Waiting for their turn: Dancers wait in the wings before their
performance of "A Disney Delight." At right is a Lathrop
faculty member during "Thriller."
Glitter. Make-up. Costumes. Tap. Jazz. Ballet. Stage. Lights.
Audience. Action!
The excitement stirs and before you know it, the theatre curtain
is pulled and the dancing starts. The 52nd annual Stardust Revue,
the spring recital of Lathrop School of Dance, opened this year
with its longstanding tradition of the graduating seniors
performing the Stardust Overture. What followed, for five
performances over the weekend of June 4-6, was an exhilarating
show of young performers showcasing their talents learned from
the Lathrop School of Dance.
Starting with the ever so talented Stardusters to the young
babies of three years and older, there was excitement and toe
tapping for everyone.
"This is one of the best shows I have seen the kids perform,"
stated Ginny Lathrop, the director and founder of the oldest
dance school in Newtown. "They get better every year."
Mrs Lathrop has many different groups of dancers, and many
students having been together since their start at the school,
including the Stardusters, Jr Stardusters, Lathrop Dancers and Jr
Lathrop Dancers. There are over 300 dancers taught each week by
the faculty, led by Mrs Lathrop and Miss Diane Wardenburg.
To their credit, Mrs Lathrop and Miss Diane have taught their
students to have poise, good attitude and lots of energy when
they dance. The talent and years of experience can be seen on
stage as well as interpreted in the program. Over 100 dancers are
listed with five years or more experience on the awards page.
Combining all of the years of those awarded dancers amounts to
over 1,100 years of experience brought together for each
performance.
Many combined years of talent were seen in a dance performed by
the Lathrop School of Dance faculty in the number "Thriller." The
lights are dimmed and suddenly the seemingly dead bodies come
dancing alive in a twisting, turning jazz performance that also
brings the crowd alive.
Moods change and youngsters come out tapping to the fast beat of
Britney Spears, in sync with the quick beat and each other. To
change the pace, the "mothers'" group found their youth as they
danced to the Broadway Chicago hit, "Roxie," moving and
grooving to the beat throughout the number.
Closing out the first half was a revival from the past, "The
Circle of Life," performed by the Lathrop Dancers. A crowd
favorite, it closed the first half on an upbeat note.
A group of young dancers opened the second half to another
Broadway hit, "Hairspray," sporting their multi-colored tinsel
hair and psychedelic costumes. Throughout the show, Mrs Lathrop
had performances dedicated to Dr Seuss' birthday, the armed
forces and even a change in season with the "mothers'" group
returning to dance to "Jingle Bells." A group of teenagers
performed in "Tapping With Elegance" which was choreographed in
true "Lathrop" style.
Dance numbers in this year's Stardust Revue included "A Tribute
to Dr Seuss" by The Junior Lathrop Dancers There were 36 dance
numbers in this year's recital, with styles including tap,
ballet and jazz.
The attitude of all the dancers was positive and energetic. After
performing five shows over the weekend the smiles continued
through to the end. "The kids continue to amaze me," said Mrs
Lathrop. "I'm very proud of them all."
Once again, the Lathrop School of Dance dedicated two of the
performances during the weekend, Friday's performance in honor of
the Danbury Hospital Pediatric Unit and Sunday's performance was
dedicated to the Newtown Scholarship Association.
To close out the final two performances of the 52nd Stardust
Revue, master of ceremonies Jerry DeLuccio invited five-year-old
Caleb Wardenburg to join Mrs Lathrop, escorted by his parents,
Joel Wardenburg and Lathrop instructor Miss Diane, during the
finale to sing "God Bless America" in honor of our troops
overseas. It brought the crowd to its feet, a fitting end to a
wonderful performance by children and adults of all ages.