Local resident and director of Walnut Grove School of Music and Dance, Val Beckford, is as excited as she could be about the chance to have her students back performing live.
After COVID caused the cancellation of all live music events in 2020, her students could only present virtual performances in 2021. But, the eagerness and hope to return to in-person events was always there.
“The excitement of being on stage again is palpable,” she said.
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On Saturday, June 18, she will take more than 100 dancers from Walnut Grove School of Music and Dance to the stage for a live performance.
The June 18 recitals are scheduled to take place at Chandos Pattison Auditorium, 10238 168th St. Surrey. The show will start at 1:30 p.m. with a ballet performance. At 4:30 p.m., artists will present various dance styles, from tap and lyrical to hip-hop and musical theatre. Tickets are $20 for anyone three and older, and are available through the school’s website.
Beckford recalled the time when her performers had to tackle multiple challenges due to COVID restrictions.
Some had to take their classes online from home while their classmates attended in-person sessions in the dance school. But the group showed perseverance and presented its first performance post COVID on June 4, when more than 170 solo artists performed on instruments such as piano, drums, voice, violin, flute, guitar etc. The school even raised donations for Langley Food Bank.
“We were able to fill the back of an SUV with non-perishable food donations,” she noted. “We are so grateful for the opportunity of sharing the love of music and for the altruism of its students.”
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