THIS weekend, we were back at the Dance Centre at Latton Bush for The Brenda Taylor School of Dance and Performing Arts traditional Christmas show.

Once again the dance studio had been transformed into a winter theatre ready for the four packed audiences to watch the cast of 80 perform.

Kathryn Taylor adapted the story of The Christmas Carol to perfectly highlight the talents of the cast.

The cast, aged from 5 to 16, with a couple of returning students, wowed from the outset with a beautiful rendition of the song ‘A Christmas Carol’.

We soon met Scrooge, played by returning students Charlotte Spencer (Saturday performances) and Shona O’Sullivan (Sunday performances) who were as grumpy and cantankerous as Dickens meant him to be.

You might wonder how numbers such as ‘Revolting Children’, ‘You can’t stop the beat’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and the Brenda Taylor classic ‘Good Ship Lollipop’ fit into the story but the Spirit, Ellie Doherty, Marley, Olivia Cowley, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Anna Cowley & Scarlett Stradling and the Ghosts of Christmas Present, Naavah Dixon & Harriet Booth-Yearley, expertly weaved them in with wonderful story telling.

Harriet Penketh played the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come without words but her actions were terrifying for Scrooge and the audience.

Dance numbers were plentiful with solos by Hannah Lutchwych, Charlotte Head, Naavah Dixon and Laurine Koa and with group numbers involving everything from small groups to the whole cast.

Choreography was by Brenda Taylor, Kathryn Taylor, Josh Lowman and Odette Pedrisat and ranged between frightening, beautiful, joyful, haunting, traditional and modern.

The costumes, selected by Brenda Taylor, were fabulous and the chaperones backstage did a wonderful job of wrangling so many children!

The crew provided atmospheric lighting and sound for the whole performance to truly come alive.

Well done all!

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In 2025 The Brenda Taylor School of Dance and Performing Arts is celebrating its 60th birthday and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us!