The National Theatre of Namibia was abuzz with young girls in princess dresses as the Anchen Wille Dance Academy presented ‘Disney on Stage’ this weekend.
Featuring almost 300 dancers performing choreography set to songs primarily from Disney’s beloved animation catalogue, the show was a splash of fantastic costumes, magical staging and delightful performances by the academy’s students.
‘Disney on Stage’ follows Anchen Wille Dance Academy’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (2024), ‘Aladdin’ (2022) and ‘The Greatest Musicals’ (2019).
The show features dancers as young as five years old alongside more accomplished young dancers and incorporates modern dance with ballet in its high energy ode to Disney.
For those who missed the sold-out opening weekend from 17 to 19 September, ‘Disney on Stage’ will return to the national theatre from 24 to 26 September, including a Saturday morning show.
Directed by longtime dance teacher, choreographer and academy founder Anchen Wille and choreographed by Wille and Jamé-Leigh Davids, ‘Disney on Stage’ tips its hat to various animated films.
Patrons can look forward to numbers from ‘Encanto’, ‘Toy Story’, ‘Mulan’, ‘Moana’, ‘Frozen’, ‘Up’, ‘Brave’, ‘Tangled’, ‘Hercules’, ‘Zootopia’, ‘Lilo and Stitch’, ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Finding Nemo’.
The show also features older Disney classics such as ‘Snow White’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Pinocchio’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘101 Dalmatians’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Tarzan’ ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘The Lion King’.
Personally, and much like some other audience members, I thought it was a pity that ‘The Princess and The Frog’ was not included.
Princess Tiana is the sole black Disney princess in the official franchise.
Beyond this disappointment, for youngsters and adults alike, the show is a rare treat of theatrical sparkle.
Wille’s stage and costume design is fun, colourful, glittering, flowy and transportive while set building by Kevin Wille and Maghiel Steyn, as well as lighting by Tamara-Lee Pienaar beautifully set multiple scenes across four distinct acts and humorous asides from the movies.
Karel and Annika Schickerling as Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the show’s capable hosts.
As for the dancing, the littlest ones are adorable and the older lead dancers dazzle with skill and promise whether performing modern dance or ballet.
Each a credit to the academy and Wille’s two decades of dance instruction, the performers smiled, indefatigably danced and earned applause for their delightful presentations as well as for several daring lifts.
Wille and Davids must certainly be commended for wrangling it all. Staging an almost 300-person production is no joke, especially when plenty of them are under 10 years old.
All elements considered, Anchen Wille Dance Academy manages in style and with stamina.
The show clocks in at over two hours, including a much-needed 15-minute interval.
If Saturday’s sold-out morning show is any indication, tickets are selling out first.
Grab yours if you have your own little princess at home, if not a budding prince.
Children can take photos with the Disney ones after the show, and it’s as precious as you can imagine.
– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com
