Billingham School hosted International Dance Theatre Finale
BILLINGHAM SCHOOL HOSTED INTERNATIONAL DANCE THEATRE FINALE
Nearly 200 pupils from a Billingham school in Tees Valley were in awe as their weekly dose of arts and culture was spectacularly taken over by an international dance-theatre production.
Pupils aged between seven and eleven from Pentland Primary School in Billingham enjoyed two 30-minute performances of The Two Fridas a collaboration between Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance and Balbir Singh Dance Company.
“We had a wonderful day based around The Two Fridas and the children thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the performance. Hosting this has been a super opportunity to enrich our arts curriculum and the children’s appreciation,” said Miss Watson, Curriculum Leader for The Arts at Pentland Primary School.
The two shows at Pentland Primary School were the perfect finale for the cast and crew of The Two Fridas to close a North-East summer tour that has spanned over three months taking in venues across Durham, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton and of course Billingham.
In September and October, The Two Fridas also visited two other schools in the region including St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Billingham (2 performances for Years 4, 5 and 6) and Harrowgate Hill Primary School in Darlington (2 performances for Years 4 and 5).
The dance-theatre show was inspired by two of the 20th Century’s most iconic female artists. The passionate production shone a spotlight on to the life, times and work of Frida Kahlo (Mexico) and Amrita Sher-Gil (Hungary/India).
The Two Fridas was supported by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants Programme.
Here are three views from students of Pentland Primary School in Billingham:
Amira, Y4, said: “I really enjoyed it. My favourite part was when the dancers were all twirling – I just loved that! I learnt about painters that I’ve never heard of before.”
Scarlett, Y5, said: “The music and dance fitted together perfectly. The artists were like me: I express my feelings too and you shouldn’t bottle things up!”
Rhys, Y5, said: “I really enjoyed the performance. It is really clever how emotions and stories can be shared through the arts.”
In response to watching The Two Fridas the young people created their own pieces of artwork and discussed the cultural significance of the production. They also reflected on their emotional response to the overall performance.
Miss Watson of Pentland Primary School, concluded: “We hope that The Two Fridas has helped the children to develop a love of the arts and enrich their cultural awareness. It is also important that the children begin to appreciate the wider world and that no matter where we may live in this world, we share the same fundamental values.
“As a Billingham school, we appreciate the importance of the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance and have been delighted to host this performance of The Two Fridas. The Folklore Festival brings much cultural enrichment to our community, and we look forward to continuing this connection.”
Olga Maloney, Artistic Director of Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance, said:
“What an amazing way to finish our summer tour by performing to hundreds of young people across three Tees Valley schools. The response by audiences to The Two Fridas has been heart-warming. You always want your work to strike a chord with people, but the reaction to the story about these two real life iconic artists has been special to witness. We have been in a privileged position to entertain North-East audiences and to help inspire the artists and dancers of the future.
“The ambition of the Folklore Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company is to take the show on an international tour taking in the homelands of Kahlo and Sher-Gil that would be something extra special. You never know.
“Dance-theatre breaks down barriers and we consider The Two Fridas to be an amazing opportunity to reach out to so many people.”