Five dancers that tomorrow would have taken to the stage with Malta’s representative at the Junior Eurovision song contest have been “ditched at the last minute” and claimed that no explanation was given.
Christina Magrin will represent Malta at this year’s contest with her song Parachute at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, after Destiny Chukunyere brought the trophy home last year.
When contacted, a mother of one of the dancers said the five youngsters, aged 12 and 13, had accompanied Ms Magrin during her performance in July when she won the Malta song contest.
The mother noted that, later on in summer, the five girls were informed that they would be accompanying her on the final night.
The decision was made for the benefit of the song that is representing the country
“They have been rehearsing non-stop since the end of October and nearly every day for the last two weeks,” she said.
Following a rehearsal at MCC on Wednesday, they were informed that they would not be dancing on stage with Ms Magrin. The parents were not given any reason why their children’s dance was being axed.
“Our point is that these children are passionate about dancing. They offered their time and should be treated with some respect. If they were not doing well, they should have been told two weeks ago. Since when are children treated this way?” she asked.
When contacted, Public Broadcasting Services CEO John Bundy said the production team had decided that the singer would be better on her own.
The team watched the rehearsal on Wednesday and felt that there was no coordination between them and the singer, he noted.
“The decision was made for the benefit of the song that is representing the country.”
Asked why they had not been informed before, Mr Bundy said the production team was not with the dancers during their rehearsals and the rehearsal at the venue took place on Wednesday.
These changes were not unusual, he said, adding that it was up to the production team, which was the entity that actually hired the dance school, to decide whether or not to include the dance in the performance.
A source at the festival venue said that after the second performance, when Christina Magrin sang without dancers, international press and critics commented that the change had left a positive effect on the whole performance and the consensus was that Malta's entry was "spot on".