Turning the spotlight on stars of the future
SEAN Selby was bitten by the dancing bug as a young child and by the age of 11 he was touring in the musical 'Scrooge'.
Now he is keen to pass on his enthusiasm for the world of dance – and the sense of confidence and discipline that taking part in dance teaches – to other young people.
Sean and fellow dancer Matthew Slater set up Heavy Arts Theatre School two years ago and have just started preparations for their third show 'A Chorus Line' which will take to the stage next spring.
The two dancers, who live in Bailiff Bridge, met as students at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds and discovered a shared interest in encouraging others to get involved in performing arts training.
"My background is in musical theatre and I was in the cast of 'Fame' in the West End for a while whereas Matthew's training is in contemporary dance and he has taken part in tours of Europe but we both enjoy working with young people and getting them interested in dance," said 24-year-old Sean.
"It's not just about learning to dance, it's also about the confidence and discipline that it gives you as well as the ability to express yourself. The skills that dancing teaches are useful in many aspects of life."
Discipline is something Sean knows a lot about. He set up Heavy Arts while he was appearing on the West End stage seven times a week in 'Fame' and travelled through the night to get back to West Yorkshire to teach Sunday classes. He became interested in teaching while still a student at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance when he was invited to help out with classes at a Brighouse dance school.
Heavy Arts meets at Moldgreen Community Primary School in Huddersfield and provides performing arts training for five to 18 year olds with classes in dance, drama and singing. The school has a staff of four with 23-year-old Gemma Sheldon teaching drama and 26-year-old Andrew Lindo giving vocal training.
Sean said: "We're all young ourselves and I think that makes a big difference. Our first show was 'West Side Story', which we soon realised is probably one of the toughest shows it's possible to stage, then last year we put on 'Fame' at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield. We had only planned to put on one show but there was such a demand for tickets that we put on a second night – and both shows sold out."
Shows such as 'The X-Factor' and 'Strictly Come Dancing' have generated a great deal of interest in dance and singing and West End musicals are enjoying a huge revival but, while Sean welcomes the TV exposure, he is not convinced that they always send out the right message.
"They give the false impression that anyone can get up on stage and become a singer or dancer. In fact many of the people who make it through to the final round on these shows have been training for years, Connie in 'How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?' for example. It is not an instant thing, it takes an awful lot of hard work and training. People think Simon Cowell is being cruel but he’s only telling the truth when he points that out.”
Sean has been picked to appear in a new musical version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ which will be staged in the West End later this year with choreography by Arlene Phillips of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fame. His personal dancing heroes are Fred Astaire, Michael Jackson and Bob Fosse.
Heavy Arts is planning to hold a summer school from July 21 to 25 for young people interested in all aspects of performing arts and is still looking for youngsters to take part in ‘A Chorus Line’.
“As a show ‘A Chorus Line’ needs equal numbers of boys and girls and we could do with a few more lads to take part. It’s a shame that some people are still so narrow-minded when it comes to dance and think it’s just a lot of prancing round! A couple of the lads at our school play rugby and football and come straight off the sports field to our rehearsals.”
Sean, who grew up in the west Midlands, and Matthew, from Bolton, were thrilled when they were approached by Debenhams at the White Rose centre near Leeds to help out with a ‘Sex and the City’ promotion.
“We were asked to put together a 20-minute fashion show to coincide with the release of the movie. The kids loved taking part and we are hoping to get involved with a Christmas Sparkle event.
“We want our students to be the best they can. They don’t come to our school to kill time, they come to work and develop.”
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Weather for Halifax
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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