Monmouth students dazzle at Lord Mayor’s Show in London

November 11, 2019

Dancers and musicians at Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools dazzled at the Lord Mayor’s Show in London.

Pupils at Monmouth School for Girls joined more than 6,000 people in the world’s greatest unrehearsed civic procession through the streets of the capital on Saturday (9th November).

Head of Dance, Ms Rhyan Parry, orchestrated a vibrant dance which featured a Welsh Dragon with scales, built and painted by pupils at Monmouth School for Boys, giant flags and pom-poms.

Students at Monmouth School for Girls pass St Paul’s Cathedral during the street procession in last Saturday’s Lord Mayor’s Show in London

Featuring 20 dancers and eight musicians, the Dragon’s Head was worn by Head of Design Technology at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Andy White.

Eight girls played surdos, tambourines and agogô bells in a samba band and the procession also performed a chant, United as One, written and inspired by pupils.

It was a wonderful experience for the girls to be involved in the long-standing annual parade which included marching bands, military detachments, carriages, dance troupes, inflatables and giant contraptions.

Musicians in Monmouth School for Boys’ jazz orchestra (MOJO) also delivered a spell-binding 30-minute set in Paternoster Square in the afternoon.

The Lord Mayor’s Show is 804 years old and the Monmouth schools took part because the new Lord Mayor, William Russell, is a Haberdasher.

“We focused on the Lord Mayor’s pledge of being united in trade and culture to highlight the unity and togetherness of the five schools in the Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools’ family,” explained Ms Parry.

“Our schools attract students from different cultures and backgrounds and they are united in values and aspirations to make a positive difference to society.”

Ms Parry added: “The dancers, with pom-poms, waved flags, carried the Dragon and performed a repeating sequence of movement patterns and switched between props for the duration of the parade.”

Students at Monmouth School for Girls dance past Mansion House during last Saturday’s Lord Mayor’s Show in London

It was a memorable experience for pupils to be involved in Lord Mayor’s Show in London.