From Covid lockdown to Cats
DANCER CAST IN SOUTH KOREAN MUSICAL TOUR
IT was a phone call out of the blue which turned Natalie Bennyworth’s world upside down.
Many of us have had events, shows, concerts and more cancelled this year, but the Beverley dancer is living the dream across the other side of the world.
Natalie’s agent rang her at the start of the first national lockdown to say she had been cast in the upcoming Cats The Musical Tour in South Korea.
Weeks later, a one-way ticket, a mask, and a wave goodbye to her East Ridingbased family, meant Natalie would spend the next few months escaping UK’S coronavirus crisis.
Natalie began training as a young girl at Hull dance schools, Pamela Gray Dance Academy and Skelton Hooper Dance School.
She went on to Northern Dance in Leeds at the age of 11, and began to take dance seriously.
Her agent put her up for Cats The
Musical in South Korea where the coronavirus rates have been extremely low.
Natalie said: “I am completely blown away with this country, South Korea really do have the pandemic under control and it is so inspiring to watch and be in the middle of.
“I was so shocked that such a fabulous oppor- tunity had arisen in the middle of the global pandemic.
“I feel so grateful; Cats is such special show, I had always dreamt being a part of.”
Natalie is now performing every day in the hit musical, and feels South Korea have supported her much more than the UK Government have supported the arts at this time.
A government-backed campaign Rethink. Reskill. Reboot stated what people could do as an alternative to a of their dream job, which caused outrage in the arts and entertainment industries.
She added: “The world would be a very serious place without entertainment and I think it’s very sad that we don’t get the recognition we deserve for our work.
“Performers train hard for many years to get to where they are and we deserve to be treated with much more respect than being swept under the carpet and forgotten about.”
Natalie says Beverley will always be home for her, but for now she is enjoying travelling the world.
She said: “I am so lucky my career has taken me all over the place and I am so grateful for that.
“I am currently loving being in Seoul, South Korea. It is such an amazing place and I may have never travelled here if it wasn’t for my work.”