Dance Academy staged its annual school show on Saturday 10 January 2015 at St. Monica Hall, Gzira. The production was ‘Aladdin’ – a magical tale of love, trickery and triumph.
Aladdin (played by Dorian Mallia) dances his way through a busy market with his pet monkey, Abu (Tiffany Zarb Piccone). There he sets eyes upon the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Daniela Blake) and instantly falls in love. After a confrontation with the Palace guards , Aladdin , is tricked by Jafar ( Petra Camilleri) to go into the dessert to search for his fortune. Along the way, he is seduced by a string of dancers he meets, from the enchanting ‘desert sand’, to sparkling ‘ rubies’, and ’emeralds’ and the elegant and delicate ‘pearls’ that he finds in the cave of wonders. Rubbing the lamp, Aladdin conjures up the Genie ( Marie Claire Formosa), and that is when his real adventure begins. He tricks the Genie into getting them out of the cave of wonders as the ‘Flow of lava’, red hot, began to gain momentum. He exhausts his wishes ranted by the Genie, to become a prince, to chase after the affections of Princess Jasmine and save his friends from the evilness of Jafar.
The choreography, by Miss Ingrid Desira Buttigieg, Miss Lara Vella and Miss Alison Bird, was overt to the story and was one that followed the narrative imaginatively. The stage became alive with well rehearsed fluid movements of the various choreographies. The enjoyable music appealed to many. This varied from the classical music of Tchaikovsky, to music from the film ‘Elsa’, to Stravinsky and hip hop – a large array of musical rhythms.. Another important aspect that leads to the fulfillment of the realization of the story was the costumes.. The beautiful costumes which were created by Delina Abdilla and Simona Mamo, together with the various set designs, which were conducive to the story, added the visual component needed to mentally engage the audience– taking them on that magic carpet ride that they will never forget.
My evening was very enjoyable and I’m glad that I had a chance to experience such an amazing event. This family friendly production was a perfect way to spend my evening.
– M. Desira
