Sarah and Ellie audition success
Senior dancers Sarah Firth and Ellie Stenton have successfully auditioned for the Dane Bates Collective!
Sarah (16) and Ellie (16) both travelled to London to attend the elite casting auditions at Pineapple Studios alongside hundreds of hopefuls from across the UK - you can watch a video of the audition process below. The Dane Bates Collective recently featured on the TV show, "The Greatest Dancer" with choreographer Dane Bates in demand across the UK. In the audition, he taught his own emotive choreography and encouraged every dancer to put their individuality into their performance. The new group with young talented dancers drawn from across the UK will rehearse toward a debut performance at the CYD Super Convention in Liverpool in October. We have been priviledged to have Dane teach at our Project Dance Summer School and love the way he encourages every dancer to be themselves as well as really challenging them with his unique choreography. The girls will learn so much from this experience!
Sarah's successful dance career so far...
Sarah is already a successful CSBS dancer and trains with us in ballet, jazz, tap and acrobatics, as well as being in both our Majors programme and Starshine Elite dance team. In adddition to her training she attends a monthly Elite Programme with Performer's College and is a former Ballet West associate too. She has represented CSBS at RAD Awards days and has been awarded the 'Vicki Paterson Shield for Excellence' for the highest exam marks over 2 years. She also performed as a soloist in "Sleeping Beauty" with the Russian State Ballet. Sarah received the trophy for most improved dancer in our Grangemouth branch 2018. With Starshine, she has acheived great competition success including recently a CYD dancer of the year nomination; WLDF under 18 Scottish champion; and audition scholarship for D&B Performing Arts. As the winner of our Millennium Trophy, she has performed her own prize winning choreography in our dance displays.
Ellie's promising dance career...
Ellie only joined our school a year ago to gain more dance experience and training... She is an incredibly hard worker! She now studies ballet, jazz and acro, and is a member of both our Majors programme and Starshine Elite dance team. She recently gained Distinction for her first ballet exam, Grade 5, was awarded 'Star Performer' at our 2019 Project Dance Summer School, and won 'Best Newcomer' at our 2019 Choreography Competition. Ellie also studies dance at school in the Larbert High Dance School where she has gained her Higher Dance and is working toward her HNC, as well as many awards and nominations for dance achievements in the Falkirk Schools cluster, including Dance Leader of the Year. She also represented Team Scotland at the Dance World Cup as part of a team from Larbert High. Like Sarah, she attends the monthly Performers College Elite programme in London. Ellie has been awarded a Dancer of the Year nomination at CYD and a scholarship to audition for Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts AND is an ambassador for En Pointe Photography!
We are extremely proud of both girls. Their hard work and determination makes them great role models for our younger students and we are very excited to see them perform with the Dane Bates Collective!