Students from Sara Packham Theatre Academy in Keighley to star with English Youth Ballet (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Students from Sara Packham Theatre Academy in Keighley to star with English Youth Ballet
9:00am Tuesday 26th February 2013 in News
Success: The dancers who have gained places at the English National Ballet, from left, Katie Johnson, Jess Leeming, Claire Chapman, Leah Robinson, Lewis Day, Niamh Alvey, Elizabeth Denby, Emily Jardine-Rowley and Isabelle Roche
Ten students of a dance school have won places with one of the country’s leading youth ballet companies.
The youngsters from the Sara Packham Theatre Academy in Keighley, will train alongside professional dancers with English Youth Ballet. They will spend a week as part of a 70-strong troupe of young dancers rehearsing the ballet Coppelia.
The students, who are aged from nine to 14, will then perform the full-length ballet at the Grand Opera House in York on June 7 and 8.
Sara said: “They train intensively in the Spring Bank holiday with professional dancers in the leading roles. They are treated like a professional ballet company.”
She nominated 10 of her students for the English Youth Ballet auditions and was delighted all of them gained places.
One of the students, Lewis Day, played the title role in the musical Billy Elliot at Bradford Alhambra.
The other youngsters are no strangers to performing on a professional stage, as most of them have been Sunbeams in the Bradford Alhambra pantomime.
Several are currently preparing for auditions to join the Royal Ballet either full-time or for its weekend schools.
