Elizabeth Garrett Anderson pupils make stage and screen debut

Y9 pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College are excited about making their debut tomorrow at The Place theatre, as part of touring dance production "Love Is In The Air". The students took part in a series of workshops last week, learning the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam, and their work was filmed to be included as part of the performance.  

Love Is In The Air is a new version of the Romeo and Juliet story, told using classical Bharatanatyam dance with aerial circus work. The main cast includes Bharatanatyam dancers, live musicians and professional aerialists, but at each venue on tour local people are invited to create part of the production. Filmmaker Roswitha Chesher films the participants and their performances are projected onto the stage cyc during the show.

The workshops were co-ordinated by Lia Prentaki, Community and Youth Dance manager at The Place, and Carolyn Tailby, Head of Performing Arts at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. The workshops were delivered by company dancer Seshadri Iyengar.

The girls will be in the audience at The Place tomorrow night, and are looking forward to making their stage debut. "They're very excited," says Carolyn Tailby.

Love Is In The Air is at The Place Robin Howard Dance Theatre on 18 November. Tickets £6-£15 with a free post-show talk. Take a look at the rehearsal video here, and book online here.