On the 6th of September, I had been invited to attend a ballet at the grand theatre, in Wolverhampton, to which my friend was taking part in, and although it completely slipped my mind until the day of the performance, I left with one of the most memorable experiences I've had yet!

I had made plans with friends weeks previous to this event, and in truth, I'd only accepted to go with the knowledge my friend would be participating, so when I'd checked my phone and realized the date, I ran home from the Chinese restaurant that I had been in, leaving my parents mid-sentence, and got ready to meet the others. I remember feeling a little worried that I'd soon be sitting through two hours of boredom, but that was extremely far from being the case! The entirety of this performance had me in awe; the level of technique shown within the dances was utterly remarkable and executed flawlessly by every dancer on stage. The costumes, designed by Keith Bish, showed off each character in the most perfect fashion, with incredible gowns that brought them all to life, as well as the set design, hand painted to bring the audience into this forest setting, allowed for everything to be tied together seamlessly, transporting the spectators into Giselle's world of love, tragedy but also enchantment.

The abbreviated story of this hypnotic dance, is as follows; this tragic romance follows the young, peasant maiden named Giselle who falls in love with a prince named Albrecht, but tragically discovers he is betrothed to another, so is driven mad by grief, bringing the rest of the story down a spiral of tragic paranormal activity...

Here is an interview with Nicole Shingler, one of the dancers in the ballet, on her experience performing; "My role was part of the corps de ballet (body of the ballet) called ‘the Willis’ in Giselle. A Willi is a woman who died brokenhearted and wants revenge on the man who caused that. They come out at night and disappear at dawn. The Willi's task is to take Giselle and make her one of their own after she also dies broken-hearted. Their role was significant as they are on stage for the majority of act two, taking Giselle, and fighting against the prince trying to save her.”

She also mentions that “the Queen of the Willis in English Youth Ballets production of Giselle was played by a professional ballerina, while rest of the Willis were like me who just dance as a hobby or study dance at school. Working alongside professional dancers who took on the lead roles was fascinating and inspiring, making me feel even more passionate about going down the path of ballet. "

"Performing at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was a dream and it felt amazing to perform on the stage. It was a lot bigger than any stage I’ve danced on. It was nerve wracking at first, but soon became very exciting at every performance to go out and dance with the friends I had made. It felt like such an achievement for myself since I had dreamed of performing in a large theatre doing what I have loved from childhood.”

“My favourite part about performing was being able to dance on an amazing stage in a gorgeous theatre for the first time - it was difficult but worth every second." It seems that these dancers’ hard work truly paid off, because what a great performance that was!