Central’s Boys Move Day Inspires Boys to Dance

Last week Central School of Ballet held its male only one day short course, Boys Move, which aims to inspire more boys to take part in dance. The course was open to boys of all abilities from complete beginners to experienced dancers and offered the opportunity to try taster classes in ballet, hip-hop, and musical theatre.

Award-winning UK hip-hop dance company, Boy Blue, led an introduction to hip-hop workshop. Boy Blue work towards empowering UK-based hip hop artists to make, create, perform and teach on a global level, and also run a renowned dance education programme.

The Musical Theatre masterclass, led by West End star Daniel de Bourg, introduced dancers to the Arabian Nights section from Aladdin. Daniel starred in the West End productions of Aladdin and Pretty Woman and has since performed alongside Liam Neeson in American action-thriller Memory. Before moving into musical theatre Daniel trained at The Royal Ballet School and danced with Rambert Dance Company.

Boys Move participants had the opportunity to learn ballet from Central’s male undergraduate ballet tutors. Advanced students also received an intensive ballet coaching session with Central tutor, Resmi Malko.

“As an advocate for encouraging more young men into ballet, seeing so many male students at the Boys Move event was fantastic. I was inspired by their hard work throughout the day and their willingness to learn from the different class genres on offer.” – James Butcher, Central degree course tutor.

The highlight of the day saw a selection of Central’s male undergraduate students perform for participants and their parents. The performance gave boys the chance to see male dancers at the peak of their training and hoped to inspire them to take part in more dance activities in future.