Showtime!

BRINGING top talent in Bahrain under one roof in a dazzling four-day event, the inaugural edition of St Chris Performing Arts Festival is set to be staged from February 23 to 26, culminating in a gala concert for winners, writes Melissa Nazareth.

The event is an ‘expansion’ of the St Christopher’s Music Festival, launched in 1998, and will now include dance and drama.

More than 500 students across 18 schools, aged four to 18, will showcase their talents at the school’s Saar and Isa Town campuses.

“This year’s Performing Arts Festival marks a significant milestone, expanding upon the legacy of the much-loved Music Festival,” St Christopher’s School performing arts director Dennis Haggerty told GulfWeekly.

“This expansion stems from the recent integration of music, drama and dance into a unified Performing Arts faculty at St Christopher’s.

“This restructuring underscores the school’s dedication to performing arts education and prepares students for the world-class facilities of our forthcoming new state-of-the-art secondary school,” he added.

The school will continue to offer classes in classical, rock and pop music, and has introduced solo and group acting for drama, as well as solos, duos, and group classes for dance.

A panel of judges flying into Bahrain from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Sri Lanka will give feedback and guidance to the competitors.

“We’ve developed new judging criteria, ensuring fair and equitable assessment across all disciplines.  We’ve also focused heavily on promoting the festival to students and securing sufficient resources, including venues, equipment, personnel and an impressive 50 trophies up for grabs. Each competitor receives a participation certificate and all placements receive medals. We are grateful to our sponsors for their generous support,” he added.

The headline sponsors of the event are Volvo, a division of Motorcity, and Ardaas Holdings.

The idea behind the festival is to draw together young performing arts students of all ages and levels from Bahrain to participate in a friendly, competitive event, according to Dennis, who highlighted the impressive work that the talents have exhibited in the days leading to the event.

“We’ve been impressed by both the creative interpretations of classic pieces – expect fresh takes on familiar works – and the exciting original material and modern dance styles being showcased. 

“Attendees can anticipate a diverse range of talent and styles, from the traditional to the contemporary, promising a vibrant and engaging festival experience,” he added.