Busy summer programme for Uplift

A member of Uplift will lending their talents to a summer camp in the Kentucky town of Danville.

It follows the success of an inaugural camp run by the group in the area in 2014, said Uplift director Ryan Moffett.

“This year we are sending over an associate director of Uplift to Danville to help run a summer camp at the West. T Hill Community Theatre. One of our fantastic dance teachers, Johanna Johnston, will be helping the theatre and will keep our connection with our sister city strong,” Ryan said.

“We are preparing to take a cast back over in 2016 to run a two week camp in Danville.”

A packed summer programme is in the works for the group, including the annual Summer on Broadway workshops next month.

“This is our annual summer scheme workshop and we average 50 students per workshop. We teach a week long session of classes that include dancing, singing, and acting, while using a lot of material from old and new musicals from Broadway and the West End,” said Ryan.

“We took a vote in our branches this year to see what our students’ favourite musicals are; the top ten will be used in the first act and the second act will be musicals that Disney has produced on Broadway.

“The dates for these workshops are: Carrickfergus – 6th to 11th July; Greenisland – 13th to 18th July; Larne – 20th to 25th July.”

This August will also see the return of the group’s Dinner Theatre shows, running at Holy Trinity Woodburn from August 10-15.

Ryan added: “It’s a fantastic event with live music, fantastic local performers and very tasty food for all to enjoy. Tickets cost £20 for adults and £10 for children with the evening running from 6.30pm to 10pm.

“This years’ first act theme is ‘Inspire’. We will be sharing with the audiences musical icons that have inspired us and we will be performing many of their songs.

“The second act is a ‘Tribute to Broadway’ but this year, with a twist, we will be performing musicals from Broadway that have made it to the big screen.

“As an added bonus, we will be taking our Dinner Theatre show to the Belfast Loughshore Hotel for one night only on August 22. Please contact our office if you would like more info about this on [email protected].”

Meanwhile, some 25 Uplifters will be heading to Los Angeles next year to take part in a dance convention called Dance Excellence.

The group is planning a number of fundraisers for the venture in the coming months.