Dancers from Chatteris enjoy some Disney magic

Young dancers from Chatteris got to experience the magic of Disney when they took to the stage in Paris.

Laura Hodson and her daughter Bethanie Allister, who run BRILL Performing Arts in Chatteris and Old Hurst took a 29 strong troupe of dancers to Disneyland Parish to dance on the attraction’s Videopolis Stage in Discovery Land.

The performers aged seven to 24 years had to endure a lengthy audition process to meet the criteria set by Disney for a dance school to be able to perform to the public at the park.

Laura said: “Standards are really high. Our troupe has worked super hard most weekends rehearsing at our Old Hurst studio. Twenty minutes of continuous dancing required military precision to be able to keep a full, busy stage with exciting costume changes and varying styles of dance.

“We had the most wonderful response for our performance including a congratulatory email from the organisers of the Disney performing arts company.”

She added: “We offer lots of performance opportunities including in the West End, at the O2 and next year we will be dancing onboard a cruise ship in Barcelona.

“Everyone in the school is invited and we choreograph according to age and ability. This gives our dancers a fantastic confidence boost and some amazing memories.”