Dance Academy staged its annual school show on Saturday, 10 January at St Monica Hall, Gzira. The production was Aladdin - a magical tale of love, trickery and triumph.

Aladdin (played by Dorian Mallia) dances his way through a busy market with his pet monkey, Abu (Tiffany Zarb Piccone). There he sets eyes upon the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Daniela Blake) and instantly falls in love. After a confrontation with the Palace guards, Aladdin is tricked by Jafar (Petra Camilleri) to go into the desert to search for his fortune. Along the way, he is seduced by a string of dancers he meets, from the enchanting "desert sand", to  sparkling "rubies" and "emeralds" and the elegant and delicate "pearls" that he  finds in the cave of wonders.   

Rubbing the lamp, Aladdin conjures up the Genie (Marie Claire Formosa) and that is when his real adventure begins.  He tricks the Genie into getting them out of the cave of wonders as the "flow of lava" began to gain momentum. He exhausts his wishes ranted by the Genie, to become a prince to chase after the affections of Princess Jasmine and save his friends from the evilness of Jafar.

The choreography by Ingrid Desira Buttigieg, Lara Vella and Alison Bird, was overt to the story and was one that followed the narrative imaginatively. The stage became alive with well rehearsed fluid movements of the various choreographies. The enjoyable music appealed to many. This varied from the classical music of Tchaikovsky, to music from the film Elsa, to Stravinsky and hip hop - a large array of musical rhythms. Another important aspect that leads to the fulfilment of the realization of the story was the costumes. The beautiful costumes which were created by Delina Abdilla and Simona Mamo, together with the various set designs, which were conducive to the story, added the visual component needed to mentally engage the audience and take them on that magic carpet ride that they will never forget.

My evening was very enjoyable and I'm glad that I had a chance to experience such an amazing event. This family friendly production was a perfect way to spend my evening.