Excitement builds for ballet

YOUNG DANCERS TAKING TO THE STAGE

- By Emily Gray Reporter [e-mail]

ENGLISH Youth Ballet is set to return to Darlington Hippodrome next week for three spellbinding performances.

And excitement is building as 19 talented young dancers from Middlesbrough, Stockton, Cleveland and Teesside will be taking to the stage.

Successfully earning a place in the prestigious English Youth Ballet (EYB) production of Giselle after highly competitive auditions in March, the youngsters will be joining an elite cast of 78 dancers. They will perform alongside internationally acclaimed professional dancers at the Darlington Hippodrome on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14.

Now refining their skills and preparing for unforgettable performances, they are currently immersed in an intensive rehearsal period - training for 60 hours across 10 rehearsal days.

Stockton-on-Tees teenager Madeleine Hill is one of the dancers taking to stage. The 15-year-old began dancing when she was eight after previously doing gymnastics, and trains at Wilkinson Dance Academy.