Three young girls thrilled to be taking the stage for prestigious ballet
Three children from the Melton Mowbray area are preparing to take to the stage in a prestigious ballet production of Swan Lake.
Grace Cullingworth (12), Millie O'Shaughnessy (11) and eight-year-old Fflur Harris-Wakelam will be dancing with the English Youth Ballet (EYB) at the Nottingham Theatre Royal.
The girls earned their place in an elite cast of 98 dancers after highly competitive auditions back in April.
They have honed their skills with local dance groups – Grace and Fflur with Melton’s Performing Stars Academy and Millie at the Stathern and Bottesford-based Belvoir Dance Academy.
Grace, who is a student at Long Field Spencer Academy, said: “I started dancing when I was two, my mum signed me up and I’ve not stopped dancing since.
“I love the adrenaline when you are on stage and the feeling after you’ve finished the dance.
“While I’m at EYB I’d like to learn more about the professionalism of the ballet industry.”
Millie attends Ab Kettleby Primary School and lives in the village while Fflur lives in Melton and studies at Scalford Primary School.
The girls are currently rehearsing with fellow cast members ready for the performances, which are on Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19.
The principal dancer for the EYB production is Ann Wall, who will be playing the pivotal part of Odette (The White Swan).
She said “Being part of EYB is an amazing experience for any young dancer. "Dancing with EYB is an experience that will stay with the young dancers forever.”
Go to www.trch.co.uk/whats-on/english-youth-ballet-swan-lake-j6ry , call 0115 989 5555 or visit the Box Office at the theatre to buy tickets.