As the academic term at CSVPA (Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts) comes to a close for the Christmas and New Year break, our talented students have presented a series of end-of-term performances. These showcases, spanning two weeks, have featured the skills of our Foundation Programme and Extended Diploma Music, Musical Theatre, and Acting students, displaying their talents to both peers, family and instructors.
The series of performances commenced with Pop Night on December 5th, held at our Sturton Street Campus. This event saw students perform a variety of genres and well-known pieces, such as ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor, ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles and ‘Holy’ by Justin Bieber. Each piece showcased the vocal and instrumental abilities of each student and offered the opportunity for them to develop their confidence in performing live.
Following this, Classical Night unfolded on December 6th at the beautiful St Catharine’s College Chapel in the heart of Cambridge. The evening included a variety of instrumental performances, with music students demonstrating their talents on the French horn, piano, double bass and vocally. The pieces chosen were from a wide variety of eras and composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), to very modern composers such as Nikolei Kapustin (1937-2020).
Acting students also carried out a performance at our Sturton Street campus. Featuring an ensemble cast, the play was rehearsed, and lines learnt in just 2 weeks. With moments of laughter, sadness and hope, the actors demonstrated strong characterisation skills and an innovative use of set and props.
To finish the performances, our Acting and Musical Theatre students performed a pantomime version of ‘The Little Mermaid’, adding to the fun and festive atmosphere.
For many international students, the old tradition of British Pantomime is a novelty. The vibrant characters, interactive elements, and imaginative storytelling of this cherished Christmas tradition presented a unique challenge for those who are unfamiliar with the concept.
Ava, a student from Barcelona studying the Musical Theatre Foundation course, gave a fantastic performance as Ursula, the villain of the story. She said “It is so cool to be part of this performance. We were so nervous but super prepared. We are so grateful to have these opportunities, and everyone brought so much energy to the performance because we have worked hard on it.”
We’d like to thank all those involved in these performances for sharing their talents and bringing joy and unity to the CSVPA community at ‘the most wonderful time of year’.
