Daring to dream leads to young talent on stage

For many children, singing along to Disney songs happens in front of the TV or in the back seat of the car. For Redhill pupils Rafael Spira, 12, and Rebecca Damelin, 13, those familiar songs have taken them somewhere considerably bigger – the stage of Johannesburg’s National Children’s Theatre. They’re bringing some of Disney’s best-loved stories and songs to life in Disney’s Dare to Dream JR until 11 October. 

Directed by Ivor Jones and performed by an ensemble of performers aged 13 to 18, this exhilarating musical revue brings together more than 20 songs spanning a full century of Disney storytelling, from the golden classics of Snow White and Pinocchio to contemporary anthems from Frozen, Encanto, Moana, Coco, and The Lion King. 

Damelin has always loved Disney and its music so when she read about the open auditions for this production, she knew she had to go. When she was cast, she was over the moon; for her, this seemed like a fun experience and she couldn’t wait to perform on stage again. Spira was shocked to find out he’d been cast as he’d forgotten words to his song during the audition. 

As part of a young cast, Spira and Damelin are experiencing the excitement, discipline, and teamwork that go into a professional production, while performing material that’s been part of their own childhoods. 

Dare to Dream JR is a new musical revue, written by the Disney Theatrical Group to celebrate 100 years of Disney music. The show follows a group of “Junior Imagineers”, trainees on their first day at Walt Disney‘s legendary Imagineering studios as they discover, together, the power of dreams to inspire, connect, and transform. 

“They’re all searching for their dreams, and each character has a different personality and a different dream,” says Spira. “My character is a young teenager who is quite impatient and very confident, but that confidence takes a bit of a knock when he realises achieving his dream isn’t as easy as he thought. 

“At first, he wants his dream to happen instantly, but as the story progresses, the others help him realise that isn’t really what he wants. He learns that he wants his dream to find him eventually, rather than forcing it to happen straight away. He’s also a bit of a comic-relief character.” 

Damelin says, “My character starts as a very shy character who doesn’t know what their dream is yet, but they slowly figure out that they can be a dreamer even though their dream hasn’t found them yet. I love this character because I love how she slowly gains more and more confidence throughout the show.” 

The two have been devoting their weekends to rehearsing for their debuts and have loved the process. They’re even more excited about showing audiences all the hard work they’ve been putting in since July. 

“It’s been really fun. I’ve got to know so many new wonderful people, and it’s been really, really fun so far,” says Damelin. 

“Rehearsals have been very tiring, but also a lot of fun,” says Spira. “Every day is different, and you have such diverse conversations with everyone. Rehearsals sometimes consist of vocal training, but as we got closer to the start of the shows, we focused mostly on choreography. 

“They can be tiring because they go on for a long time, but they’re really enjoyable. You make so many memories with the people around you, while also discovering new things about yourself,” he says. 

“The most fun part is probably singing all of these Disney songs because I’ve always loved Disney,” says Damelin. 

Working on this show has convinced both that they want to pursue performing in the future.  

“I’ve always loved theatre and singing. And being in shows like this one really makes me want to go into theatre when I grow up,” says Damelin. 

“It’s made me want to be an actor even more when I grow up,” says Spira.