Shropshire youngsters dancing their way to stardom

The English Youth Ballet is auditioning for roles in a dramatic, full-length production of the ballet.

Up to 100 young male and female dancers aged eight to 18 will be offered the chance to rehearse with and then dance alongside international professional principal dancers in the production for three performances.

Auditions will be held on March 9 and the performance will take place at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, on July 10 and 11.

The policy of EYB is to give professional performance experience to young dancers in beautiful venues close to where they live.

The young dancers benefit from being coached and mentored by the professional dancers in an 11-day rehearsal period which takes place out of school hours.

They gain a unique insight into what it is like to be a professional dancer.

Company director Janet Lewis, MBE, enjoyed an illustrious dancing career with the Royal Ballet Company and London Festival Ballet, dancing alongside such greats as Margot Fonteyn, Dame Beryl Grey, John Gilpin and Rudolf Nureyev.

She says she is constantly amazed by the array of talent she finds around the country.

Janet formed EYB 16 years ago to help to bring ballet to the masses.

In 1998, the company put on just one show. The following year it danced in Stevenage and Stoke-on-Trent. In 2000, the number of shows leapt to four and since 2002 it has been performing eight a year.

Eight professionals are used for the principal roles but the support cast is made of amateur children.

"We are now getting between 200 and 400 children at each audition which is absolutely staggering," said Janet, 72.

"The children are very keen to learn from the professionals and absorb very quickly and most of them are completely undaunted about performing on the big stage.

"In a gentle way, we push them and they go on to give their best.

"Wherever I go, I am always amazed at the range of talent we have in this country among girls and boys.

"In Newcastle, we had 15 boys come along for rehearsals and all of them were very good.

"I have noticed that people in the North are less reserved; they really want to do well and perform as best they can and they are not shy about coming forward."

The English Youth Ballet consists of a core team of eight international principal dancers, two artistic ballet staff, two wardrobe mistresses and four theatre technicians.

The principal dancers have danced in some of the world's greatest companies including English National Ballet, La Scala and the Boston Ballet.

EYB is highly regarded for presenting lavish, large-scale classical ballets and critics have praised the quality of the beautiful sets and costumes.

Register

Auditions will be held at Theatre Severn from 4.30pm to 6.15pm for dancers aged eight to 11 and from 6.45pm to 8.30pm for dancers aged 12 to 18.

Each audition will take the form of a regular ballet class. It is advisable to register for an audition in advance. It is possible to register on the day, but you need to arrive 30 minutes early to register.

The audition fee is £15 and all dancers participate in a full ballet class on the stage. Parents are invited to watch in the auditorium.

There is a performance course fee for dancers who participate and scholarships are available.

For more information about the auditions and to register for the event contact Janet either by telephone on (01689) 856747 or by email at misslewis@englishyouthballet.co.uk