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Barbara Loots
The LAMTA dance showcase, COME TOGETHER, onstage at Theatre on the Bay, is a treat for dance and Beatle-lovers alike.
Inspired by the music (and the journey) of The Beatles, the students of LAMTA treat audiences to a smorgasbord of dance styles: beautifully performed with great precision and skill. Huge congratulations to all involved: COME TOGETHER is a sleek, eye catching production.
Seeing the caliber of musical theatre students getting ready to enter the professional realm brings great hope. Special mention must be made of the eight third year students who graced the stage (Allen Chambers, Anna Oliver, Chloe Howes, Gerhard van Rooyen, Léa Blerk, Miguel de Sampaio, Nicola de Jager and Sunny Yoon), along with the Launchpad trio (Gemma French, Hannah Norcott and Michiel Bester). Excellent performances all round! Also, if you ever want to see the epitome of elation through dance, look no further than Sunny Yoon – she has that magical stage-presence that simply grabs your attention; in fact, she does not simply dance, she absolutely performs. Another talent to watch is second year, Austin Tshikosi, who shows similar stage-charisma.
Throughout COME TOGETHER, the joy and enthusiasm of the cast reverberates through the theatre with every tap, whirl and twirl. It may make you want to go out and buy a pair of tap shoes: tapping away while you cook in the kitchen, listening to The Beatles. In fact, I have not stopped listening to The Beatles since I saw the show. (Whether or not I bought the shoes is a secret I shall keep.)
What is no secret is the entertainment value of COME TOGETHER: from beginning to end the students are put through their paces with great flair thanks to catchy numbers choreographed by some of our theatre industry's best: Ananda Fuchsm Brigitte Reeve, Duane Alexander, Figure of 8 Dance Collective, Ashley Searle and Vanessa Harris, Hope Maimane, Jared Schaedler, Michelle Reid, Natalie Fisher, Robin van Wyk, Simone Neethling, Tamryn Oates, Anna Oliver, Naoline Quinzin and Leah Mari.
Some of my favourite dance numbers were A Hard Day's Night (Reid), Because (Figure of 8 Dance Collective), Eleonor Rigby (Alexander), I Want to Hold Your Hand (Searle and Harris) and Come Together (Maimane). Another was Yesterday, which was choreographed by Quinzin in collaboration with third year LAMTA student, Anna Oliver. A beautiful piece, and I for one am very excited to see what else the talented Oliver will create for the stage in future.
Although predominantly a dance production, the show includes two musical numbers, one which is the a capella performance of John Lennon’s Imagine, arranged by second year student Leah Mari (as supervised by Anton Luitingh). It is tough to create an impactful moment with a song that has been so over-performed, but these youngsters pull it off beautifully, with vocals that does this classic great justice.
The LAMTA presented COME TOGETHER is high quality dance performance value. Book your tickets (if there are still any left) online through Computicket and head over to Theatre on the Bay to see this production before it closes 25 June 2022. Or catch it during the return run from 2 to 11 February 2023 with tickets via Webtickets.
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