Wow! Dance Donation was such a success!
The whole event was quite a mission to put on, especially as I have been teaching full-time with a class since Easter - I have been crazy busy!
There was a nail biting stage, a few weeks before the event (!) when I thought I may have to cancel due to lack of performers but the turn around was incredible - those prayers definitely worked!
Two weeks before the event I was sticking up flyers like a mad woman and emailing every dancer I could find to put on a great show. BBC Radio Bristol and Ujima Radio very kindly had me on their shows to promote Dance Donation and share my story. It was all very exciting!
Suddenly, during the final week, dancers started contacting me left, right and center so I ended up having a job to squeeze acts in to the tight schedule!
The night came: Thursday 27th June 2013.
I was kept on my toes as dancers and volunteer helpers came slowly dripping in due to the manic traffic that evening. We just managed to fit everyone in for the sound/dance rehearsal before doors opened!
The show was due to start at 7pm and every member of the audience paid £5 entry as a donation to the Mydel project. 7pm came and the hall was only half full! I have to admit I was quite gutted to start with. I kept telling myself that more people were coming as they were just stuck in traffic, so I decided to start the event at 7.15 to give more time for an audience to pour in!
By 7.15pm we had a good 100 people there and everyone the atmosphere was fantastic. The acts rolled out as follows:
1) Jess and Laura did a fantastic body poppin' and lockin' dance which started off the show brilliantly!
2) Rachel Jenkinson did a solo line dance, with hat and all!
3) LittlEnvy, 7 girls aged 9-11, performed a well polished street dance.
4) Preethy Jose performed a solo Bollywood dance which was fab!
During the interval, the audience bought lots of scrumptious hand made cakes and enjoyed the refreshments. Dielun sold some stunning pieces for art and there was also apple boobing fun for the kids!
4) Funk It Up Dance performed a group street dance to kick off the second half.
5) The Shalayleigh Irish Dance Group moved their legs incredibly fast, which was very impressive.
6) Alice Hounsome did a great solo street dance in a bright red dress.
7) Annie & Noma finished the show with an African dance, which cleverly also held an element of drama.
The dancers did brilliantly and it was great to see the audience clapping along and whooping at the impressive moves!
Voting time came. Once the audience had voted for their favourite act I gave a presentation on the work I have been doing in Uganda, to raise awareness of the difficult situation many orphans face daily on the streets of Kampala. It was a sobering 15mins.
Can you believe it.... it genuinely was a tie between LittlEnvy and Annie & Noma!
As you can imagine, everyone grew in excitement and the atmosphere was electric. Both acts performed again as the audience cheered them on and voted again.
LittlEnvy were the winners!
LittlEnvy screamed for joy as the lifted up the glass trophy. They also received £75, donated kindly by Bristol Nuffield Hospital.
Annie and Norma received the runners up prize of £50 from Bristol Nuffield Hospital.
To top off the event, LittlEnvy VERY generously gave back their £75 and donated it to the Mydel project!!
It was a fantastic night!
We raised a total of £1,083.22 !! Amaaazing!
Check out the video of the night:
A huuuuge thank you to every one of you who supported the event. I can assure you that every penny will be going towards the development of the Mydel Boys Home. 5 acres here we come! Woohooo!!! xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment