It's a Wonderful World

I was delighted to spend a Sunday afternoon watching the Young Magna perform their show ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ and Casey, Erin, Issy, Miya, Tavia, Mia, Sienna, Tamara, Amelia, Ava L, Lottie, Charlotte L, Charlotte, Emelia, Daisy and Holly took us on a whistle stop tour of Countries around the world in song and dance.

Casey, Erin, Issy and Miya were the cabin crew and acted as the conduit throughout the show as well as participating in songs and dances too. They introduced the countries we were to visit and Issy was very enthusiastic with her Olé’s which had the audience chuckling.

So, we started in France with Sienna and Tamara singing as we were treated to some of the girls doing the can, can which was ingenious. Next came Spain and Issy’s Olé was in abundance. There were Elephants, Puppets, Cheerleaders which finished with Sian doing the splits!  Princesses, and so much more. The end of the first half saw the group doing a rendition of ‘it’s a small world’ which was enthusiastically delivered.

Whilst Laura and Katie choreographed the group dances, the individual solo dances were created by the girls themselves. Young Magna under the direction of Betty Morris is all about letting the youngsters express themselves, whether that be in song, dance or through acting. This is amazing as the talent that these youngsters have is incredible and there is an equality throughout the group which is nice to see.

The solo performances displayed their abilities: Issy sang ‘Someone to Love’ which was a difficult choice but she sang it very well; Daisy sang ‘When will my Life begin’ from Rapunzel; Emilia danced to ‘A dream is a wish your heart makes’ from Cinderella; Sienna sang with Tamara on the Paris and Barcelona numbers; Sian and Tavia opened Doh, Ray, Me and they were all lovely.

The amazing thing is that all of the individual pieces, be it song or dance, were worked on individually at home. Most of the solo dances were created by the girls themselves too and displayed real talent for interpretation of the music and style. Valerie Lewis is responsible for the rehearsal of group songs in the show and her direction for this is brilliant. Backing tracks are used and there is no-one to bring the cast in, they just are so well rehearsed that they know exactly when to and they don’t hesitate.

Casey and Erin gave a very mature performance of ‘Mad World’ which was mesmerising as was the dance by Issy and Miya that went along with it and which was choreographed by Miya. The Colonel Hathi’s March was great with the elephants and the Ji Ho and Street dance were amazing.

As most of the group were in the younger than usual range the help of the mums acting as Chaperones, dressers, and mediators was invaluable to ensure that the show went as well as it did. Lucy and Victoria who were the weekly chaperones, were much appreciated by Betty who ensured that their involvement was mentioned at the end of the show.

The finale summed the pure joy that the group had for the entire show. The spice girl’s song was sung with gusto and the ribbons waved unreservedly much to the delight of everyone. And as the girls took their final bow and the curtain closed Issy’s head popping through with a final Olé was the perfect ending to a fun filled show from the very talented Young Magna. 

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