The British International School (BIS) Hanoi has raised more than US$1,300 to support local disabled children through their outstanding musical performance in two nights in February.

The chosen musical, Beauty and the Beast, is a stage adaptation based on the 1991 animated Disney film, which was itself adapted from the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.

The play received many awards and nominations for its wonderful musical score and songs. Many schools and arts centers around the world perform the show each year. 

The performance was held as part of the annual school production, an important event in the calendar of the British International School Hanoi.

A scene from the performance. Photo: BIS Hanoi

Whilst the school’s motto is ‘Be Ambitious,’ giving the students the opportunity to pull off such an iconic Disney musical as Beauty and the Beast is another example of the constant challenge BIS Hanoi presents to their students, thanks to the work’s demanding standards in terms of acting, singing, stage set-up, music, lighting and costumes.

It has taken a lot of work and a close collaboration between BIS Hanoi students and teachers to put on such a high quality performance as Beauty and the Beasts.

The casting for the production took place at the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year, with extremely high requirements in terms of acting and singing abilities for each role.

The orchestra started rehearsing early on, while the stage set-up design involved a lot of painting and construction from the BIS Hanoi Art Department.

What made Beauty and the Beast at BIS Hanoi special was the international mix of players: Ana (British) as Belle, Nhat Hung (Vietnamese) as the Beast, Jess (British) as Gaston, Susan (Korean) as Mrs. Potts, and Ana Luisa (Mexican) as Babette.

The whole cast made great efforts in practice and rehearsals over three months which boosted their standard of acting and amazed the audience in bringing the classical fairy-tale to life.

During the performance nights, the school’s orchestra also sounded like a professional orchestra that had been rehearsing together for years.

A scene from the performance. Photo: BIS Hanoi

Ms Laura Rea, Performing Arts Leader at BIS Hanoi, shares: “An unimaginable amount of hours of rehearsals went into this show, rehearsing the same scene over and over again until it was perfect, re-doing dances tirelessly to ensure all students were not only in the correct place but also facing the correct way and doing the correct moves as well as continuously developing our singing and acting skills put a lot of pressure on our students.”

“Not once did any student complain, they came to every rehearsal with a smile and left every rehearsal tired but ready for the next day,” she added.

With audiences averaging around 700 people for two nights, the production achieved its ambitious fund raising goal for children with disability at the local Nguyen Dinh Chieu school.

In addition, BIS Hanoi students delighted their parents and teachers with their talents and professional working attitude which confirms the excellent teaching and learning quality of the school’s Performing Arts Department.