West End theatre dreams come true for shining young dance stars from Rugby

Dancers from a performing arts school in Rugby still have their heads in the clouds after performing in London’s West End.

Jaide's Stage Studios, who meet at Rugby College, were invited to perform at the Shaftesbury Theatre last weekend.

Principal Jaide said: "When we received the news that we could be dancing in the West End, we were absolutely thrilled.

"This would involve 20 of our commitment class students, and after having a meeting with our parents it was decided that we would accept their invitation providing we could do some fundraising to meet the costs of not only having new costumes, but also towards the cost of travel expenses, particularly due to the current cost of living crisis.”

Parents and students organised a cake sale with donations from Tesco and the Co-op. They also held a non-uniform day and a sponsored walk at Draycote to raise funds.

Jaide's mum, Sandra also contacted several local businesses and to their surprise received a telephone call out of the blue from a charitable trust who she had written to earlier in the year.

The 'Lillie Johnson Charitable Trust' who help local communities, first offered £500. After learning more about Jaide’s work, they upped their donation by a further £500.

Jaide added: “We were literally over the moon as receiving a donation of £1,000 meant no further pressure and everyone could enjoy looking forward to rehearsing and preparing for their performances.”

The students all performed two routines - a modern and a lyrical – together with the finale routine.

"They were all absolutely stunning and looked amazing,” added Jaide.

"I am so very proud of each and every one. They literally put heart and soul into their routines, and received so many lovely comments from other schools, their teachers and the organisers.

“I could not have done this without all the support from our parents and thank each and every one to whom we could not have offered such a unique and spectacular opportunity.

“It was a very long day, but thorough enjoyable and an amazing experience, making memories to last a lifetime.”

This is the final week for the school before their Christmas break. The dancers return in January starting with an exam session and regular classes.

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