Summer Showcase

Many thanks to Preston College for inviting me along to see Preston College Dance’s production ‘Summer Showcase’ at the Charter Theatre on Friday 30th June 2023. This show predominantly featured various dance numbers but included elements of musical theatre whereby the cast sang live. There were 24 individual performances by numerous choreographers, highlighting the student's highly technical abilities across various dance techniques including, lyrical, contemporary, commercial, jazz, tap and cheerleading.

My first point of note would be how slick the overall production was. As one piece ended, there would be a moment’s blackout before the next began, intensifying the energy and atmosphere. This was a logistical masterpiece to choreograph the cast, who often appeared in consecutive pieces with costume changes in between, as some of the pieces featured around 30 performers.

It is evident from what I saw that these dancers were trained to the highest of standards at Preston College, and with this, there were no exceptions. Even to the untrained eye, the dancers all had superb technique and put all their energy into every movement and facial expression.  Each number was executed with precision and the level of synchronicity was impeccable. I was blown away by the level of skill, talent and energy which was on that stage.

I must confess, I am no expert in dance, so this review will possibly not articulate the excellence on display. I did have some personal favourite numbers but I can hand on heart say there wasn’t a weak number in the whole programme. It really doesn’t seem fair to pick out individual numbers simply because I may have preferred that style. I felt that, particularly in the first half, the big high-energy commercial numbers could have been split by interspersing some of the lyrical and slower contemporary pieces to add more of a feeling of variety but the programme was no doubt set to take into account who was involved in which numbers. As there were only four males in this production, they worked particularly hard and I really enjoyed seeing the fantastic partnering on display throughout the evening. 

It was good to see some unexpected styles such as cheerleading and a vogue-style number make an appearance and the Hairspray section demonstrated the depth of talent amongst the cast with some fine vocals and acting on display. 

The overall visual spectacle produced by the costumes and lighting throughout the evening was impressive indeed and combined with the dancing prowess on stage, I felt as though I was watching a professional show from start to finish. Each choreographer made full use of the whole depth and breadth of the stage, including a raised level towards the back, so as an audience member I saw something interesting no matter where I looked at any time.

Just a note for future performances, the volume of the music was so high that at times it was quite uncomfortable and this was especially the case during the Hairspray section, as the vocals were even louder than the music, which were piercing and painful - this is no reflection on the quality of the vocals at all!

This was clearly a very well-rehearsed and well-produced show of the highest standards which I thoroughly enjoyed and all involved should be immensely proud!

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