Dancing queens (and king) take step closer to life on the big stage
ATRIO of performers from a Bacup dance studio have taken giant leaps towards their stage goals.
Jasmine Clayton, 16, from Lumb, has landed a place studying musical theatre at Shockout Arts Academy in Manchester.
Sam Hughes, 15, from Whitewell Bottom, has been accepted at a prestigious Centre for Advanced Training (CATs) in dance at Salford’s The Lowry.
And nine-year-old Ava White, from Norden, is now a junior associate at The School of Ballet Theatre UK in Leicester.
Karen Connearn, principal at Dansworks Dance Academy of Performing Arts, said: “I am delighted for all three. They have achieved this success despite lockdown because they have all continued to work so hard on their dance and performance skills using our online Zoom classes.”
Jasmine, who has been at Dansworks from age four, had just two days to film her audition, a monologue, a song and a dance routine.
The former Whitworth Community High School student said: “I had a monologue already recorded; Karen allowed me to use the dance studio and helped me to improve my dance before filming and my dad borrowed a microphone from my school and recorded me singing.”
Jasmine was shocked in the middle of her interview to be told she had a place.
Her dream is to appear on stage on Broadway or the West End, realistically she hopes to secure a role in a touring production or on cruise ships and maybe start her own YouTube Channel.
Sam, 15, has been dancing at Dansworks since he was two and a half.
Last year the Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School student was accepted on the associate programme of Swindonbased school Tap Attack, and is now on the senior programme.
His mum Helen said: “Tap has always been Sam’s strength and we wanted him to also improve his ballet and contemporary.”
Funded by the Department for Education Music and Dance Scheme, CATs exist to help identify, and assist, children with exceptional potential and after an experience day and online interview, Sam was accepted.
He said: “At the interview I felt like I was talking to someone who understood where I was coming from.”
Sam will be attending online training Thursday evening, all day Saturday and optional extra lessons on Monday and Friday evenings. There are plans for him to attend a couple of sessions at the Lowry before Christmas, restrictions willing.
As well as improving his contemporary dance skills and ballet, the course includes nutrition, yoga, pilates and contextual studies.
Sam said: “After GCSEs, I want to do my A levels and then get a place at a musical theatre college and I am eager to go to London.”
Ava, a pupil at Caldershaw Primary School, Rochdale, will be attending ten sessions with The School of Ballet Theatre UK.
“She has been dancing since she was two and a half, and been at Dansworks since she was five.
She said: “I love everything about dancing, the way it makes me feel, seeing all my friends and having a lovely dance teacher. I also want to thank my dance family for pushing me really hard.”
Ava would love to become a ballerina and has already learnt all the moves to the two roles she would like to play - that of the Sugar Plum Fairy or Odette in Swan Lake.
She was the youngest of 150 to audition for the Northern Ballet in Leeds, but won a place on the reserve list.
After the lessons with the ballet school, she hopes to secure a place at Northern Ballet at the next audition.