REVIEW

Fee Jeanes Ballet

The Enchanted Garden

The Electric Palace

Fee Jeanes began holding ballet classes for toddlers 12 years ago, these have always been popular and numbers have steadily grown. Fee then began to offer adult ballet. The classes are hard work but loads of fun and these too have proved to be a hit.

Each year Fee holds a show for the parents, but with the total number of pupils swelling to 130 she decided that this year she would increase the size of the show, hold it over two days and open it to the public.

And what a show they had in store.

From her nervous adults and accomplished senior, though to her tiny tots, their enjoyment of dance was evident and this shone through.

The show began with a 'Woodland Mime'. Three of her senior dancers acted out a mime at the front of the stage, flanked by members of each of Fee's many classes. The costumes were bright and beautiful with wings and sequins aplenty. The adult at the back showed poise, the younger members showed concentration and the toddlers were distracted at the front. A really wonderful show opener.

Each of Fee's classes performed group dances throughout the show, indispersed with solo contemporary and ballet performances. Special mention must go to Jade Farrington, Lauren Farnham, Amber Palfreyman who not only gave very special performances but also help Fee throughout the year in class and with the show.

The tiny tots were up first, dressed as adorable bumblebees and ladybirds. They hoped and skipped with great enthusiasm to the Ugly Bug Ball. Some were shy, but most loved the limelight and really found their feet when the audience began clapping along.

Fee then introduced her first adult ballet group who she said were "shaking in the wings". If they were nervous it didn’t show. They looked very serious, deep in concentration, but moved together dancing in time and with elegance.

The next group to dance were the butterflies with a lone caterpillar Diggiry Brock.They ran on with squeaks of excitement and soon had to take a break from their dance for a chance to wave at daddy. Chaos ensued when they forgot their places, but with a little help they soon all fluttered back onto the stage beautifully to complete their routine.

Fee's senior ballet then made a brave attempt at a comedy sketch. Members of her adult class ran on late and attempted an assortment of ballet postures with a collection of disasters from a bad back to hot flushes. An elderly lady them interrupted proceeding making her way through the audience and up onto the stage. She then threw off her coat and scarf and joined in with the class to the delight of the audience.

After the interval there was a fabulously funny dance with a young ballerina, Jade Farrington dancing in front of a 'mirror' reincarnating Dawn French was our own beautiful Wendy Bloss. The two dancers worked well together and the audience laughed with them, in admiration of the 'reflection' who was a breath of fresh air.

Next up was the senior class, a group of dancers aged around 9 or 10, many of which have been dancing with Fee since they were aged 2 or 3.

This was a beautifully choreographed number which showed off the talents of this group and included a short solo dance by one of Fee's long standing male dancers 9 year of Rafferty Heath.

Another adult ballet class followed. This time there seemed to be less nerves on show as they danced beautifully in time. There were however big smiles of relief when the dance finished.

Cheeky Pixies then scampered onto the stage. They looked adorable in their sparkling costumes complete with pixie hats and golden wings. The Flower Fairy (Alice Smith) started off their group dance beckoning the others to join her. There were some hesitant mistakes but when you saw the pride in their smiling faces these were forgotten.

An unexpected pole dance came next. The audience were in awe of the extremely talented Biddy Savage, as she showed her off her Pole Ballet. The strength and technique involved in this amazing show dance is to be applauded.

Another adult ballet class was next. Familiar faces from the comedy performance redeemed themselves as fine dancers. This was a wide ranging age group, but what they all shared was a sense of grace and determination.

The Dragonflies were the final large group dance. This brought together girls from across the classes, ranging from Megan age 5 to Ava age 11. They presented a very high standard of ballet. As they floated around the stage they split into 2 circles and joined together again without a hitch.

The presentation was completed with a beautiful dance by the senior ballet girls Miss Jade, Izzy Hollingsworth, Abby Prowse and Sophie Wilson. Theirs was a beautiful dance, very polished and professional. Something the smaller ones can aspire to.

The show was a great success and as Fee Jeanes Ballet goes from strength to strength we can all look forward to another fabulous performance from all her students again this time next year!

KELLY HEATH