Stylos

STYLOS DANCE ACADEMY (20 Years of Dancing from the heart)

The Stylos Dance Academy celebrated its 20^th anniversary by its artistic director and principal Lillian Montero bringing together over one hundred past and present dancers, parents, friends and supporters of the academy. It was a fun-filled dinner dance which included a special DVD presentation skillfully produced by Tamara Palao, one of the academy teachers, of extracts of the academy’s work over the past 20 years. There was also a colourful fashion show displaying dance costumes from shows and productions of the past 20 years. The atmosphere was one of excitement, fluctuating from chuckles of laughter from the older generations seeing themselves in high-cut, neon-coloured leotards and headbands, and those crazy pants performing the break-dancing moves of the 80s, to great emotion in the remembrance of those special people who influenced Lillian Montero’s life so profoundly in her formative years and ignited in her the flame of inspiration that certainly shows no signs of abating. Those special people were the late William Gomez, Eduardo Viotto and Lillian’s mother, Aurora Montero.

"William Gomez approached me when I was just 19 and said, Lillian, will you choreograph the Miss Gibraltar show this year?” Lillian reminisced, this back to 1986. He believed in Lillian’s ability and not only did she choreograph the Miss Gibraltar in 1986 but also in 1987. it was after the 1987 show that Lillian started receiving telephone calls from interested parents who wanted her to teach their children dance and from that time on the Stylos Dance Academy was born. “we started off as a group of 6 friends, namely (names) and we used to rehearse in each other’s homes, patios, roof terraces, basically anywhere we could find!” and today, the academy boasts a wall-to-wall mirrored main studio and a smaller studio where now 3 teachers, namely Lillian Montero, Tracey Hook and Tamara Palao and 2 student teachers, Kaylianne Coombes and Louise Valverde, teach over 160 dancers ranging from ages 3 to 30s.

Thanks to the support from Lillian’s teaching staff, she was able to give her life to the Stylos Dance Company in 2004, with 50 dancers who aspire to make a career of dance rather the enjoy it as a hobby.

Productions

Since 1987, Lillian has produced no less than 11 Original Productions:

Shadows in the Dunes 1990;

Spellbound 1991;

Fortunes of Money 1992;

Bazra 1993;

Rhythm of Drums 1994;

Celtic Fire 1999;

All That Jazz 2003;

Praises 2004;

Christmas Recital 2005;

Meditations of the Passion 2006;

African Heartbeat 2007.

In addition to the11 productions

In addition to the 11 original productions, the academy has performed 2 musical productions; Jesus Christ Superstar 1996 & Aida (in conjunction with LCA productions 1995). Stylos has also performed in 7 Miss Gibraltar shows, 2 Gibraltar Song Festivals; for the Opening Ceremony of the Small Island Games, the Straight Games and the Special Olympics; at the Gibraltar Historical Pageant; been supporting act to Isabel Pantoja, and was commissioned by the Ministry for Culture to perform Luciano Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma” for HRH Princess Anne’s Royal Visit to the rock in 2004. Lillian has taken part in two musical videos in a national curriculum science video on energy. Lillian has also been invited to adjudicate at dance festivals in the

. The academy performs annually raising funds for numerous charitable causes, including performances at various churches for religious events. including Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Other notable achievements include winning the title of National Dance Championships on numerous occasions for Show Dance in the solo, duet and group sections, obtaining first positions in all categories at the Manchester Theatre Dance Festival (England), first position at the International Fuengirola Championships (Spain), reaching the semi-finals at the World Show Dance Championships (Germany), and 3^rd position at the World Jazz championships (Canada).

Stylos Participation

Stylos has also participated in Dance Festivals in Spain, England and most importantly at the prestigious “Dance Excellence” held in Los Angeles U.S.A. at which attendance is exclusively by nomination, and in which they have performed twice at Disneyland California. At Dance Excellence 2007, Lillian had the honor of being invited to lectures for Academy Directors only, by Disney Cruises Casting Directors, and also invited to attend dance auditions for Disney Cruises. The dancers also took part in workshops by (name) choreographer to (artists) and obtained 8 ‘Excellent’ and 5 ‘Superior’ awards.

Lillian’s latest project is giving “Dance for the Soul” workshops locally and abroad.

During the celebratory evening, Sabrina Durell and Gerald Rodriguez were applauded for being the oldest-serving members of no less than 18 years with the Academy! Lillian is proud that they achieved fifth position at the World Dance Championships in Germany 2006 with their own choreography. A generation of dancers were missed given that they are currently in the UK undertaking their undergraduate degrees, some, said Lillian proudly, in dance.

Lillian read out a letter from the minister for Culture, the Hon Edwin Reyes, as follows:-

“These last twenty years have seen great developments in Gibraltar as far as the world of dance is concerned, and Stylos are certainly very much part and parcel of that achievement.

It is thanks to the dedicated efforts of people like yourself that dance has rightfully gained its dominant place in Gibraltar’s cultural activities. However, equal credit must also be given to all those who have been part of Stylos at some stage or another. I am really glad to hear that you are having a get-together tonight to re-live happy memories and I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to thank them all on my behalf.

Please also thank very especially your current students, their parents and other family members, as it is due to their untiring support that Gibraltar’s culture continues to be enriched to unprecedented levels. May you all enjoy a fabulous 20^th anniversary celebratory night”

In her address, Lillian gave warm thanks to her late mother Aurora Montero who was always a strong source of support for her. Lillian’s address to her ‘extended family’, closed by saying that she hoped that through love and laughter, sometimes tears and disappointment she had helped many dance their heart out to success, careers but most importantly, friendships.

We congratulate the Stylos Dance Academy and look forward to the next 20 years.