The sound of thunder, the roll of the roar from the crowd and the spark of electricity that jumps from performer to performer, from stage to crowd is part and parcel of life in Liverpool; the waters of the city feeding directly it seems into the creative passion that grips with a vice like passion on all who see the area as a hotbed of emerging talent.

In a period of time when art is being squeezed from the syllabus in schools, when the basics of learning and appreciating music, of the craft of drama and entertaining, of nourishing the soul to be able to recite a line of poetry that might inspire others to live their lives with more spiritual gain than materialistic wealth. Of course certain individuals, Government ministries and those without a soul will always suggest that art is a luxury, an extravagance that we cannot afford, that the sentimentality is lavish in an age where consumerism is the comfort they insist is the only way to seek redemption.

Liverpool’s youth always finds a way to see that injustice of thought and carrion like tendency, and treat it with the contempt it deserves, and no matter which youth theatre is involved, it comes out with the determination to prove otherwise, that being able to dance, to project a sense of opposition, is creatively stimulating and absolutely necessary if we are to be anything more than a series of 0s and 1s, more than a statistic of shopping habits.

A hot summer’s evening in the city by the Mersey is always filled with electricity, sometimes it can verge on the powerful, in the wrong hands it can lead to a sense of damning, however in those we must trust to see us fulfilled in the decades to come, and those that must come after them, that electricity is reassurance, an encouragement that all will be well, that the world in the right hands of faith, support and care will win through.

It is a statement of intent that Liverpool’s Rare Studio proved throughout their End of Year Showcase inside the Echo Arena’s Auditorium. A statement of persuasion, of incredible hard work and dedication becoming a crowning glory, for the students, and for the choreographers and directors who made sure the evening was a feast for the senses, a spectacle of beauty in which routines blazed bright and monologues were delivered with purity, with honesty.

Across the board, the showcase was a delight to be in the audience for, whether in the heart thumping dance routines, especially in the pieces The Hardest Button, Greatest Show, the phenomenal I Will Survive and Survivor, and in the direct monologues. With choreography and direction from the likes of Dr. Nick Phillips, Sean Taffe, Michael Morrisey, Lindsay Inglesby, Charlotte Jones, Mia Carragher and Megan Bowers, this was a showcase in which to take delight in, in which the auditorium and the crowd gathered were as one in their applause and recognition of what had taken place.

A true joy, measured, passionate, the city of Liverpool is always in safe hands when it comes to its art and artists; a fact we should all recognise wholeheartedly.

Ian D. Hall