Young people of OPEN to perform a Summer Showcase

NORWICH, U.K. - July 18, 2014 - PRLog -- On Tuesday 22nd July 2014, children and young people from OPEN on Bank Plain, will be celebrating their achievements with a Summer Showcase.

This event, will be performed in front of the peers and parents of young people as well as local dignitaries.  The Summer Showcase will bring together a combination of activities that young people have been working on over the last 12 months.

Within the show there will be live performances in dance, musical theatre, drama pieces and circus skills.  There will also be videos of testimonials from young people on “What OPEN means to them”.

All the young people taking part are frequent users of the facilities at OPEN and have been actively involved in all stages of this event; from deciding the theme of the Showcase right through to, in some cases, performing on the night.

Charlene Ledgard, Performing Arts Instructor said: "The aim of the showcase is to highlight the achievements of young people, giving them a sense of empowerment and leadership”.

Emerald Warrington (see case study below), aged 7, one of the young people who will be performing as part of the ballet group said: “I love to dance because it’s really fun and I’m really looking forward to being in the Showcase”.

Ben Burt Activities Manager for OPEN said: "This event is a great way for us to demonstrate how the many young people who have accessed our activities have developed over their time with us".


Notes to editors:
This event is taking place at OPEN on Bank Plain. The doors to this event are 6.30pm with the show starting at 7.00pm

Filming and photo opportunity:
The media are welcome to come and watch the performance and meet and interview the young people involved.

Photo Caption:
Rehearsals from 7 – 12 year Ballet Group (which Emerald Warrington is part of)

Photo taken by Saffron Norman, one of the young people involved in the Showcase.

Cast Study below of Emerald Warrington highlighting how taking part in the activities at OPEN have made a positive difference to her life.

Emerald has been attending OPEN since February 2013. She attends the weekly ballet class. Emerald was getting bullied at School for being overweight and was recommended by a friend to attend the Ballet classes at OPEN as she enjoys ballet. Her confidence at School is quite low as a result of the bullying. Emerald has never danced before she came to OPEN and would often get tired whilst doing physical activities.

During Emeralds first ballet lesson at OPEN she found it very difficult to do the ballet moves. However, she tried very hard and seemed enthusiastic. Emerald was also very quiet and did not interact much with the other young people in the class. In the first few weeks of ballet class Emerald wanted to stand next to our Youth Worker Charlene Ledgard instead of in front of Charlene like the other members of class. Within the first few months of her attendance her confidence grew a great deal. She is now comfortable standing and learning with the other members of class. She eagerly answers questions in class and has made friends with the other young people.  Emerald's ballet technique is improving every week, she can remember some of the ballet exercises and sings along to the music for the ballet routine we are working on. Although she gets tired quicker than the other members of the class every week her stamina is improving along with her dance and performance technique. Emerald enjoys playing dance games and would often ask to play games before we had learnt any ballet exercises or routines.  Now Emerald is able to concentrate for the whole lesson which demonstrates that her concentration and understanding has also developed. Emerald performed for the first time in July 2013 and will be performing with the ballet group in the Summer Showcase.

Bridget (Emeralds Mum) says: “My daughter Emerald started ballet a while ago, Emerald loves Ballet so much she has a count down to the next lesson. Her confidence has soared, so much and the school has noticed that too. She joins in a lot more and her energy levels have improved too. Emerald comes alive when she is dancing and she beams from ear to ear. Also Charlene (Ledgard) has taught Emerald that dancing is a great and fun way to keep fit. Emerald is a caring child who is also tall for her age so she does stand out. Emerald would never fit in a dance school where it’s all about exams and pressure. Whereas at OPEN the staff and helpers are so friendly and positive that it just rubs off on you. I am so pleased that my friend told me about OPEN I can’t thank Charlene and everyone enough for helping Emerald blossom.