Birmingham academy produces dance royalty

Students chosen for dance spectacular.

Three students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy have danced their way to the top, beating hundreds of competitors to be selected to perform in award-winning choreographer Matthew Bourne’s upcoming production of Lord of the Flies.

Ben Powney (17) Declan Lewis (17) and Zach Parkin (16), all students at the creative, digital and performing arts academy in Birmingham’s Eastside, will take to the stage at Birmingham Hippodrome from 14th–17th May.

Performed as part of International Dance Festival Birmingham, the youngsters will be joined by New Adventures dance company and a selection of remarkable young talent from across the West Midlands.

Suzanne Tromans, dance teacher at BOA, said: “More than 600 people auditioned for the parts so it’s fantastic that three of our students have been selected to perform. All three have extremely different styles. Declan is a breakdancer, Ben performs traditional ballet and Zach is currently on our acting pathway but is hoping to switch to studying dance at post-16 thanks to this experience.”

Liz Leck, creative learning manager at Birmingham Hippodrome, helped to select the performers. She commented: “It’s a real thrill for the Birmingham Hippodrome team to see the young men involved in past projects with us, such as the Matthew Bourne Curtain Raiser this February, develop and progress their experience of the arts by being chosen to take part in this unique and exciting event.

“I am delighted to see these students grow and can’t wait to see them back on our main stage alongside our excellent group of talented young performers and professional dancers from Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.”

As well as taking part in the performance itself, Ben has also been selected to take on the role of Dance Captain. He said: “Matthew Bourne is a fantastic choreographer and I feel so lucky to have been selected to perform in his production. As Dance Captain I’ll also be the connection between the cast members and the dance ambassadors and will work closely with the adult company, producers and Matthew himself when we come together during pre-show week.”

Produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome, IDFB presents a world-class programme of performance and participation in theatres and public spaces across Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Tickets for Lord of the Flies are priced from £15 to £36 and can be purchased through the Birmingham Hippodrome ticket office. For more information about the performance please visit http://www.idfb.co.uk/whats-on/lord-of-the-flies, or to find out more about the academy visit www.boa-academy.co.uk/.