We caught up with the three pupils who were the backstage crew members for the Dance Extravaganza, which took place this year at EPIC studios. This year the Junior and the Senior dances joined together to create one performance. Read on to find out about Abigail Hill's, Shreya Vulla's and Grace Collen's personal accounts of what it takes to be part of the crew at a event like this.
"This year's Dance Festival was an amazing event to be a part of as it gave all kinds of people different opportunities. I chose to help backstage, and really enjoyed the challenge! I loved watching the dances and helping to organise the performers. It was incredible to see how all the individual dances slotted together into one to make the Norwich School Dance Extravaganza. My personal favourite dance was the 'circus' themed performance because the dancers were so in time with the music. Thank you to all the teachers for making it possible for all ages!"
Abigail Hill
"Working backstage at the Norwich School's Dance Extravaganza has been an interesting experience. I have worked behind-the-scenes previously for other Norwich School productions, such as the We Will Rock You musical. Working backstage at the Dance Extravaganza was different to other productions because if taught me how to work more efficiently under pressure. My main job was to make sure all the dancers were ready to go, at the right time and at the right place. This was incredibly pressurising as this was the biggest Dance Extravaganza yet. The rehearsals were chaotic, and the actual performance was very hectic for everyone, but we were all very relieved when both performances went very well. Although there were many performers, the experience was a very valuable one as it taught me how to work well in a team and how to trust my peers who were also helping out. I would highly recommend this job to anyone thinking about getting involved backstage in any production; I think it gives us a sense of accomplishment as a lot of the show's running depends on an efficient backstage team."
Shreya Vulla
"The annual Dance Extravaganza: a festival filled with colour, light hearted fun, and with over one hundred pupils participating, never fail to amaze me. Having been through the school from L4, I have seen the show develop from a small, perfected performance into an almost industrial scale production. Having previously taken part in the event, it is easy to forget those who work behind the scenes, who are ensuring a smooth running and 'well-worth-the-watch' show. It was this outlook that lead to me turn behind the curtains this year, in order to get an insight and indeed help try to manage the chaos of a multitude of twelve-to-sixteen-year olds. The trickiest part of this feat was undoubtedly trying to guarantee each of them were picture perfect and correctly positioned in a matter of minutes. I was working with two others, Shreya and Abi, who certainly ensured the drama of the event was well handled and indeed pulled off. Each of us was in charge of either a wing or were managing backstage, equipped with a check board and detailed list of the over 15 dances being performed. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable and indeed rewarding experience, which I will not hesitate to aid in again; I look forward to next year's extravaganza."
Grace Collen
