Shropshire dancers living their dream starring in English Youth Ballet production
Young dancers from Shropshire are currently living their dreams rehearsing for a professional production of a ballet double bill set to hit the stage in Wolverhampton.
The Double Bill of Nutcracker Suite & Ballet Études will be presented by English Youth Ballet at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from September 29 to September 30.
The English Youth Ballet is one of the UK’s largest ballet companies and previously won The Stage Award for special achievement in regional theatre.
The ballet will star international principal dancers Phillip Tunstall, Monica Tapiador, Samantha Camejo, Amy Drew and Oliver Speers.
All the soloist and corps de ballet roles in the production will be performed by 100 of the finest dancers from the ages eight to 18 from the local area.
Among the cast is nine-year-old Ella Bean, 13-year-old Cara Bently, nine-year-old Mia Davies, nine-year-old Josephine Handley, 10-year-old Darcie Laidler, 11-year-old Daisy Taylor and 16-year-old Hannah West, all from Shrewsbury.
Ballet Études is a one-act homage to classical ballet training. It begins with traditional ballet exercises at the barre and ends with bravura displays with an orchestration that contains arrangements of Carl Czerny’s piano studies.
The Nutcracker Prince escorts Clara to the Kingdom of Sweets where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy. A divertissements of dances, each representing a sweet is given in her honour as the grand Sugar Plum pas de deux with the Prince brings the finale to a glorious close with Tchaikovsky’s exquisite orchestral score.
Janet Lewis MBE said: “The company is especially excited about presenting our newest ballet - Ballet Études in Aylesbury.
"The music by Carl Czerny is absolutely beautiful and the ballet cleverly introduces the audience to the rigours of classical ballet training and performance.”
The English Youth Ballet held a big audition for the ballet at the Grand Theatre in May with over 200 young hopeful dancers turning up to the two auditions which were held on the stage.
Janet said that “EYB is all about providing extra performance experience to young dancers.
"We saw a very pleasing standard at the audition today and it was lovely to see lots of enthusiasm.”
Rehearsals for the ballet are currently taking place at Coppice Performing Arts School.
Oliver Speers, one of EYB’s principal dancers and the casts' current coach said that: “the young dancers are treated like professional dancers during rehearsals – we work them hard but the results are fantastic! They learn what the life of a professional dancer is like.
"They are living their dream and they just love it!”
The young cast will rehearse for 60 hours over 10 days for the production. During those days EYB take over 3 of the biggest rooms in the school and run rehearsals simultaneously in each room.
The EYB have worked with over 800 young dancers across the UK in 2016 with over 1500 auditioning. Over 15,000 people watched the company in eight towns and cities in 2016, with the company also raising over £16,000 through performances for children's hospitals in the same year.
The English Youth Ballet double bill featuring The Nutcracker and Ballet Etudes comes to Wolverhampton Grand theatre from September 29 to September 30.
For more information, click here.
