Young dancers ready to shine in new ballet at the Theatre Royal

North Nottinghamshire dancers who will be part of Cinderella in Hollywood, back, from left: Holly Wilson, Courtney Roberts, Phoebe Leighton, Ruth Lamb, Sienna Newnes. Front: Eila Van Ham, Emily Freeman, Isobel Thrower, Agatha Hall. Photo Ben Garner

Eila Van Ham, Ruth Lamb, Courtney Roberts (all from Kirkby-in-Ashfield), Emily Freeman (from Kirkby Woodhouse), Agatha Hall, Isobel Thrower (both from Mansfield), Holly Wilson (from Mansfield Woodhouse) and Phoebe Leighton and Sienna Newnes (both from Nottingham) will all be part of English Youth Ballet’s Cinderella in Hollywood on July 20 and 21.

The production will feature 100 young dancers who were selected in a competitive audition event in April attended by more than 350 young dancers.

They will join international principal dancers Samantha Camejo, Monica Tapiador, Claire Corruble, Philip Tunstall, Julianne Rice-Oxley, Oliver Speers, Steven Wheeler and Brenden Bratulic in the cast.

English Youth Ballet has helped many of the UK’s top talent springboard their training progress and careers into some of the world’s greatest ballet companies – including the Royal Ballet Company and English National Ballet.

And Eila Van Ham, who attends Greenwood Primary School and trains at the Christine March School of Dance is relishing the experience,

She said: “I started dancing when I was about six.

“I started dancing because always used to prance around everywhere and at school.

“My mum said ‘why not learn how to prance around properly?’

“ I am looking forward to dancing with English Youth Ballet because the performances are going to be really good and we’re going to be in a big theatre.

“In the future I would like to be a professional dancer in all different forms of dance.”

Rehearsals for the ballet are taking place at Nottingham Girls Academy and are being led by Brazilian principal dancer Samantha Camejo, who will be dancing the leading role of Cinderella and has previously danced with the English National Ballet.

She said “The young dancers are treated just like the professionals in the rehearsals.

“They discover what having a dance career might be like – both in the studio and on the stage.

“It is an amazing experience for them.

“I enjoy meeting all the talented young dancers up and down the UK.

“I try to mentor and inspire the young dancers and help inform them about the profession.”

Tickets for the production are available now on 0115 9895555 or www.trch.co.uk