Sadlers Wells 2022
Performed at Sadlers Wells Theatre, London - May 2022
The Story
By Ellie Sinclair (Age 15)
Sitting on the coach at 6 o’clock in the morning was when it felt real; everyone buzzing to perform in one of the biggest theatres in London after 2 months of hard work. We’d each practiced our individual groups for the performance, and we’d seen them seamlessly fit together at dress rehearsals. After some ironing out of the minor spacing issues (including me running in the completely wrong direction), it was ready for an audience, and we couldn’t wait to arrive and perform it.
Some may say a 2 ½ hour coach journey with a mix of 6-year-olds and teenagers just doesn’t work, but it does when it’s with your dance family. The little kids were keeping the older ones entertained and almost everyone was singing along to Encanto at one point or another. I talked, laughed, and joked with one of my best friends the whole drive and somehow, we made it to the theatre in one piece.
We entered the theatre through stage door, up a lot of stairs, and finally to our room. The dressing room was an organised mess of make-up, costumes, food, and emotions. Chaperones were helping dancers into striped catsuits and pinning hair pieces, whilst the seniors marked some of their dances. By this point everyone was slightly tired, but still excited for the upcoming performance. It was only a lunch break away, which was just enough time for the group photos.
Our first performance was a Beetlejuice inspired piece, choreographed by Lisa – a very fun and upbeat jazz routine to ‘That Beautiful Sound’. I loved it as it put a smile on everyone’s faces. The little kids’ part was so cute that even all the older ones were copying in the wings.
After the interval, we had our final dance which followed the narrative of Maze Runner – choreographed by Daisy. The seniors were the runners, the intermediates were the scientists, and the juniors were little monsters. This was a more serious contemporary style of dances, which conveyed the storyline very well, but was also very enjoyable to perform as the movements flowed and it involved a lot of jumping and rolling! It was amazing!
​We finished the day by being part of Take a Bow Productions very snazzy finale, ending with our dance school’s bow – the final proud dance family moment before the journey home.
It was a day to remember!
