Bede’s Legat Dance Academy is delighted to announce that Lower Fifth pupils George Linehan, Chloe Hanson and Katie Fenton will be performing in the Southern Youth Ballet’s production of the renowned classic The Nutcracker at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne on Sunday 1 December.
George and Chloe will play the lead roles of The Nutcracker and Clara, and Katie will represent the Ensemble in multiple dances including the elegant ‘Waltz of the Flowers’.
Chloe, who has been dancing since the age of 6 and involved in the LAMDA Children’s Ballet and National Youth Ballet, comments, “I am very excited to have the opportunity to play a lead role; it’s wonderful to be given a character and the chance to develop the role and express how they are feeling within the dance. It will be a really lovely atmosphere.”
George, who started formal dance training at the age of 11 and has previously performed musical theatre in Brighton and Eastbourne, adds, “It’s great to be able to perform in the Congress Theatre, as it gives the opportunity for friends and family to come along; it would be fantastic to see as many people there as possible.”
Katie, who began dancing at the age of 5 and is celebrating her fifth year in the Southern Youth Ballet, says, “It’s amazing to be a part of such an iconic production, and as it’s such a Christmassy show it will be really fun!”
The trio were selected for the parts through a series of classes and individual auditions, and will be in rehearsals every Sunday in the lead up to the production, as well as the entire final week of Half Term. This is alongside their current Legat, academic and other rehearsal commitments (including for the School’s highly-anticipated Cabaret event in December).
George is also an Academic scholar at Bede’s and will take his GCSE exams at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. When asked how he balances his academic and dancing commitments, he responded: “Life in Legat is very busy, and we have to fit in extra prep work and rehearsals whenever we can in between lessons and after school, but it is worth it. We are all very focused; if you want to be a professional dancer you have to work hard to achieve your goals. Our teachers all appreciate the time commitments we face, and are very understanding and supportive.”
Alex Murphy, Director of Dance at Bede’s, comments, “We are incredibly proud and excited to see George, Chloe and Katie perform in this year’s Southern Youth Ballet production of ‘The Nutcracker’ at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre. They all work incredibly hard, and fully make the most of all opportunities offered to them; their focus, determination and passion for dance is quite simply astounding, especially considering their young age. It will be a brilliant show, and we encourage as many people as possible to come along.”
