Let the Show begin!
What a way to kick off the Folkestone Living Advent Calendar 2023!
Without a door to knock on, Lady Christmas and a little helper had to ring a doorbell to see who was kicking off door number 1.
From the other side of the platform came the majestic sound of bagpipes and a lone bagpiper came processing down the platform, you could hear a pin drop as his festive piping filled the space with joy. As Chris the Piper finished we were quickly joined by the wonderful Indian dance team Dhwani! The colourful dance troupe draws inspiration from Bharatanatyam, a South Indian dance form celebrated for its swift body movements and elegant expressions. They performed unique renditions of Jingle Bells and Barbie girl with an Indian twist, plus 2 mesmerising classic Indian dance pieces.
No sooner had they finished, than the power houses of Studio Six began! The local dance school always delivers with a festive singing and dancing extravaganza! Studio Six gave us a classic rendition of ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ and a medley of other festive tunes. Their dancing was absolutely electric and impossible not to boogie along to!
All of a sudden the music changed and a rock rendition of ‘White christmas’ blared from the speakers! 3 skateboarders flew down the middle of the platform waving at the crowd as they went and sporting some brilliant light up antlers!
Following this, we had the beautiful Folkestone Belly Dance, showing up looking beautifully colourful and lighting up the whole platform with their elegant auras. Their graceful movements warmed even the chilliest among us! This dancing group certainly made the whole stage glow.
Our lovely Laigh from the Hoopsea Hoopers was up next with an amazing poi routine! We saw Laigh and her amazing team last year with a festive hula hooping routine, but this year we saw one of her other many talents!
The penultimate performance came from Bloco Fogo a Samba band based in Maidstone, you wouldn’t realise that we had a small group of their usual 80 strong drumming band! The rhythmic procession began from the other end of the platform and culminated in the middle performance area. They were also the perfect way to introduce our last festive surprise…
The Shepway Choirs and their amazing flash mob choir.
We all began hearing the chant ‘We Want Figgy Pudding!’ and it became almost impossible not to join in. Especially as the chant went on it turned into a whole crowds rendition of ‘we wish you a merry christmas’, it was so wonderful and wholesome to finish off the first evening with a group sing song.
We’d like to extend a special thanks this evening to:
Chris Bone
Dhwani
Folkestone Belly Dance
