Their costumes are ready.
Their choreography is locked.
But for dozens of children at the Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida's summer camp one week away from taking the stage for the biggest performance of their summer, they didn't know where the show would even take place.
"I'm crossing my fingers that the last resort comes through," said Keisha Allen Thomas, QLC’s performing arts director. "If not, I'm gonna have to just trust God that something will happen."
WGCU News visited a rehearsal on July 23, where students practiced in pajamas as part of a camp theme day, ahead of the camp's annual Youth Masterpiece Theater. At the time, the show's original venue had fallen through at the last minute, and organizers were scrambling to find a new location.
This year's performance, titled "What a Wonderful World," takes audiences on a dance tour through cultures from around the globe.
The summer performance is a tradition the center has kept going for more than 15 years. Students, who range in age from 5 to 18, began that day the same way they always do — with several minutes of quiet meditation before moving into full run-throughs of the choreography.
Nine-year-old camper Josiah Kymani Johnston said one number in the show stands out to him more than the rest.
"My favorite dance has to be Papaoutai," Johnston said. "That one inspires me because all of the African people that been through all these things, like slavery — it helps me remember things that happen."
Thomas said witnessing moments like that is what the program is all about.
"I started to see the students' confidence build, and that's something that the arts does," she said. "It creates discipline, teamwork, confidence. I see students that have never danced before get on stage and shine — and then the students that have been with us for years, they become the teachers."
Ten-year-old camper Autumn Nicole Davis said she hopes newer dancers can shake off nerves the way she has.
"I hope they feel the energy of dancing and not to ever be scared of dancing in front of the crowd," Davis said.
And no performance is complete without wardrobe.
"What's the icing on the cake is the costume," Thomas said. "When they get their costumes, it kind of just boosts their ego a little bit, because now they're in something that they've never been in before. And when the parents see their students on stage, it also creates an awe, because they don't know that their students can perform at such a high level."
With more than a dozen performers, backstage will be fast-paced during the show, with quick costume changes and tight cues that leave little room for error. But Thomas said she isn't worried.
"If you mess up, keep going," Thomas said. "If you fall, get up. The show will go on. If you miss your cue, get back in it. So, resilience is huge."
Then largest worry — the venue search — has since been resolved. "What a Wonderful World" is scheduled for July 31 at 6 p.m. at South Fort Myers High School.
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