A hundred children from four Dorset schools danced the iconic VE Day dance the Palais Glide as part of a day of celebration launching their WWII drama series Children of World War Two.
It’s thought to have been the first time in 80 years that the iconic dance was performed on this scale, using the original score and lyrics from 1935.
The dance, led by actor Tamsin Fessey at Nothe Fort in Weymouth, was part of a celebration marking the launch of Children of World WarII, an audio drama series based on oral histories about childhood during the war.
“The idea was to put today’s young people into the shoes of children 80 years ago using stories from people who were there as inspiration,” explained project co-director Alastair Nisbet.
Since the beginning of the school year pupils at St John’s Primary, St Nicholas Primary Weymouth, St Mary’s Middle School at Puddletown and Bovington Primary Academy have worked with a team of artists and writers from arts organisation ScreenPLAY to devise, write, perform and record the dramas, and accompanying music in the project which is funded by Dorset Council and the Heritage Lottery.
Dancing the Palais Glide: Pupils perform with actor Tamsin Fessey from theatre company Angel Exit.
Listen to an audio report of the occasion here: Reporting from the Nothe Fort and the ‘Children of WWII’ event
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