By Rosie Sparrow
On the 9th March 2012 students, teachers and families from various different schools came together at the Thameside Theatre for this year’s Glee: Celebrate The Music.
The show sold out as everyone in the area wanted to witness the talent that their borough holds. The nights festivities were hosted by Daryl Branch who kept the audience entertained and fused the different acts well together! To get the crowd started Youth Creation took to the stage. They were a range of ages but they all had incredible talent. They danced to a medley of hit dance songs featuring songs from Lady GaGa and LMFAO. It was a fantastic way to start the show.
Gateway Academy were the first vocal group and they appropriately started with “Sing”. All the harmonies worked well together and they were all in sync too. They really got into their performance putting a lot of emotion into the song through their voices and facial expressions.
Ormiston Park had a shaky start but as soon as they had brushed it off they really showed the audience what they could do. Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” is a hard song to take on however they did extremely well and as the host said “they did Adele proud.” Karis Angels also had a delayed start however this didn’t faze them and they carried on with their wonderful voices and well choreographed routine. Adding some humour into the act also worked well in their favour as it got the crowd even more involved.
The next thing I knew there was a young man from Treetops standing on the stage. His voice was fantastic as he started singing “Marry You.” All the kids did an amazing job on their cute performance – they were truly inspirational. St Clere’s “Little Glee” followed with a Glee original “Loser Like Me.” You could really see they really enjoyed what they did and the crowd did too, especially with their humorous acting in parks. To finish the first act Creative Blast put on a piece to the “Thriller Medley” with the perfect costumes and lighting. They managed to pull off a great dance routing too! It was a brilliant end to the first part!
Somehow all the groups managed to top their first performances with their ones in the second act! After shaking off any nerves they may have had during the first part soon disappeared as they took to the stage a second time.
They all looked like they have been doing it for years! They all put so much effort and enthusiasm into everything they did which was wonderful to witness. A particular favourite of mine was Karis Angels “Just The Way You Are” with their powerful voices and the way they were all in sync together. They did Karis proud. In fact, all students did so well by representing the schools that have helped them develop and flourish into the stars that they are today.
As a treat for everyone involved Golden Voices made an appearance with a touching rendition of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” During the thank-yous made by the people who helped make this night possible (the wonderful Shana Elliot-Hayers and Jo Nyland-Bell) everyone was pleased to see that the choir hadn’t left the stage meaning the night wasn’t over yet.
All the acts came together for an encore of the Queen classic “Bohemian Rapsody” and Glee’s most popular song “Don’t Stop Believin’” which really brought the house down! Everyone was singing along and getting involved. It was also nice to see the adults that had helped out with the show (teachers and organisers at the Thameside) sing with the kids too. I have never seen so much talent all on one stage before! It was a brilliant night and everyone involved should be proud of the spectacle that they had put on for everyone. I know all these students can make something of themselves; they just can’t stop believing in their dream.
The films are divided into four parts.
Due to a technical malfunction (the editor’s fault entirely) we did not film the last few acts. We do apologise.
