Theatre
Treading the boards at The Aldwych Theatre with Top Hat
To celebrate selling over 100,000 tickets for Kids Week, the organisers asked us to take a turn on the stage at the Aldwych Theatre and have a go at performing a routine from the West End hit Top Hat.
We were joined on-stage by a group of around twenty 8-12 year-olds and the Top Hat Dance Captains, Jenny Legg and Martin McCarthy.
The Dance Captains’ role is to not only perform in the show, but to learn every routine and ensure the rest of the ensemble and cast are drilled and up-to-scratch.
After a rigorous warm-up, Jenna and Martin took us through the final routine of the first half of the show – which involves the entire ensemble and lead character Jerry Travers.
We had to learn each section of the tap routine one step (ahem) at a time, while using invisible canes as props and trying not to slip on the slanted stage.
Fortunately for us – and the parents in the audience – the group of kids with us had a little more tap dancing experience than we did, and were more than capable of learning and performing the entire routine.
Similar events are running throughout August, so if you would like to get your kids involved, and introduce them to the magic of theatre, head over to the Kid’s Week website to see what’s on offer.
Kids Week is now in its 16th year and is run by the Society of London theatre and supported by Ticketmaster.
