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On Sunday 13th November 2016 Performers College students together with
Principal Tracey Lee, Keeley East Pre-Vocational Co-ordinator and tutors Mikey
Robinson and Vanessa Leagh Hicks attended the Council for Dance Education
& Training (CDET) Dance and Musical Theatre Careers Conference. Held at
Urdang Academy and later on in the evening at the Shaw Theatre it was an
ideal opportunity for Performing Arts colleges from around the UK to showcase their talents and introduce
themselves to prospective students.
Young visitors to the conference together with their parents gained an insight into what it is like to audition
for a vocational college with mock audition classes in ballet, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre.
There was also a seminar on making informed choices when choosing a college, tips for auditions and
what to expect during training.
Mikey and Vanessa hosted a workshop on how to prepare and deliver a song when auditioning at a
Performing Arts College. They were assisted by Performers students Charlotte Neale and Callum
Kaczynski. With a fun approach and role play they really demonstrated how not to audition! Charlotte
wore baggy casual clothing, fidgeted, kept looking at the pianist while singing and did not give a tempo
beforehand to deliberately highlight how awful an audition can be if you don’t plan ahead. Charlotte sang
’Safer’ from First Date and various versions of ’Edge of Glory’ by Lady GaGa to show the most effective
way to perform at an audition.
The audience were encouraged to point out the mistakes and then Charlotte and Callum demonstrated
the correct way to maximise potential and make a lasting impression. Apart from the obvious tips they
also advised them to be confident, tell a story through the song, give tempo and be clear with any cuts in
the music.
Cast of F.E.A.R.
During the evening showcase at The Shaw Theatre
Performers College students (10 boys and two
girls) performed F.E.A.R. a contemporary piece
choreographed by Nikki O’Hara with additional
contribution from Emma Rogers who devised some
spectacular ‘flying’ lifts. F.E.A.R. was created
specifically for our 2nd & 3rd years students to
perform. The title relates to the phrase ‘Forget
Everything & Run. Face Everything & Rise. We
wowed the audience and stood out amongst the
other colleges as one to audition for! Many thanks
to those students who gave up their free time to
represent Performers College and talk to the
visitors about their experiences, training and life
living away from home:
Rehearsing those spectacular lifts!
Veronique Baumgarten, Ben Rutter, Callum
Bowman, Louis Gaunt, Chris Gopaul, Joshua Jung,
Jordan Jules Stock, Dale Moran, Declan Morgan,
Liam McHugh, Charles Lowe-Riddle, Charlotte
Neale, Callum Kaczynski, Tom Mann, Katherine
Thacker & Ashley Townsend.
Every college were asked
to nominate one of their
students taking part in this
event for a special treat. As
you can imagine it was so
difficult for Principal Tracey
Lee to single out one student from Performers College as they were all worthy of a
nomination. Veronique Baumgartnen was nominated and the very lucky winner of a
£50 gift voucher for Capezio to spend on whatever dancewear/shoes her heart
desires! Congratulations Veronique!