Derry dance troupe preparing for Spring Carnival parade

The Springtown based group will represent the element of Air in the North West Carnival Initiative’s St Patrick’s Day showcase where performers will celebrate the elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Create was founded in 2014 by local Dance Facilitator Carie Logue Houston and highlights to date include performing in Adam B’s closing show on his 2019 Nationwide tour and opening the city’s Fashion Fest showcase in the Guildhall. Their energetic and colourful presentations have made them a firm crowd favourite at the city’s Halloween and St Patrick’s Day parade.

Carie said: “The St Patrick’s Day parade is always a must for us. The opportunity to be a part of something so special in the city’s events calendar is always exciting.

“We were delighted to answer the callout for participants from the North West Carnival Initiative (NWCI). They really lead the way in providing access and opportunity to the smaller groups in the community to participate and lay their imprint in these large scale parades. It’s a wonderful chance for the dancers to nurture their confidence and self esteem, to perform as an ensemble and showcase their performance skills to a massive audience.

“Rehearsals have been going well, we’ve a few younger dancers having their first parade experience which is exciting, the girls are all very supportive of each other and have been really encouraging to each other. NWCI have been great throughout the process, they have provided us with our theme and have organised fab costumes.”

Originally based at Studio 2, the group and are now located at the Dragonfly Studio in Springtown and comprise of dancers aged from 5 up to 17 years of age. Carie has an extensive background in dance education having taught Dance GCSE and A-Level in the past and she currently delivers BTEC and HND Dance as part of the North West Regional College’s Performing Arts courses. The ethos of Create is to develop movement skills and nurture creativity in an encouraging environment.

“I wanted to take the three components key to dance education - dance performance, choreography and appreciation into a community youth dance group,” she said.

“The dancers not only benefit from the physical health and well-being aspects but classes help establish friendships, enhances their emotional development and provides an expressive outlet to encourage creative problem solving which will all serve them well in life. For the girls that wish to pursue the arts in the future, the foundations established in our classes will be of great benefit too.”

Despite being in existence for less than ten years, the highlights in that time have been significant.

“Choreographing Adam B’s 2019 Irish tour gave me the chance to offer the dancers the opportunity to perform at his Derry show at the Millennium Forum which was a great experience,” Carie continued.

“To add more excitement, the Create dancers got to dance on two of his YouTube Live Shows, which was an unforgettable experience for us all. Adam is an absolute gentleman and his family and crew were so welcoming and made the experience so much fun for us all. The Japanese Foyle OBon arts events are always a big highlight too, the OBon events at the Playtrail are so special, the dancers have always loved being able to perform at this festival.

“Fashionfest 2019 at the Guildhall was an unforgettable highlight, it is such a beautiful venue and it was so exciting to open the show. The event was organised by Tracey Hall from the Style Academy Model Agency Ltd who was wonderful in organising the costumes from the City’s Fashion and Textile Centre. We had stunning headpieces by Sass and Halo and they were topped off by makeup by Rosemary Wright - the dancers definitely got the VIP treatment and the professional touches.”

The Spring Carnival parade is part of a comprehensive programme of music, dance and performance for the city’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Friday March 17th. Traditional music and performances all afternoon in Guildhall Square, the Craft Village and the Peace Garden will take place alongside the event’s Reuse and Recycle themed parade through the city centre at 3pm.

The full St Patrick’s Day programme can be accessed now at derrystrabane.com/springcarnival.

For more details on Create Dance, email [email protected] or follow them on Instagram at @create_dance_derry or Facebook Create Dance -carie_danzzone.