The London Journey:
Our
search for the non-professional cast of boys and young men began in May 2014
and took us on a journey across London. Placing an advert in The Stage
was never going to be the right way to find this young cast. Re:Bourne and
Sadler’s Wells are committed to finding inspiring ways to engage young people
through dance and we were keen to build a cast from a range of backgrounds who
bring with them a variety of influences and dance experience.
Our Lord
of the Flies Ambassadors, Sam Cook and Shaun Dillon led taster workshops in
primary and secondary schools, colleges, youth groups and community
organisations all over the Capital. Rather than simply looking at dance
ability, emphasis was placed on identifying talented and enthusiastic
individuals who could bring their personality and presence to the show. Some
boys had never danced before, some dabbled whilst others were seasoned performers
and celebrating this diversity has made the process exciting, unpredictable and
inspirational. 900 boys and young men took part in taster workshops
and were given an opportunity to put themselves forward for the cast. 130 boys
and young men were invited to the final audition in July and from this, 22
young performers aged 10-23 were selected for the London cast. Making the phone
calls to the successful cast was a real highlight for the team.
The final
cast included a 10 year old who lives just 300 metres from Sadler’s Wells, a
school rugby player who had never done a dance workshop before a teacher
suggested signing up for the taster workshop and a drama student who has just
discovered he can move! For the more experienced dancers including some in
full-time vocational dance training, the chance to gain professional experience
working with the company and interact with the New Adventures dancers was unparalleled.
Armed with
energy, excitement and a certain degree of nerves, the boys got to know each
other and started to learn the show at Rehearsal Bootcamp during the summer
holidays and then with evening and weekend rehearsals in September. In
the final leg of this exciting journey, the Lord of the Flies cast was
completed when, the boys and young men were joined by the eight professional
dancers from New Adventures in production week. This union was a
momentous moment for our non-professional boys as they realised they were part
of something big, exciting and very unique.
Beyond the
performances this week, relationships will continue with the cast and legacy
funding is in place to support the next steps. Sadler’s Wells Creative Learning
offers numerous projects and performance opportunities to young people,
including running the National Youth Dance Company. Whichever path each
of these young dancers takes we know this marks an unforgettable experience in
dance.
To
find out more about the production and to see show footage
from some of the other venues, take a look at our 'About
Lord of the Flies' page