Dame Allan’s Schools’ final dance show of the academic year at Newcastle’s Dance City included a piece by Edward Pearce. Pearce is in his fifth season with the BalletBoyz and is also a senior associate of the Royal Ballet School. The piece, choreographed for one of the schools’ dance companies, Jeune, explored “different kinds of love” and enabled the young dancers to express themselves through a series of solo performances.
Year-11 student Rebecca Douglass said: “I had a brilliant time working with Edward, it was great to learn from such a successful professional. I am going on to do A-level dance at Dame Allan’s and will take what I have learned into my own choreography then. I hope to have a career in dance and am really grateful to Mrs Clough for all of her hard work.”
Other pieces performed included ‘Birds of Paradise’ by regional choreographer Anthony Lo Giudice, which Jeune will perform alongside Visaviz, the schools’ senior dance group, at the U.dance National Festival later this year. Also taking to the stage were Niamh McBride and Richard Tyson, two students who recently returned from a residential young creatives scheme at The Royal Ballet School in London.
Allanian Ellis Saul returned as a guest choreographer for a piece entitled ‘fisch#billybass’. Ellis began her dance career at Dame Allan’s, going on to achieve a scholarship at the London Contemporary Dance School where she created choreography which has been performed at the Royal Opera House.
The school show was named ‘VisJeun89’ after the schools’ principal dance companies, Visaviz and Jeune, and the year that dance teacher Lynda Clough joined Dame Allan’s. The show was the last one she will choreograph as she retires in the summer after 26 years.
Dr Hind, principal at Dame Allan’s Schools, said: “The show was, yet again, a fantastic showcase of the talent and hard work of our pupils. Their success is down to the years of hard work which Lynda Clough has devoted to the department and she will be greatly missed.”
Lynda Clough said: “This has been another brilliant show and for our students to work with Edward Pearce and Ellis Saul has been such a great experience for them. Performance is a huge part of their education and they all did themselves really proud. It’s been an emotional, but brilliant last show for me with Dame Allan’s.”
