Dancing and an exciting soundtrack brought a contemporary culture crossover, fusing African tradition with modern popular music style.

Percussion, including tuned wooden and metal pipes, drum effects, sensational amplification and a vocalist contributed to this.

Five lithesome young ladies moved and twisted their bodies in amazing ways, while projected patterns and the dancers' shadows created an environment for imagination to take over. Supple agility was the common factor as controlled positions were changed into graceful falls.

Choreography was distinctive. In act one, slow movements featured as the first dancer appeared, but the tempi increased as subsequent dancers arrived.

In the third futuristic act, dancers, dressed in white with luminous green and pink additions, heralded a message from the vocalist Believe in yourself, repeated many times, dancers either jumping in unison on the spot, or in sinewy twists on the ground.

Educational workshops had been held by ACE. At the beginning Manor Park and Rose Hill Schools demonstrated the progress they had made in this venture. With several children in wheelchairs, their achievement was admirable.

Husband-and-wife team Ian and Gail Parmel, musical and artistic directors of ACE, led the workshops.

Jill Hopkins