What a great Summer !!!!!
26-08-2009
On Saturday, August 15th, the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center was in a buzz , awaiting eagerly the results of the two weeks workshops Musical Theater by participants between 12 and adult. DJ and Joost, two professional Musical Theater artists and teachers had worked hard to bring to the stage a collage of songs and dances from famous musicals. When lights and sound came on, with it came a turrent of song, enthousiasm, white costumes on beautiful singers and dancers who gave their all to show their fans that they could fill a stage with entertaining and exciting Musical Theater. Many of the audience had not expected such high caliber performance after just tow weeks of (daily ) practice. The cast included young and old of all walks of life, including mothers and daughters, collegues and friends.
It was also the end of a successful summer program which consisted of three different sessions. Also the first two, conducted by teachers Arlene Halley, Jennifer Halley, Susha Hien, Kimberly Milan, Silvia Carty and Stacey Hien, assisted by Demi and Nadia, were greatly appreciated by the hundreds of students between 3 and 14 years, who took dance, cheerleading, gymnastics and art. Each session ended in an inhouse performance for parents and friends in the studio of the school and also there the applause and appreciation for choreographies by enthousiastic students filled the room.
What a great summer!!!!
(pictures by Silvia Carty)
CATS pictures at Pete's Photo
look at
Some pictures from the show (by Dale Hodge):
THREADS IV the Variety project
The variety of dance styles ranged from classical ballet, modern dance, merengue, salsa and tasteful dancehall to musical character, folklore and traditional Sint Maarten and Indian dance. The Ponum, introduced by Motiance in Aruba as the National Dance of Sint Maarten complete with drummers and conch shell blowing, was a powerful opener, setting the stage for a whirl of freedom in dance. Arlene Halley directed the show and did many of the choreographies, while contributions from some guest choreographers like Kelly Seibold, Susha Hien, Audie Janse laced the program.
Helen Hart as guest star singer made the Valentine mood very real and Miguel Alexander "smooched" the audience with sensual spanish songs. Emly Francisca, now a Motiance Folklore teacher, added an exciting piece to the repertoire. It comprised of scenes from Sint Maarten past: from the unfree slaves who worked the fields, the sal pans and the cotton, met by the fishermen who bring their catch to shore. "Nritya" Indian Dance Company under the direction of Aparna, awed the audience with their precise and intricate movements, their discilpline and elegance and with their colorful traditional costumes
Musical Theater Workshops by Joost and DJ
03-01-2009
On Sunday, December 21st, Saturday January 3rd and Sunday, January 4th, Joost de Jong and DJ Jansen present musical theater workshops at the Motiance Dance school. Actors, dancers and singers, experienced or not, get the chance to study parts of three musicals: Mamma Mia, Grease and Fame. Both Joost and DJ played leading roles in musicals like: West Side Story, Grease, Hair, Chicago and Fame and worked with performers in Lion King, The Sound of Music and Aladdin.
Monique Bos introduced DJ and Joost to us and organized the worskhops. The enthousiasm of all the particfipants is electrifying and all have the greatest fun. The result at the end of the day, performing for friends and family is of course the highlite and the audience is impressed what can be achieved in a day. Discoveries of talents in the singing and acting department surprised us in our dancers. The inspiring way both DJ and Joost conducted the acting, dancing and singing sessions were great to observe and produced two wonderful piece of each musical. In the summer vacation of 2009, both instructors will be back to be part of the Motiance Summer workshops.
Off to a good start at Motiance school year 2008-2009
The Motiance Dance School has started the new school year with quite some exciting changes. The most important ones: a NEW SECOND LOCATION at Belair Health and Fitness Center, and a new dance floor (donated by RBTT BANK) in the John Larmonie Center Location. The studio at Belair is spacious and light, and will accommodate some new classes like: Antillean Folklore by Emly Francisca, Combo class for chldren by Susan Woods and children's tumbling and gymnastics with Stacey Hien, traditonal drums with Jullien and Hindi pop (Bollywood dance).
The studio is now inaugurated by visiting former dancer Ihndhira Marlin, who currently studies dance at the Rotterdam Dance Academy CODARTS.
Ihndhira gives workshops to two groups in a combination of urban and modern dance styles. Children's gymanastics with Stacey have also started while the other classes will commence on September the 1st.
At the John Larmonie Center Location, classes are in full swing while students are being placed and are choosing their preferable classes. Former dancers of different "generations" are here to enjoy a few nostalgic moments at their alma mater before returning to their various countries of study: Danica Zichem who is studying dance in Amsteram Hoogeschool voor de Kunst, Vanessa Hunt who is studying Theater Arts in Canada and Ihndhira Marlin (CODARTS in Rotterdam,The Netherlands)
Hairspray did it big
10-05-2008
It was full house at the Maho Theater on April 5 and 6 when HAIRSPRAY the musical took to the stage and dazzled the audience with sounds and movements of the 60's. Hairdo's and make up, pettycoats and sashes, suits and cumberbunds, streets and recliners, it all added to the broadway experience. The audiences loved the atmosphere of the 60's and were impressed by the whirling speed and excitement of the dancers. The main characters portrayed their role to the perfection, making many marvel about the casting and the ability of the dancers to "creep" into the character. Especially Edna ( Rochelle Muller), Tracy (Moira Rachman) and Corny Collins (Shurandi Janse) did a great job in that field. Linc (Audie Janse), Seaweed (Andrew Sylveste), Penny (Anisz Dijkhoffz) and Amber (Danielle Borsje) showed their usual great ability as dancers and acted their part superbly. THe Junior Company shone in many choreographies, again making the audience exclaim respect for the upcoming talent of these future company dancers. Hairdo's by Miguel Alexander were the ultimate finishing touch which created the familiar images of beehives and slick boys hairstyles. Akeem Lake and Miguel Alexander did the make up. Falana's (Glennis Thomas) and Akeem Lake created the costumes which ultimately made it look as realistic as possible. The streets of Baltimore and The Corny Collins Show were so real, and made it all look like a professional stage production thanks to Dale Hodge (Crystal Interiors).
Many Sponsor seats were bought by patrons who wished to donate an extra cash injection to this produciont and were treated to champagne and a complimentary DVD of the producion.
Via the influence of Mr Richards and Mr Ferrier, the Maho Theater (through Mr. Saro Spadaro) was secured for this performance. It is however a fact that this was the last time performances like this can be held in this theater, since it will be remodelled. The island of Sint Maarten does not have a suitable alternative so the Motiance Dance School is hoping that government will soon build a professional theater.
Motiance Adult Dance Company featured in COUTURE
19-09-2007
The Motiance Adult Dance Company was featured in the new glossy magazine For The True Caribbean Lifestyle "COUTURE". The magazine is published by Nicole Pieters and the editor is Michael Granger.
The article highlites the three dancers who together form the company. Jennifer Halley, Dale Hodge and Kishana Vlaun all were dancers in the Motiance Dance Company in their teenage years, returned to Sint Maarten to pursue their carreers and decided that dance was still their binding passion.
The company performs in its own production once a year. "Threads" and "Facets" are the two productions so far. The Phiipsburg Cultural and Community Center is the house theater. The next production is planned for January 26 and 27 , 2008.
