A historic dance festival will kick off its centenary year with a performance from 500 young people.
The Sussex Festival of Performing Arts will celebrate its 100th year with dancers from 24 schools showing off their skills at Glyndebourne Opera House in Glynde today.
Over the years the festival has seen thousands of dancers aged between five and 21 perform in its competition. Many of those have gone on to have illustrious professional careers.
Jacquie Brunjes, director, said the festival has been a “beacon of creativity and inspiration” to nurture the next generation of dancers.
She said: “It started off as the Brighton Competitive Musical Festival by the local mayor who started it because he thought there was a lack of culture in the area. It seems funny now because Brighton is full of culture.
“The dancing part of the festival was held at the Brighton Dome, some classes were held at the Royal Pavilion and Corn Exchange. It took over that area of Brighton for the week.
“We now hold the solos, duets and trios at Roedean School and the bigger group classes culminate in Crawley Theatre on April 14.”
The Glyndebourne gala is the first event of this year’s activities. Roedean School will host the annual festival from April 2 for a week and a group dance will take place at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley on Sunday, April 14.
In total there will be 1,800 performances from schools all over Sussex and across the country.
Performers from the Glyndebourne opening ceremony will all receive a medal in the name of the late Rosemary Carden, who died aged 89 in June 2021.
Rosemary was the principal of The Doris Isaacs School of Dancing in Brighton for several years and a British Ballet Organisation examiner for 50 years. She taught Jacquie when she was a young girl and Jacquie performed in the festival in the 1960s and 1970s
“After Rosemary’s funeral, we decided we wanted to do something in her name because she taught lots of people and started them on their careers,” said Jacquie, who is from Brighton.
“We decided that for this year, every dancer will get a medal in her name.
“Miss Rosemary taught me and instilled lots of things in me. They are things I have taken into the rest of my life. You learn to be fit, you learn the art of discipline, resilience, tenacity, teamwork and learning to lose gracefully.
“It’s very much about taking part, it’s not about winning. Yes you have to try and do your best but the competition is with yourself, not other people.
“If you can do a bit better each year, then you really have learnt something for the future. Those values from dance will hold you in good stead in any career. You need to be able to take the knocks in life.”
For more information, visit https://www.sussexfestival.co.uk/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here