There can be no preference in Olivia Dow’s gratitude and so for that reason there should be no “and above all” neither “last but not least” towards any of the persons involved in a recent exceptional project.
However, a point worth taking note of is Olivia Dow’s appreciation to the Minister of Culture Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech who, through his time and patience, listened to this proposal besides keeping in touch with its progress. During a brief meeting set up with the Minister her appreciative impression was in his sincere concern when he asked “How are ‘you’ coping?” and the reply: “Fine… but we miss John!”
Yes, the ballet school deeply miss Mr. John their Artistic Director the late John Baldacchino who, on a grand scale like this, through his vast creative imagination would have made us see a spectacular vision. Olivia has always reminded us that “if we can produce 25% of what our dear John might have done” than we have hit the ‘7th heaven’!
The above mentioned ‘project’ was a live symphonic band concert by the 12th May Band of Zebbug with special guest appearance by a group of performers: “Ballet Russe de Malte” featuring a cast of students from the Olivia Dow School of Russian Ballet. This show, Invitation to the Dance, was held in aid of charity towards Id-Dar Tal-Providenza and took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on Sunday 11th of November 2007 under the patronage of the Minister of Culture.
Needless to say the effort made by the members of the Band Club must not be set aside. Maestro Hermann Farrugia Frantz and the band’s President Architect Godwin Agius had forwarded a proposal during the summer months to Olivia Dow, with an invitation to choreograph some classical pieces to the band’s musical numbers which included some excerpts from the famous Nutcracker; Blue Danube; Prince Igor and many more. In the process of setting up this concert, all for a good cause, the Band Club was relentlessly backed by Tonio Bonello of RTK and Jean Pierre Debono of Radio 101. The management of the venue, Mediterranean Conference Centre, together with the help of the stage manager Charles Bonello and the lighting engineer Manwel Quattromani also contributed to the success of this show.
Olivia Dow wishes to thank her Junior Teachers who were also performing and all the other performers (their age ranging from 10 years old upwards), who despite their academic hours had strived hard and managed not only with the rehearsals but also with their ballet lessons, in particular they had remained focused on their ballet examinations which were held at the beginning of November. The co-ordination between the ballet school and the band club was managed by Martha Zammit accompanied by her team of stage helpers Jane Bannister-Grech, Valerie Debono, Geraldine Farrugia, Fiona Bartolo, Rosanne Zammit and Chantelle Micallef Grimaud (a senior ballet student).
Everyone’s hard work had achieved success on that night and this extraordinary performance was praised by all the audience present in the theatre, who had shown their approval with a standing ovation at the end of the show. With great anticipation the ultimate success will be in the funds and donations collected at the venue on that night!