“Waterbugs and Dragonflies”, performed by the Springs Dance Company at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 12 June 2008.

When a four year old comes out of a theatre and demonstrates all the dances as you walk through Bury St Edmunds, it is fair to say the afternoon was a success – especially when the four-year old concerned attends a special nursery and communicates mainly using sign language.

Grand-daughter Ciara came to the production of “Waterbugs and Dragonflies” to help me with this review. I was a bit concerned when I went to buy the book (by Doris Stickney) the previous day and discovered it was intended as a way to discuss the death of a friend with a young child. I didn’t buy the book and, to be honest, I might have not booked if I had known beforehand – and that would be a shame as the performance, aimed at 4-8 year olds, was a visual delight and could be enjoyed as just that, if you wanted.

The story, introduced by narrator Rupert Smith, is about four waterbugs living under the surface of the pond who are puzzled and upset when one of them disappears, up and out of the pond, never to be seen again. Dressed in brightly coloured closely fitting hooded leotards (like slim Tellytubbies), the dancers display all the emotions you might expect as they “swim”, dance and play under the water, while searching for their friend. We, the audience, then see the missing waterbug, on the surface of the pond, turned into a beautiful dragonfly dancing on gossamer wings.

The notes given to the adults in the audience explain that the performance is part of a child bereavement project entitled “The Loss of Some-one Special” and the Springs Dance Company, a professional Christian dance company, have worked closely with the Child Bereavement Trust and cre8.ed to develop the project.

After the interval, there was a second story, one particularly appropriate for Ciara, “The Wemmick Story”, adapted from the book “You Are Special” by Max Lucado.

The Wemmicks are wooden toys brought to life by their creator, to go and live in the Wemmick village, where stickers are awarded:  gold stars for the clever, pretty and talented, and dots for the clumsy or stupid. It takes the creator of the toys to remind all the toys that everyone is special – not just the pretty or clever ones. The lesson in self-esteem and inclusivity may have gone over Ciara’s head a bit, but her grandparents appreciated it!

With a longish interval (to allow time for all the toilet and ice-cream queues, I assume), the attention of the children was beginning to wander in the final five minutes of the second dance, but generally the performance was targeted well at the intended audience and, with “Waterbugs” especially, must have inspired some interesting discussions of a difficult subject.

Ciara was just happy to dance, skip, reach down, reach high and go “round and round” as she demonstrated what the dancers did on the stage…. Oh, and she liked the clapping too!

Rachel Sloane
15th July 2008