The Royal Ballet School, one of the world’s most prestigious ballet schools, left its London base and headed north to Blackpool and the iconic Pleasure Beach for a special day of dance classes with local Blackpool primary schools.Pupils from The Royal Ballet School bypassed rides such as SpongeBob’s Splash Bash and the Big One, and instead headed to the Globe Theatre, a large modern venue found nestled amongst the numerous rides of the park.
The Royal Ballet School’s visit to Pleasure Beach was the fourth successive annual visit where the school showcases its primarySTEPS programme. The programme was introduced in 2008 following a partnership between Bispham High School and The Royal Ballet School, which recognised talented dancers at the Bispham school. This special programme introduces children aged 7 – 8 years old to ballet.
400 very ballet-conscious children from local schools – boys as well as girls - filed into the Globe Theatre on Thursday, 6th October. They followed the hour-long, inter-active ballet class with great enthusiasm and some of the children were invited onto the stage to join in the class.
No ballet class would be the same without piano music and this class was no exception. Debbi Parks, accomplished pianist/composer/arranger who plays for Royal Ballet Classes as well as being a musical director for theatre, travelled to Blackpool with members of the Royal Ballet.
The Pleasure Beach provided the lovely Globe Theatre free of charge in a bid to inspire children to take up dance. The Park has for many years run its own shows, including the award winning Hot Ice Show and the acclaimed Forbidden in partnership with its theatre production company, Stageworks Worldwide Productions.
Amanda Thompson, Pleasure Beach Managing Director commented, “I’m delighted to welcome back the Royal Ballet School to Pleasure Beach. Working with the local community is very important to us, so to be able to host 5 local schools for the workshops is fantastic”.
