Tydd teen Dolcie dances her way onto the big screen in Entity showcase

A young street dancer from Tydd St Mary is to make her acting debut in an “emotional rollercoaster ride” of a movie which premieres on Thursday.

Dolcie Simmons (13) is the youngest star of Streetdance Family, an 87-minute documentary about the journey of London-based energetic dance crew Entity to success at the 2014 International Dance Organization (IDO) junior title in Germany.

The film includes interviews with some of the dancers and the families to show the “epic journey” of rehearsals and routines which took Entity to the top of world street dancing, as well as the grand final of last year’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Dolcie said: “We never knew if it would actually become a film until we watched it last Christmas and saw everything that happened before the world championships in 2014.

“Everything that’s been filmed is reality, nothing has been added and we weren’t told to do anything for the cameras.”

Cherie Simmons, Dolcie’s mother, added: “One of the film’s directors loves making short films and because his is in Entity, he thought it would be a good idea to follow the group’s journey because so many people had different stories along the way.

“Everything that was filmed is reality, nothing has been added and we weren’t told to do anything for the cameras

“The directors had help from their own children in making the film which took a long time to finish.

“But even though it’s a low-budget film, it’s good quality and it captures different aspects of the dancers’ lives.”

Dolcie herself, a Year 8 student at University Academy Holbeach, first started street dancing when she was five and went on to win a glittering array of trophies with Entity in competitions held mainly in southern England.

Cherie said: “We’re always used to travelling to London and back for rehearsals every four to six weeks.

“The rehearsals last from 10am in the morning to 10pm at night because there’s a lot of training for different shows and events.

“People always say that I’m mad to drive Dolcie all that way and they ask me ‘why do you do it?’

“But Dolcie loves the dancing and I love to watch them because they have that passion you need to do it.

“They are also with their friends and family, everyone helps each other out with their emotions and that’s what the movie shows.”

Cherie and Dolcie will be at the film’s premiere in London on Thursday night, along with Cherie’s younger sister Bonita Simmons (10) who is also a street dancer with Unity Dance Company UK, run by choreographer Tashan Muir who is Entity’s dance instructor.

Adam Tysoe, one of the film’s directors, said: “Myself and Debbie Shuter (also a director) came across Entity when my son Ethan joined the group and we met everyone involved.

“Debbie said ‘we’ve got to follow this lad’ because we knew Entity would be going on some kind of crazy journey.

“But the thing about making a film like this is that, after nine months of gathering footage, it then takes months to cut it, edit it and do the post-production stuff.

“It’s good that it’s coming out now for Entity who have worked so hard to do what they do.”

You can see Streetdance Family, certificate 12A, at the Odeon IMAX Cinema, Wherry Road, Norwich, on Sunday, May 29 at 10am and Monday, May 30 at 6pm.