'Strictly' sold out success for Nenagh Choral Society
On Saturday June 9th at 8pm in the Scouts Hall, Nenagh Choral Society presented 'Strictly Dancing at the Musicals'.
This was a one-night-only fundraiser for the society and it lived up to all the promises of being a show-stopping night full of excitement and thrills. On the night our 28 dancers took to the stage in the hopes of winning our judges' favour for positive comments and a good mark, but as well as that they had to wow our audience to make sure they were well-rewarded when the public cast their vote on the night also.
The 14 couples were comprised of 14 members of Nenagh Choral Society and 14 well-known local characters, some of whom were taking to the stage for the first time! For the 11 weeks leading up to the show, Choreographer Stephanie Browne put the couples through their paces as they learned the new dance routines they performed on the night.
The dancers performed in front of four celebrity judges on the night: Martin Langton (Nenagh's answer to Mrs Browne), Seamus Power (2018 President of the Association of Irish Musical Societies), Lisa Hogan (choreographer extraordinaire) and Bernadette Flynn ('Lord of the Dance' superstar and our Head Judge). They gave us a good laugh with their comments on the night and we thank them for a job so very well done.
Proceeds of this great event will go in part to the development of the NCS Youth Academy. Formed in 2011 to give the young people of Nenagh an outlet in Musical Theatre, the Youth Academy took on the huge challenge of 'Les Misérables' with great success. 'Westside Story', 'Grease', 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Annie' followed before we tackled 'Les Misérables' again this season. We are also proud to have members of the Youth Academy breaking through to play lead roles in the adult society.
But these shows unfortunately do not run themselves and we need to invest in our youth academy so we can grow membership and continue to provide a positive outlet to the young people in our community. Proceeds will also go the development and maintenance of the home of Nenagh Choral Society, the Scouts Hall. The Scouts Hall is run entirely by a board of directors from within the community and operates on a non-profit basis. When its doors opened after the hall had been closed for many years, the society planned to once more welcome the whole community and the committee secured interest from various sporting groups, historical societies, bingo groups, dance and musical groups, all of whom wish to use the hall for evening and weekend activities. These groups work with a cross section of the community, appealing to young and old.
Funds from this event will help to ensure that the hall is truly an amenity for the whole community and will once again be central to life in Nenagh and its surrounds. 'Strictly Dancing at the Musicals' was the third event in the Nenagh Choral Society calendar for the 2017/2018 season and a very new departure for us, as up to this we have only presented musicals. We embraced the challenge and enjoyed every minute.
As with all productions, this event would not be possible without all at NCS, from our members, the cast, set artists, front-of-house team, Scouts Hall Limited directors and the numerous volunteers who give of their time freely to prepare for this epic fundraiser.
To our extremely hardworking committee entrusted with the responsibility of presenting a successful event, we think they rose to that challenge. To our patrons and sponsors both local and national, we extend a very big "Thank You" to you for your very generous donations both financially and with prizes for the night. Your continued support enables us to bring locally-grown musical theatre to this town through investment in our Youth Academy and our traditional spring productions for senior members in the years ahead.