Two Aycliffe students have had the opportunity of a life time to travel to Hollywood and dance with stars after receiving scholarships to train at The Hollywood Summer Tour. Charlie Lough, a Year 10 student at Woodham Academy and Emily Halford, a Year 10 student at Greenfield College, both won scholarships in March after visiting the dance event ‘Move It’ in London. The pair were individually spotted after performing on the centre stage and attending dance lectures. After a long four months of fundraising, the duo flew out to LAX Airport on the 30th July extremely excited for their 10 day tour. The girls wore dancewear sponsored by Vicky Barkess Dancewear and they were accompanied by their dance teacher, Clare Walton from Stepping Out, whom without her support the trip would not have been possible. Their first day involved video rehearsals at The Basement Noho, which is where stars rehearse without being spotted. The music video, for artists Lexi Smith and Hello Kylie was choreographed by Ed Moore who has worked with Janet Jackson. The girls also worked on rehearsals through the night for the video, which will be released in a couple of months. The week continued with further rehearsals and masterclasses in hip hop, contemporary jazz, ballet and heels with dance professionals including Kenya Clay who has worked with The Pussycat Dolls. The girls also had chance to visit the Walk of Fame and go sightseeing in Beverley Hills and Santa Monica Beach. Before the exciting tour came to end both girls enjoyed front row seats behind judges Maddie Ziegler, Jason Derulo, Paula Abdul, Nigel Lithgoe, with the show hosted by Cat Deeley at the live filming of So You Think You Can Dance – The Next Generation. All participants in the tour also attended seminars on self-promotion as a dancer, health and nutrition and finance, as well as having a professional photo shoot and taking part in acting classes. Charlie’s Mum, Natalie said: “They lived the life of a professional dancer. It’s not all glamour, there’s night shoots with very little sleep, difficult choreography and hours of dance classes back to back. However, they learnt from it and loved every second. They have both come back totally focused and taken on board everything they have learnt. The seminars and mock auditions have been so beneficial as they now know what to expect and the routes to take. “ The Hollywood Summer Tour have branched out into the UK and both girls have been given partial scholarships to attend another event in London in 2017. In total the two families raised £7000 to get the dancing duo to the bright lights through a variety of events and donations including a tea dance, fun day, Princess and Hero party, jazz night, raffles, number boards, race night, Greenfield Arts, Woodham Academy Dance Showcase, and several cake bakes! Both families would like to express their appreciation to every single person who has helped and contributed to raising this fantastic amount for the girls to be able to travel to Hollywood for this once in a lifetime experience. Special thanks to sponsors and donations from Aycliffe Youth Council, The Freemasons, Stan James, Clare Walton, Vicky Barkess Dancewear and all friends and family.
