There's No Business-Like Show Business’ - what an amazing song by Irving Berlin written for the hit musical Annie Get Your Gun and its words came to life for me at the Shaftesbury theatre in London West End where I was chosen to perform as part of the Stagecoach troupe last week.
Stagecoach is a performing arts organization created to bring out the best of every child through the wonderful world of Singing, Dancing and Acting. Stagecoach is non-selective, so everyone has the opportunity to take part, shine and make amazing new friends.
We performed 'Alice in Dream Land' for all of London to see. With wacky colours, crazy make up and a dance so amazingly energetic that it made you pant just by watching it.
Of course, as with any performance make up is key. Backstage was chaos! Foundation here, bronzer there I’m pretty sure I heard "does anyone have the eyeshadow?" At least 5 times. The end result was magical. We had jester hatters, gothic hatters, The Red Queen, the rabbit, the Cheshire cat and many characters you would never dream of seeing roaming around London!
It was one of the greatest moments of my life. The months of practising, the lost weekends and the stage nerves that almost ruined the day were distant memory the second I set foot on stage. If you though there was an adrenaline rush when you go on a roller coaster. It is nothing compared to what I felt while standing on that stage.
We were so in sync. The performance started with the whole group singing Wonderland by Taylor swift with a few nifty dance moves here and there between each group of characters. A ten second interlude with everyone whirling and spinning around the stage brought us very nicely to the mad hatter’s tea party followed by a high energy, loud and seriously exhausting dance that ended with Alice in the air surrounded by the crazy inhabitants of wonderland.
The reaction was exhilarating, people were clapping and whistling which I agree may not be West End etiquette, but it was most appreciated. We all went off stage knowing that was the best we had ever performed and barely able to catch our breath. There was so many high fives in the dressing room afterwards that I lost count. Those lost weekends were definitely worth it.
“The performance was simply magnificent it was energetic, colourful and very well coordinated; I enjoyed every second of it” said one of the audience members who came to cheer her child on.
Confession time; I told my parents that they did not need to come and see me; mostly out of fear I think, however, I will never forget the proud look they gave me at the end of the show and I am sure I could see my mother crying but she quickly turned it into a smile when she saw I noticed. I am so glad they ignored me and came along anyway.
Of course, we were not the only troupe, there were some amazing performances from Stagecoaches all over the country. Some that travelled several hours to showcase their talents. There were some very innovative and contemporary pieces incorporating street dance and culture. Others focused on some of the challenges faced by our generation in todays society such as social media, bullying and individuality. Whilst many opted to represent amazing classic pieces such as Peter Pan.
By far one of the best performances that night was a take on the new block buster movie, ‘The Greatest Showman’. Their costumes were a beautiful striking red, their dance moves so intricate we were all as young performers, inspired and stunned.
There was so much talent in one place that I’m confident we saw the beginning of at least one future star.
Plans are already underway for next year’s show, with many fantastic ideas being discussed. Make sure it is in your diary or even better why not consider joining stagecoach and be part of a national drama, dance and singing movement, and perhaps I will come and watch you perform in the West End next year!
Samar Sabbagh, Notre Dame School
