Starbeck dance school pupils to perform at Disneyland Paris

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Pupils at a Starbeck dance school will perform alongside hundreds of other dancers at Disneyland Paris next week.

Thirty girls and two boys, all dancers at Summerbell Dance Academy, will travel 16 hours on a coach on Monday ahead of their two performances at Disneyland throughout the week.

Jennie Summerbell, principal at the dance academy, told the Stray Ferret the academy had to submit a number of audition tapes to Disneyland last year. 

Jennie said the opportunity came as part of the Disneyland Paris performing arts programme, which gives amateur performing arts groups a glimpse into being a Disney entertainer.

She believed only around nine schools across the UK have been selected to perform at Disneyland Paris throughout the week..

The dancers, all aged between 13 and 19, will perform in the Disneyland Paris parade on Wednesday (April 9). They will be joined by some familiar Disney characters, as well as around 300 other dancers.

Jennie said Disney choreographed a dance for the pupils to learn and provided the academy with yellow hoodiesto wear as their costumes.

Summerbell Dance Academy was given free reign over the choreography for their second dance, which will be performed at the Videopolis Theatre on April 10.

The 20-minute performance includes a combination of ballet, street and modern dance, and is “very energetic and happy”, Jennie said.

She added:

Jennie told the Stray Ferret the dancers have rehearsed every Thursday since last September in preparation for the Disneyland performances.

She said the excitement has been building up over the last few months.

Summerbell Dance Academy, which was formed in 2012, now boasts 200 pupils.

We asked Jennie how those performing at Disneyland were selected. She said: