Amid the glitz and glamour of the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda?s annual fund-raising gala at the Fairmont Southampton Resort on Saturday night came wonderful news for young Bermudian dance students.

Internationally renowned dancer, actress, choreographer, director/producer and author Debbie Allen revealed that she is donating full scholarships for one student from each of Bermuda?s five dance schools to attend this year?s summer intensive at her dance academy in California.

In addition, gala chairman Brian O?Hara announced that the $200,000-plus raised from the event will allow the registered charity?s third international summer intensive, DanceBermuda, to take place in August.

Miss Allen was in Bermuda to receive the first ?Catherine Zeta-Jones Award for Legends in Dance? from the Hollywood actress and Bermuda resident, who was hosting the event.

Clearly impressed by the NDFB?s mission, aims and achievements, as well as the corporate and community support, its first recipient hoped to return to the Island ?again and again?, and forge a closer link with the local dance organisation.

?You understand, recognise and value the impact of dance in our children?s lives,? Miss Allen said. ?To see this gathering of such really elegant, beautiful people in support of this dance foundation is absolutely breath-taking to me.

?We don?t have it in LA. I am going to gather together various schools of dance so we can sit down and have a conversation because we need this, and I am glad that I can take the virus back to LA.?

Accompanied by her daughter, dancer Vivian Nixon, Miss Allen described her return to the Island after a 19-year absence as ?a homecoming?, and noted that, while here on a break from her role in the musical, ?Sweet Charity? nearly two decades ago, her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter had taken her very first dance lesson with Louise Jackson. Today, Miss Nixon, like her mother, has also appeared on Broadway.

The celebrity guest then announced that, so impressed was she by all she had seen and experienced here, and in particular the achievements of the NDFB, that she was donating five scholarships, one to each of the local dance schools, for deserving students to attend her dance academy?s summer intensive in July.

Of the Catherine Zeta-Jones Award for Lifetime achievement in Dance, the former Broadway star said, ?I so am happy to receive this award in the name of someone I truly, truly adore and greatly admire?.

Praising the three young, senior-level Bermudian students who danced ?In From the Sea?, a gorgeous contemporary piece choreographed especially for them by the American Ballet Theatre?s (ABT) Brian Reeder, who is also artistic director of the DanceBermuda summer intensive, an emotional Ms Zeta-Jones said she was ?completely overwhelmed? by what she had just witnessed.

?It brought tears to my eyes. Our Bermudian dancers stood up so beautifully. It all makes sense ? all the hard work that has gone into it. The fantastic ABT and the companies who have been so supportive of us for three years, and who continue to constantly bring our children and the students in Bermuda to live dance... I cannot believe how many dancers there are on this Island. To have the kind of professionalism that went into the performance I saw tonight was a treat, and absolutely beautiful to behold.?

Indeed, the three advanced-level dance students Dominique Anderson, Anna Clifford and Krystal Smith had spent just five days in New York working with Mr. Reeder before Saturday night?s performance, making it all the more impressive.

Miss Zeta-Jones regularly attends NDFB workshops, and while she admitted that not every student she had watched would go on to become a professional dancer, she said their training would give them confidence, poise, and an ability to speak eloquently whatever they did in life.

?Dance is a wonderful attribute. Please let it never go away,? she urged.

Paying tribute to the generous sponsors of the NDFB, Miss Zeta-Jones said that, as a board member, she could contribute to the Foundation?s development by raising awareness of what the organisation was doing, and the high standards it sets.

?We know that Bermuda competes on a global level, and we want the world to know that in Bermuda we place a high value on excellence. At the Foundation it is the standard we have set for everything we do?.

Hence the establishment of her ?Legends in Dance? award, which would be awarded annually ?to a man or woman who has made a significant contribution on the international level, and for whom dance has been a driving force, and the heart and soul of everything he or she does?.

In his welcoming address, Mr. O?Hara acknowledged the generosity of all who had contributed to keeping the sold-out gala?s expenses to a minimum. These included the Fairmont Southampton Resort which donated, discounted and waived room fees; the ?Dancing with the Stars? VIPs and Mr. Kramer who had borne their own expenses; and Miss Zeta-Jones who had shared some of the hospitality costs with the hotel.

?As a result of this wonderful support more than $200,000, or 70 percent of net proceeds, will be going directly to the DanceBermuda summer intensive,? Mr. O?Hara said.

The gala?s entertainment programme also included ten dancers from the ABT Studio Dance company. Aged 17 to 19, their presentation of the fast-paced ?Vanish? (choreographed by one of today?s hottest choreographers, Adam Hougland, to the music of Peteris Vasks) was also impressive. Like ?In From the Sea?, it was very contemporary, but again demonstrated the importance of classical ballet as the bedrock of all genre of dance.

Mr. and Mrs. Vorhees Joell demonstrated the salsa and cha-cha-cha, but it was the final segment which created the most buzz. ?Dancing with the Stars? featured Bank of Butterfield and Bank of Bermuda CEOs Alan Thompson and Philip Butterfield, respectively; XL CEO Brian O?Hara, Minister of Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler, Shadow Minister of Works and Engineering and Sport Jon Brunson, and Belco CEO Garry Madeiros.

Described, tongue in cheek, by NDFB chairman Donald Kramer as participants in the organisation?s ?winter intensive?, the ?super six? competed as a team, but performed individual ballroom dances with professional instructors Eva Carozza and Betina Hershey, each sequence being preceded by Johnathan Rogers? expertly edited video clip of their early training.

Appropriately attired for the relevant routine, it was Mr. Butterfield?s black and white shoes which judge Bruce Barritt declared ?worth the price of admission alone?.

The same judge also congratulated Mr. Butterfield on ?not falling down, unlike that building on Front Street?, and said that Mr. Thompson?s performance was, like the dropped letters from ?Butterfield Bank?, ?NTB ? Not too Bad?.

A huge hit with the audience, the competition ended in a diplomatic tie for both teams, with individual plaques being presented to commemorate each participant?s 90 seconds of terpsichorean fame in 2007.