Bradford dancers, including 30 children, will be making their West End debut in a glittering gala performance at the London Palladium.

The show, called One Night Only!, is produced and directed by Deana Morgan, principal of Shipley’s DM Academy, and will include a performance by musical theatre star Brian Conley. Bradford’s Kimberley Walsh, a former pupil of Deana’s, will attend as a special guest.

The show follows a charity gala night at the Alhambra last summer, organised by Deana to celebrate her 50th birthday and to raise funds for the Haven The show gave local dance groups and some of Deana’s students the opportunity to perform alongside professionals. Now she’s giving them the chance to take to the historic London Palladium stage.

“It was a wonderful evening, showcasing talented, aspiring young performers and a variety of quality acts,” says Deana. “This latest production will give everyone involved the chance to share the stage in what will be a nostalgic look back at ‘Sunday Nights at the London Palladium’. Brian Conley is closing the show for me, and we have 30 children from DM Academy appearing too.”

Act One of the show, on Sunday, May 25, features performances from local young dancers as well as performers from around the UK, making their West End debut. Top of the bill of Act Two will be Brian Conley, who is coming to the Alhambra later this year in a UK tour of circus musical Barnum.

Deana has also invited some of the performers she has worked with to join in the celebrations. They include impressionist and comedienne Hilary O’Neil, who will compere the show; Bradford musician Craig Halliday, who plays a Swarovski encrusted violin; Damien Poole, a former DM Academy pupil who has appeared in West End shows Grease, Shrek and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; and new girl band Vanquish. Members of the 60s Tiller Girls will be in attendance, along with dancers Natalie Cleverley, Neil Brodrick and Barnaby Meredith who performed an excerpt from Chicago with Deana at last year’s show.

Deana was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2006 and the proceeds from the London Palladium show will be in aid of the Haven, a Leeds-based branch of the charity Breast Cancer Haven, where she was treated. Former DM Academy pupil Kimberley Walsh, who shot to fame in Girls Aloud, and has appeared in the musical Shrek, is an ambassador for Haven.

As a teenager in 1999, Kimberley won DM Academy’s first Dance of the Year award. Last summer she returned to Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre, where she made her first stage appearance aged eight, for Deana’s first One Night Only show. Hosted by Kimberley’s sister, Amy Walsh, the show featured a tribute to Kimberley, with young singers performing numbers from Shrek.

Deana performed an elegant ballroom routine with former pupil Joshua Barwick and a lively Chicago medley, and was joined on stage by Kimberley for a moving finale.

The line-up also included youngsters from DM Academy, the Zumba Bradford Belles, Dance United and South Asian dancers Thillana. Former pupils of Deana’s flew in from as far as Australia to appear in the show.

“This is a huge thing Deana has done, pulling together this show for The Haven,” Kimberley told the Telegraph & Argus as she gave her former dance teacher a hug on the red carpet. “It’s quite emotional for me to be back at the Alhambra where I did my first ever show. Deana taught me so much. She gave me my first pair of tap shoes – which I’ve still got.”

  • For more about One Night Only at the London Palladium visit dmacademy.co.uk.

For more about Breast Cancer Haven visit thehaven.org.uk.