Christmas has quickly gone into the past, but in the memories of the Xmas Belles, the joy of performing at the Hampshire KFA 2023 Xmas Rally in Southampton plus our local family and friends performance still lingers. We are definitely smitten!
The Event
We turned out in true Christmas spirit – baubles, fairies, elves and Santa ready to create laughter. Then we were met with some obstacles that presented a challenge, e.g. low turn-out of spectators due to freezing conditions (unfortunately the heating in the hall had broken down). Undaunted, we tackled the warmup workshop, and the general workshops (Great! Even Santa, his son and the photographer joined in – maybe just to keep warm!). Despite all this, the Xmas Belles and other performers were not discouraged and danced with enthusiasm.
The Performances
There was a moving performance by Jazz Parker-Geddes (my grand-daughter). Yes, there were three generations of dancers in the room – me, my daughter Karen (she produced the Xmas Belles item and led a workshops) plus Jazz! She delighted us with the first piece of performance choreography she created at the age 12. At the time, Jazz didn’t get to dance it in public (due to a scheduling error) which was a huge disappointment for her – so she reproduced it at the rally for us. Dancing to ‘Angel’ by Scarlett Cherry we saw her recreate the dance alongside a video of her 12 year old self rehearsing seven years ago.
This was followed by dancing, cheerleading Snowmen from Karin Warwick’s team – great fun to watch.
Our Thanks
The other wonderful contributors were the ladies who produced copious mugs of steaming tea and coffee. Then, of course, there was the wonderful mince pies and cakes. The dancers salute you in keeping our spirits up and our feet and bodies warm.
On the whole the event could have been disappointing, but high spirits and good humour were in abundance. The choreography by the trainers was a challenge and a delight – so thanks to all who attended. We are looking forward enormously to the next event.
Written by Catherine Parker