HUNDREDS of Dance Gallery members wowed audiences with their latest spectacular dance and tap show.
Heroes and Hairspray was staged at Questors Theatre in Ealing last week.
Directed by Jill Wellman, it was the most ambitious Dance Gallery production to date, with 35 dance routines, 1,500 costumes, and more dancers than in previous shows.
The 299 girls and three boys dazzled proud parents and friends with slickly and energetically performed routines.
They impressed to tracks by musical heroes including Mick Jagger, David Bowie, The Beatles, Lady Gaga and, of course, Michael Jackson. There were also numbers from the musicals Hairspray and Joseph.
The show opened with a stunning dance and acrobatics routine to The Prodigy's The Circus, with feats which got the audience oohing.
The Who's My Generation followed. Grannies with sticks and businessmen with bowlers vied with unruly schoolchildren and punk-rockers.
Any spectators who weren't whooping and clapping by then were certainly doing so after a fast and furious tap routine to Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Then came the ahh factor - On The Good Ship Lollipop performed by tap dancers, some just five years old. Hearts melted as the youngest, in their bunches and multi-coloured skirts, surrounded Joseph to sing Any Dream Will do.
In the second half, the audience was treated to more pumping dance routines, and confirmation that some of the girls are very talented indeed.
We were also blown away by the singing talent of those performing solos, including I Can Hear The Bells, the moving Man in the Mirror which included a violin solo, a medley of songs by The Supremes and Dancing in the Street.
To finish, Mariah Carey's Hero was performed beautifully by five soloists, with the entire remainder of the company providing harmony as fantastic pools of light and atmospheric smoke wafted across the stage.
This proud mother of a Dance Gallery pupil was not the only parent with tears in the eyes.
A mention must go to the amazing costumes - white gloves and bow ties picked up by ultra violet light in Beggin', wonderful pink negligees, feathers and pearls in Hairspray and funky green witches' tutus in Wicked were just a few.
Jill Wellman, Dance Gallery principal and a former West End singer and dancer, said: "I am so very proud of what we have achieved.
"The pupils have worked incredibly hard, with rehearsals going on for 18 months. And we had six shows and two dress rehearsals in a week, when they also have school to go to.
"They really rose to the occasion. They pulled it out of the bag."
She thanked her 'right hand woman' and choreographer Lottie Croucher, musical director Dave Roberts, costume designer Claire McKnight, production manager Cynthia Haliburn, and everybody who helped behind the scenes.
