JandJ’s Mary Poppins recital charms audience
They were supercalifragilisticexpiali-docious.
The recent JandJ Performing Arts’ adaptation of the beloved Mary Poppins story charmed attendees with a variety of dances.
The performance featured more than 160 dancers, all tapping, tumbling and popping their hearts out; however, this show had something extra special about it — it was the 15th anniversary of the recital.
Modern 3 dancers show put on a dramatic show during the June 19 and June 20 Mary Poppins recital.“This is our 15th anniversary year. It is very exciting. It has not been easy to continue a business in Susanville, however, we have such an amazing team at JandJ and a wonderful community of supporters and patrons,” said director and owner Jessica Wade. “The team, Ashleigh Adair, Celeste Wiser, Katherine Guess, Ashley Lively, Coralyn Desselle and I all share the love of dance and teaching and work together to create JandJ’s phenomenon.”
This show featured Carlene Simpson taking on the role of Nanny Poppins, and Katie Kennedy as Cartoon Poppins. The duo shared a moving duet to “Red Balloons,” Wade adding many people said they were brought to tears. Stephen Young played Bert, Alex Harr took on the role of Mr. Banks, with Samantha Tiffany as Mrs. Banks and Kianna Ciscneros as Jane Banks and Jonah Gearhart performing as Michael Banks.
The three-act performance featured many dances, not just those pertaining to the classic musical, by the ballet 1, ballet II, ballet III/IV, ballet IV/ pointe classes, beginning and intermediate clogging, intermediate and advanced clogging, jazz 1, 2,3 and 4, beginning hip-hop, intermediate hip-hop, advanced hip-hop, acro/ tumbling I, II, and III, Mommy and Me, a pre K mini combo and modern I, II and III classes.
“The performance was amazing. The dancers, all 160 plus, put their hearts and souls into each of their performance pieces. The college is the only venue in Lassen County large enough to accommodate a show like ours. There is so much work that goes into transforming the college gym into a theatre. Many volunteers are relied on to make this possible. We have to bring in lights, floors, sound, back drops and dressing rooms. However, the venue has served a very beautiful place for us. Lassen Community College works diligently to accommodate us. They have a wonderful staff working with us! We truly appreciate them,” noted Wade.
The director and owner also shared this 15th anniversary held many firsts for the show, including the first time a child, Frankie, of a former dancer, Brittany Bouyer, danced in the performance. Wade also shared it was the first time all three of her children perform and the first time there were 15 male dancers in the group.
Overall, the dancers entertained and awed performance attendees. From the graceful ballet performances, impressive lifts and fun hip-hop routines, viewers were left wanting more.
At the conclusion of the performance JandJ awarded five senior dancers with $2,200 in scholarships.
While this season is complete for JandJ performers, Wade noted summer sessions and camps begin July 1, with open enrollment for the 2018-2019 season starting the same day.