Huge demand for Malmesbury dance showcase (From This Is Wiltshire)

Huge demand for Malmesbury dance showcase

9:24am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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Organisers of the annual Dance Showcase at Malmesbury School are considering putting on a second night next year to cope with growing demand for tickets.

More than 140 youngsters from across the town took part in the showcase on March 8, making it the biggest display over four years.

Bridget Griffen, of Malmesbury School’s faculty of creative arts, said: “It’s so popular with parents that the demand is greater than the tickets available.

“We should probably start doing the show on a second night. This is the fourth year we’ve done it and it’s got bigger each time.”

The show raised £450 for children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent which helped Malmesbury School pupil Georgie Brock who died of leukaemia last year.

Mrs Griffen believes that television dance shows have sparked interest among both boys and girls.

She said: “We’ve seen more boys getting involved, particularly in street dance.”

She added: “These kind of shows can provide a chance for pupils to shine who may not be as gifted at other things.

“We had no idea that some of them were such good dancers, it can really build self-confidence.”

Mrs Griffen said the standard was very high and that some of the older pupils had already been accepted at professional dance schools.

“It has been lovely to see them grow from little Year 6s giving it a go to these amazing young women who are like professional dancers,” she said.

“We have quite a few lunchtime dance clubs at the school which are run by some of the sixth formers. They really put in a lot of practice for the show.”

Among those taking part were pupils from the town’s primary and secondary schools, Malmesbury Music Academy, Malmesbury Dance, Jax Dance and Charlotte Johnson’s dance school.