Young dancers get chance to star in ballet

Young people are being given the chance to star in a major new production by the English Youth Ballet at Norwich Theatre Royal this summer.

The company is looking for 100 dancers aged eight to 18 to star in Sleeping Beauty, which takes to the stage on June 24 and 25. Auditions will be held on Monday, March 7, at Sprowston Community High School. They will take the form of a ballet class so that the EYB team can assess each young person, as well as help them with their technique. Anyone interested should email misslewis@englishyouthballet.co.uk to find out more. Young people aged eight-11 audition from 5pm and those aged 12-18 from 7pm.

The successful young people will get to perform alongside the EYB’s professional principal dancers, who have appeared for the likes of the English National Ballet and Boston Ballet.

The opportunity ties in with the company’s ethos of giving young dancers professional experience close to where they live. Ben Garner, of English Youth Ballet, said: “Once selected, they 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 and parents have said it has also helped boost children’s confidence.”

The production helps to mark the 18^th year of the English Youth Ballet, which is headed by director Janet Lewis. She enjoyed an illustrious dancing career performing for the likes of the Royal Ballet and London Festival Ballet, dancing alongside such greats as Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev.