By Maggie Percy, ECHO

The sell-out audiences who came to see The Magical Umbrella at The Courtyard last month were treated to a feast of visual and aural delights. A joint Dancefest and Music Pool production, The Magical Umbrella took us on a spectacular journey to faraway places where Good and Evil, Fire and Ice fight for dominance with Good finally winning in the end, but only with the help of a young boy and his magical umbrella. A winning combination of creative dance, projected images and films, and vibrant contemporary music, all merged beautifully together to produce a very atmospheric and memorable show.

Part of ‘Big Jigsaw’, Dancefest’s access and inclusion programme, The Magical Umbrella included performers who were disabled as well as non-disabled, young and old, professional and amateur. What was very impressive was the confidence with which everyone took part and how well all the dancers moved and worked together. What also deserves congratulating is the slickness with which one piece moved onto the next. With eight different groups from all over the county participating this was quite an achievement. Each piece was very individual: we went to Outer Space, visited a Diamond Mine, swam in the Deep Blue Sea, got lost in the World of Books, played in a Toy Box, to name but a few. The films and musical accompaniment also changed dramatically to reflect and enhance each piece. The four main characters and Finn with his magical umbrella wove the thread between all these, linking them together to form a narrative whole. A seamless musical score was provided by a combination of local rap and hip-hop artists ‘Lofty’ Loughman and Rich Adey; students from Hereford College of Arts with their leader Pete Thorogood; and carefully selected pre-recorded tracks.

The obvious pleasure and enjoyment the performers gained from being on stage and participating in such a high quality show was very evident. It will be an experience that they will remember for a long time as well as being something that I am sure many in the audience will treasure.