you see a student getting a movement or a step. You
know then that they are taking it on board and there is improvement.
I also love when we work towards a show.”
Marion is keen to thank the parents also for their help and cooperation
in preparing the children for what promises to be a sumptuous extravaganza
of dance. “We will be working right up to the dress rehearsals
to make sure everything is perfect,” she says. “You can’t
do that on your own. The parents as usual have understood the amount
of work involved and they have been brilliant.”
An Evening of Dance by the Marion Lennon School of Ballet plays Draiocht’s
main auditorium on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th April at 8pm.
Tickets are €20 / €15.
Community Voice, Media
House, Church Avenue, Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15
Phone +353 1 822 1432 - Fax +353 1 640 4444
info@communityvoice.ie
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