The Drewitz School of Dance wrapped up its 2016-17 season with the presentation of the 34th annual Spotlight on the Stars dance recital on Saturday.
Capacity crowds filled the Estevan Comprehensive School’s (ECS) cafetorium for afternoon and evening performances. The show was choreographed and directed by Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway.
“Both shows went very well. I was very pleased with them,” said Drewitz-Gallaway. “The children did exceptional. It’s a lot of work … for parents getting the children on and off the stage, and getting them changed. I have a good staff and good workers. In general, it went really well, and really smoothly.”
A total of 258 children were part of the studio this year.
The show featured solos, small group dances and large group performances, giving each of the dancers the opportunity to showcase their abilities for the audience.
This year’s theme was the Magical Garden of Dance, so the many of the outfits fit the gardening theme. Dance titles often pertained to gardening.
The afternoon and the evening programs were the same, but Drewitz-Gallaway noted the evening edition sees the families and friends of most of the graduates in attendance because of the presentations that occur to the grads.
Isabelle Beahm, Avery Dechief, Mia Hanson, Tamira Krall, Makenna Mack, Kelsey Romanyk, Kia Rosenbaum and Sarah Wright were this year’s graduating dancers.
The recital capped a busy year for the Drewitz School of Dance. They performed at the United Way Estevan’s 40th annual telethon in October, the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies Ball that was part of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation’s Festival of Trees in November, and at the Robbie Burns Night in January.
They also tested their abilities at various dance exams during the year.
“The recital mainly gets put together in April and May, because they have all these other activities that they are doing up to that point,” said Drewitz-Gallaway. “It’s a very busy year. I was proud of them all; they really did an exceptional job out there.”
Nearly half of the students on stage during the recital each year are new to dancing. Some of the first-year dancers will be older than others, but they come a long ways, she said.
“Every year, you see a different child bloom differently,” said Drewitz-Gallaway. “I explained on stage that it’s kind of like my garden. They’re all different flowers and they all bloom at a different rate and at a different speed.”
Drewitz-Gallaway said improvements come from hard work, dedication, practice and muscle memory. She believes parents play an important role in the improvements the children make throughout the year.
Drewitz-Gallaway noted many of the dancers come from communities outside of Estevan, and she applauded the rural dancers and parents for coming to Estevan two or three times a week for practices.
