Fourteen of the North East’s finest young dancers are preparing to take centre stage at a special event in South Tyneside this weekend.
The group of 13 to 15 year-olds will be appearing alongside vocalist Jayne McKenzie at Bents Park, South Shields on Saturday (July 4).
Jayne will be performing a host of popular Kylie tracks as part of the celebrations surrounding the South Tyneside Festival’s Alice in Wonderland themed Summer Parade, in which she will also be portraying a disco diva Queen of Hearts.
Her dancers – Leah Corkin, Amie Towers, Ellie Corr, Anna Greenwell, Chloe Warren, Ellie Nash, Hannah Williams, Samantha Scott, Rachal Boyd, Olivia Howard, Laura Hardman, Mollie Lloyd, Emily Langton and Bethany Fletcher – all won their starring roles in an open audition held by event organisers, South Tyneside Council, and have spent the past few weeks preparing with internationally renowned choreographer, Phil Williams.
Moya Goodyear, Business and Marketing Manager for the parade’s sponsors, Careline Lifestyles, attended the group’s final rehearsal and believes spectators are in for a real treat.
“The girls wowed us all at the open audition and, with expert guidance from Phil Williams, have perfected some amazing routines over the past few weeks,” she said.
“Their performance with our Queen of Hearts, Jayne McKenzie, will be a great end to parade day and I can’t wait for everyone to see the finished result.”
Jayne and her dancers, who are all from Sunderland, will be taking to the stage in Bents Park at around 4pm on Saturday with a host of other acts, including Scarlet Street, Silken Strings and the Military Marching Band, appearing from 2pm.
The afternoon of live entertainment and family friendly activities immediately follows the annual South Tyneside Festival Summer Parade, which this year is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland.
The parade itself, which features a host of colourful characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, will set off from South Shields Town Hall to the park at around 1pm, with around 2000 people expected to take part.
The Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Richard Porthouse said: “Saturday is going to be a huge day for South Tyneside and the wider North East and it’s great to see people of all ages getting involved. There has been a lot of hard work gone into organising it and it’s going to be fabulous.
“I’ve no doubt that Jayne, her dancers and all of this year’s performers will thoroughly enjoy taking part in this fantastic event and I hope that people from across the region and beyond will come out to show their support.”
The South Tyneside Festival Summer Parade, sponsored by Careline Lifestyles, forms part of the wider South Tyneside Festival, which is offering free music and entertainment for all ages until the end of August.
Other highlights coming up this month include headline performances by 5ive and Atomic Kitten (July 12), Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Feeling (July 19) and Billy Ocean (July 26), as well as weekly brass band performances and Kids Fun Fest children parties every Tuesday and Thursday from July 28.
For more information and full listings visitwww.visitsouthtyneside.co.uk search for South Tyneside Events on Facebook, follow STynesideEvents on Twitter or call the South Tyneside Visitor Information Centre on 0191 424 7788.