Four talented ballet dancers from a Great Barr dance school have been selected to take part in a prestigious production of Cinderella.
The youngsters, who all train at Dance 22 Studio, were chosen for a coveted place after a highly competitive audition process at the elite Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham.
Maria Chue, aged seven, Charlotte Detheridge and Emily Hughes, both aged eight, and nine-year-old India Vale will now rehearse with the Midland Theatre Ballet until the production is staged for a week at The Crescent Theatre in May.
Sam Howell, principal of Dance Studio 22, which holds classes at the GMAC at the Alexander Stadium and Perry Beeches Baptist Church, said she was exceptionally proud of the girls, none of whom had auditioned for Midland Theatre Ballet before.
“This is the first time we have put forward our dancers for this and we’re excited for them now that they have got a place in the production,” she said. “It’s a massive opportunity for them and I know they and their parents are really excited, too.”
Midland Theatre Ballet is a Midlands-based project for seven-18 year olds that aims to give talented ballet students the experience of being part of a youth ballet company for a year, culminating in a full length ballet performance at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham.
Students at company develop their technical ballet ability and enjoy the experience of what it is like to be part of a full-length ballet production.
Another of the dance students, 16-year-old Talullah Wagenfuhrer, has been asked to perform with dance company Critical Mass 22, including at the opening and closing ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games. The invitation follows her attendance at a session with DanceXChange.
“We’re really excited for her as this will be an incredible experience for her,” said Sam.
“She’s attended our dance school for over four years now and is a wonderful, hard-working student, always interested in progression and getting the full dance experience.”
The dance school, which has been operating for about five years, also took a team of 27 dancers to Alton Towers’ Scarefest event in October.
The students, all aged between seven and 15, were selected after Chance 2 Dance, an organisation that provides dance schools across the country the opportunity to take part in theatre productions and other special events, asked the school to perform.
“We’ve taken part in a few opportunities presented by Chance 2 Dance and were so pleased to have been asked to do Scarefest at Alton Towers,” said Sam.
Two groups of dancers each performed a five-minute modern and acrobatic dance on the stage at the annual event.
“We were so excited to take part in Scarefest. We haven’t been able to perform on stage in public for almost two years due to the pandemic and we came back with a bang,” said Sam.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my dancers and none of it would be possible without the fantastic parents support during such difficult times.”
Written by Jayne Howarth.