with three submitted pix: boy group; Samantha with boys; boy dancer

This week Ilkley Grammar School hosted a dance workshop organised by the Phoenix Dance Theatre and Matthew Bourne's New Adventures. The dance company were looking for male dancers to perform in the upcoming adaptation of Lord of the Flies at Bradford Alhambra later this year.

A dance ambassador from New Adventures, Samantha Broadbent, ran the sessions. Samantha has just finished the Manchester leg of the tour and was involved in the training of the Manchester boys/young men, and the Ilkley Grammar School workshop was the first workshop in this region.

Samantha praised the participants throughout and informed the students, if successful, they would be contacted in August. The final audition for the show is in October. She said: “I really enjoyed working with Ilkley Grammar School and was blown away by the passion of their young people.”

Jess Watson, drama teacher, said: “I was very impressed by their energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the movement. They all threw themselves into it whilst being mature, responsible and sensitive. They shared their knowledge of ‘Lord of the Flies’ and used acting skills well to develop the characters and story-telling elements of the piece.”

The school hopes to celebrate some success when the final results are announced.