A scintillating range of group dances brought the curtains down on Thursday on this year’s cultural activities of the Deccan Herald in Education (DHiE) for its member children.

The dances in Zone B that followed Wednesday’s Zone A group were impressive not only for the grace, energy and application that the young artistes displayed, but also for an astounding range of props that the troupes brought.

Take the junior troupe of Florence Junior School for example. The range of property that embellished their stage was awesome and imaginative. They depicted the importance of environmental conservation with great gusto and declared ‘Save mother earth.’ Naturally, they carried away the top prize in the category.

Gift vouchers

Prizes in the form of gift vouchers were given away not only to the dance artistes but also to the winners in the painting, story writing and the quiz contests held during the year.

The final day’s events were eye-catching for the energetic performances of the little artistes, but the care they took with their costumes - often very colourful, dance jewellery and an astounding array of props that included even a floral ‘karaga.’

Lord Shiva and Ganesha put in very colourful presence, in costume and cut-outs. Their decorative jewellery was profuse. The young dancers who revelled in modern or disco versions wore costumes that glinted.

On the previous day, a girl replied tersely that she had bought the elegant ‘sari’ she was wearing and it was not from a prop agency.