Skye Johnson — the talented 10-year-old and inspiration behind “Little Professor Skye,” the children’s book by rolling out publisher and Steed Media Group CEO Munson Steed — is a dance enthusiast who has not let her ballet slippers collect any dust.
She and her fellow dancers at Atlanta’s Resource for Entertainment and Arts (AREA) Atlanta put on an exciting showcase on Saturday, June 8, at the Viola Turner Theater in East Point, Georgia, during the 2019 Spring Academy Production. It’s no wonder that artistic directors Jai McClendon Jones and Denise McClendon themed the performance “The Greatest Show.”
The children were prepared, focused and definitely proved to the parents why their hard-earned dollars are well-spent at one of the best performing arts schools Georgia has to offer.
The show opened with a jaw-dropping musical theater piece paying homage for the “The Greatest Show.” This exciting rendition set the tone for the entire evening.
This high-energy performance took the audience on a historical musical journey through dance. The amazing dancers tapped their way from the roaring 1920s with “It Don’t Mean a Thing” to the 1950s with a soulful modern dance piece accompanied by “Mary Don’t You Weep” and “Fix Me, Jesus.”
The dancers left it all on the floor, giving the audience that Mae West appeal with their facial expressions before quickly flipping the script and segueing into the next time period between the ’60s and ’70s. From the tiniest dancers to the most poised pre-professionals, each demonstrated the proper stance and bearing of a trained ballerina.
During her performance, Skye moved gracefully through each dance routine, serving up high kicks, hard hits and acrobatic backflips. After six years of dance classes at AREA, she and her classmates demonstrated how much they are mastering technique and embracing their natural gifts and talents.
The versatile dance performances conveyed messages about social injustice, reflected the beautiful expressions of Harlem nights and electrified the crowd with the excitement of hip-hop.
Hats off to the choreographers and the staff at AREA Atlanta, who are training the next group of talent to take over the entertainment industry.
Skye and her AREA team made their families proud. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience when she and all of the other dance students gave their final bows.
For more information on AREA or to have your star trained with the best in Atlanta, visit myareaatlanta.com or @myareaatlanta on all social platforms.
Check out the photo gallery from the 2019 Spring Academy Production below.
