Spectacular Mesquite Toes Are Dancing Again

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

The Mesquite Toes Dance Troupe livened up the Mesquite Community Theatre last weekend, with their first post-COVID appearances on an indoor stage.

The evening’s program was entitled “That’s Dancing” and included guest appearances from the Mesquite Recreation Center Lifelong Dancers, the Virgin Valley Dance Company, and the Sun River Western Dancers from St George, Utah.

All the performers were excited to return to the hustle bustle of dressing room costume changes, stage curtains and a live audience. Their performance last fall, due to COVID had to be held outside on a metal stage amid the blowing wind.

Other special guest appearances were from cowboy poet Russ Westwood, telling his cowboy tale. Singer Linda Nelson entertained the audience with her rendition of “Dear Hearts” with a little added footwork of her own.

The zesty appeal of all the dancers, in each of the different groups, was inspiring. It made the audience want to be dancing too. The music choices and choreography were varied, offering a little something for everyone’s taste.

The Mesquite Recreation Center Lifelong Dancers thrilled the audience with their loud enthusiasm in “Do you Love Me.”

There was boundless energy on stage when the high school group, Virgin Valley Dance Company, performed with a well-choreographed routine.

“This year has been a hard year for the Mesquite Toes!” admitted Marge Westwood, Director of the Mesquite Toes Troupe. “But we have persevered. It was challenging but we made it work. We are so thrilled to be back in our “home” theater, where all of our past Spring Spectaculars and Christmas shows have been held. We are so happy to see new and old friends in the audience.”

Audience members were enthusiastic about the performance, and about the return to the theatre. “I thoroughly enjoy seeing this,” said Mesquite resident Pam Moore. “I am so glad to see there is this kind of opportunity in Mesquite.”

One of the few male dancers with the Toes is Phil Brittain. In one of the numbers in this production he played the perfect Aladdin.

Brittain said that he started as a stage manager for the group back in 2014 when his wife was a dancer.
“They were having so much fun up there that I wanted to dance too,” Brittain said.

Master of Ceremonies Pericles kept the audience informed and amused as he tried to outdo the dancers’ costumes.

It was the first performance for dancer Elizabeth Webb. She began dancing with the ‘Toes’ last November. “It is terrifying, yet very exciting and rewarding in the end,“ Webb said.

“I hope everybody supports the Mesquite Toes,” Webb added. “It is a great organization and a valuable asset to the people in the community. They help people mentally and physically, the group is always up and having fun.”

Patron Pattie LaBross said, “It is inspiring, seeing the age group, they are wonderful. You can tell they are having such a good time together.”
“We are excited to share our love of dance with anyone who is interested!” said Westwood.

For information about joining the Mesquite Toes, send an email to Mesquitetoesdance@gmail.com or visit www.mesquitetoestapteam.com.