A dance studio from Cypress has staged its 16th annual recital featuring multiple performances of “The Princess and the Frog” over the past weekend in Long Beach.
Strong Dance Studios even gave the show a touch of some down home southern hospitality by adding scenes of New Orleans and swamplands in a nod to the owner’s Cajun heritage.
Owner Rachel Strong of Strong Dance Studios, said various sets and bits about New Orleans were performed in tribute to her late dad Joe Strong, who they found out shared a bit of Louisiana and Texas Cajun heritage.
Her dance company performed over the weekend at the Woodrow Wilson High School performing arts center with multimedia sound and professional costuming.
On Sunday, Strong introduced the dance performance with a tribute to her late father, Joe, an engineer, who she said, “always had an unstoppable work ethic and an absolute love for life, which translated into a love for children.”
Moreover, she said they later found out after his passing that “among these gifts, he also passed down sort of our ethnic background, and when we would ask him about it, he would say, well, we’re mostly Irish, and maybe a little bit French.”
Strong said her dad had always attended every production her company staged and she even had a chair still reserved for him with his name on it. “He had a wonderful sense of humor, which largely revolved around being able to laugh at himself,” she said.
Turns out, said Strong, “he was from the region of East Texas/West Louisiana, “and so we got curious after he passed away.” Strong said they turned to an ancestry website to find out more, “and we found some surprises, right? Well,” she told the audience, “we’re a little bit French.”
Strong said it turns out she’s almost “half French,” so there were many acts in the play that depicted the Cajuns, including street scenes from New Orleans and a swamp scene, including the Cypress tree stumps.
“The Cajun people are really interesting people. They obviously have healthy egos because, hey, French! They love the big-time, they can throw a party with very little provocation. They love to sing and dance and love spicy food,” she said.
“So, after learning all of that, it became obvious that this particular show is going to be meaningful to me because it really celebrates the the heritage of my people,” said Strong.
“So, as a nod to them, we tried to put as many authentic aspects of their culture in front of you as possible. including a lot of live, loud and lovely music and some treats from the swamp. I hope you enjoy tonight’s show,” said Strong before it began.
“My goal is to try to make our production very crowd friendly so that anyone wanting to see a professional, wholesome local production would want to come,” she added.
She said more than 300 dancers, artists and volunteers worked together to stage the weekend productions, said Strong. The company even found a 10-piece New Orleans style jazz band that calls itself “Blow,” that played a role in the production, even leading a “second-line” procession off the stage as the show ended.
Strong said she wishes to thank all her performers, and what she calls the extended “Strong Family” and congratulate them on yet another successful season of artistry and confidence.
