Dance stars of the future shine in panto

Thanks to the Everyman panto, Alice Rimmer, aged 12, and Holly Henderson, 11, have been sampling the delights of life on the stage.

The friends joined the cast of Sleeping Beauty at the Cheltenham theatre as part of the panto chorus line in November. Performances of the show, which features Gloucestershire’s favourite clown, Tweedy, have continued throughout Christmas and New Year and will come to a close on Sunday.

“Being in Sleeping Beauty has been lots of fun and an amazing experience,” said Alice, who goes to Stroud High School.

“We will have done 35 shows by the end of the run, and we would be still up for more.”

Dancing since the age of three, the girls are both now students at the Janet Marshall Dance School in Cheltenham, where they have passed exams in ballet, tap and modern.

Holly, a pupil at Chalford Hill Primary School, took up dancing after watching her mum Julie, a professional in West End shows, who now runs her own classes. She has also been inspired by her dad Mark’s work. He is a theatrical lighting designer, and Holly has travelled around the world watching the musicals, operas and ballets that he has been involved with. Sleeping Beauty is Holly’s first professional show.

Alice has already appeared in several musicals at the Everyman – Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat, The King and I, and Fiddler on the Roof.

“The girls are doing a really good job,” said their dance teacher Janet Marshall.

“This is fantastic stage experience for them and will be really valuable if they choose to go into the profession at a later date.”

As the curtain falls on the last show this Sunday, ending pantomime season for another year, what does the future hold for the Chalford girls?

“I would like to follow in my mum’s footsteps when I grow up, dancing in West End musicals, then maybe run a dance school,” said Holly.

“My ambition for the future is to just keep dancing!” said Alice.

Sleeping Beauty shows at The Everyman until Sunday.