The Stage Scholarships 2013: West End Kids

Two scholarships are being offered through the The Stage and West End Kids partnership: one is a lifetime scholarship (worth £11,000) to cover all the years a young performer is likely to be in the company and the other is for one year (worth £12,060). West End Kids is currently based at Sadler’s Wells, focused on hands on learning rather than theoretical. West End Kids began with an 18-strong group in 2001. Initially there were no performances in the diary but word spread and they were soon asked to perform at many top venues and events. Martin-Gwyn Williams, an experienced musical director and specialist vocal coach, set up West End Kids because he had seen many young performers with enthusiasm and dedication becoming disheartened and frustrated because they were not being challenged as much as they could be. West End Kids is not a theatre school, with the scholarship designed to cover the cost of a performance place within the troupe for dancers aged 10 to 18. Young dancers are able to learn as they rehearse, just like an apprenticeship. In order to be awarded one of the scholarships on offer, dancers must audition for the company and demonstrate outstanding singing and dancing skills or clear potential to gain those skills. Dancers must also be prepared to work exceedingly hard, practice and commit themselves to their passion. The standard of West End Kids’ performance has been noted and bookings come in thick and fast for events such as the Dickens Bicentennial Dinner at the Mansion House, West End Live in Trafalgar Square, The Children’s Trust Savoy Ball: West End Kids are used to performing to tens of thousands of people every year. At MOVE IT 2013, the West End Kids workshop taken by Williams was the first non-celebrity workshop to sell out.