Article by Bea Youngs- Paxson
Photography by Kevin Gourley
Special to the Gazette
Footnotes Dance and Music Studio presented its sixth dance recital since the studio’s inception. Called “Cirque du Dance,” more than 250 dancers performed in vibrantly colored costumes in front of a full house.
There were two shows held at the East Lee County High School in Lehigh Acres with a morning show at 11:30am and an evening show at 5:30pm. Admission was free. Each show had different dance line-ups and both shows brought in close to 700 people at each.
The show’s decorations matched that of its theme and before the show commenced, clowns entertained the crowd. Multicolored beach balls were tossed around until curtain call was announced. When the curtain was drawn, the lights were dimmed and colors of every shade lit up the walls surrounding the main stage.
The 250 dancers that took to the stage were of different ages ranging from as young as two-years-old all the way up to young-at-heart dancers in their 60s. They danced a variety of styles – Ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, acrobats and Zumba.
To add some additional fun and entertainment to the circus-themed dance performance, parents participated by taking to the stage, with fathers performing to songs like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It.” The mothers entered the stage pretending to be elderly by dressing in grandmotherly-styled night gowns and robes. Some moms used canes and walkers, also, while others just walked slowly, holding their lower backs in crouched-over positions. The mom’s dance number opened to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and finished to the “Walk It Out” tune by UNK. The audience erupted with applause and laughter for both the Mom Dance and Dad Dance numbers.
“Even with a last minute venue change and some minor inconveniences, we still managed to have a great show. I couldn’t be any prouder of our dancers, staff, volunteers and parents; they were all awesome,” said Barbara Lambert McKenzie, Footnotes co-owner and dance director.
On Footnote’s Facebook Page, there are more than 850 friends that keep in touch with what the studio is up to and there are many responses about how parents were pleased with the way the recital went. Michele Skrmetta said, “Footnotes Dance and Music did an outstanding job this year. You can see all the details play out between the music, costumes, decorations and theme. Really an impressive show … Mallory is very lucky to be a part of the foundation they are building in our community. Very impressed with all their hard work… Loved every minute of both shows…”
Rose DelaSota shared, “Well another exciting and rewarding Dance Year has come to an end. Recital yesterday was entertaining and awesome, as usual, pulled off by the awesome staff of Footnotes Dance and Music. Thank you to Barbara Lambert McKenzie , Wayne Christiano, Zoila Canales Cortez, Amy Szafran (these are the only staff I have on FB) and all the other wonderfully talented and dedicated dance teachers. You have all contributed in the creation of making Victoria DelaSota love the art of dancing and reaching her potential as she grows in her aspirations of pursuing dance on a professional level.”
Footnotes Dance & Music Studio will be going into its last week of the season now and will be distributing dance student trophies, the annual yearbook and commemorative t-shirts to remember the year. If you’re interested in giving your child something to do during the summer, or perhaps you would like to consider taking some dance or music lessons yourself, the summer program will begin in a couple weeks on June 4, 2012, and the regular season will begin on August 1, 2012.
About Footnotes Dance & Music Studio
At Footnotes, the mission is “to enhance the lives of the children in our community, educate children and provide a positive atmosphere for learning, promote self-confidence, responsibility and discipline, develop leadership skills, encourage teamwork and sportsmanship, and to promote healthy bodies.”
For more information about Lehigh Acres only dance studio, go to http://www.footnotesdanceandmusic.com/
Fabulous article! How fun to read about this talented group of dancers and their triumphs! Way to go!