Sleeping Beauty at Crescent Theatre is a hit for Midland Theatre Ballet.
A new Birmingham dance academy for talented youngsters kicked off last weekend with not one, but three sell-out performances.
Midland Theatre Ballet Sleeping Beauty Group
The Midland Theatre Ballet, which gives young dance enthusiasts the opportunity to perform in a full-length professional style ballet, staged an artistic interpretation of the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty. The 60-strong strong company of eight to 18 year-olds performed to a full house of almost 1,000 spectators at the city’s prestigious Crescent Theatre in Brindley Place.
The brainchild of its Artistic Director, Lisa Hollinshead, the academy auditions over 200 young hopefuls every year, all of whom aspire to secure a place in the coveted dance school. Unlike other academies, Midland Theatre Ballet aims to give youngsters a genuine taste of life as a professional dancer as pupils must undergo a rigorous audition process before being accepted.
Once an official recruit, all pupils have the unique opportunity to train as a company for a year culminating in a full-length classical performance, within a real theatre environment and in front of a paying audience.
Ms Hollinshead, who also leads the five-strong teaching faculty, is fully accredited by the Royal Academy of Dance and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance. She said: “The three performances of Sleeping Beauty went spectacularly well and everybody at MTB was thrilled. Staging a full-length professional style ballet is a dream come true for our youngsters and the best possible way for them to cut their teeth in the world of professional dance. I am sure we have some real stars of the future within our midst, and I have no doubt that last weekend’s audiences would agree.
The life of a professional ballet dancer is not for the faint-hearted. It takes absolute dedication and a huge amount of sacrifice in order to succeed and it’s important that children in our region have the opportunity to get ahead of the game and experience life at the top as they look to embark on professional careers later in life. We have already been auditioning for our 2013 production of Beauty and the Beast and I look forward to hearing from anyone who may want to join our dancing family!”
If your child is interested in gaining a place in Midland Theatre Ballet’s 2013 production of Beauty and the Beast – visit www.midlandtheatreballet.co.uk for more information.