Wyre Forest students dance for the Olympics (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Wyre Forest students dance for the Olympics

7:40am Monday 2nd April 2012 in Wolverley By William Tomaney

A GROUP of Wyre Forest students have been dancing for the Olympic Games in Kidderminster.

Pupils from Wolverley CE Secondary School and Baxter College were among 120 people from six Worcestershire schools who were filmed at Kidderminster Harriers’s Aggborough stadium between Tuesday and Thursday last week.

The boys dance project is part of the West Midlands Cultural Olympiad programme for London 2012 in which schools across the area will perform a sporting theme which will be shown on big screens during the summer. Worcestershire’s theme was football.

Gemma Hackett, dance teacher at Wolverley which sent 17 pupils from year 7, said they had worked every Wednesday for six weeks to create the piece.

She said: “We worked with professional chorographer and dancer Chris Bradley who came in to school. Many had not danced before and they were a little nervous when they saw the film crews.

“Once the director took charge of them it was great, they got into character and all had a really good day.”

Pupils played footballers, running with the ball and using skills, as well as members of the crowd chanting.

Baxter College PE teacher, David Tansley, said his school sent 11 pupils from year 7 and one from year 10.

“A lot of people who had an interest in street dance and football got invovled and they loved it,” he said. “The chance to go to the Harriers was good because most of them watch the games there.”

The film is now in production and a premiere will take place at Aggborough on Thursday, June 21. It will also be shown during the Olympics on the big screen in Birmingham.

Worcestershire co-ordinator for the boys dance Cultural Olympiad, Emma Lashford, said: “It was a great week of filming and the pupils cannot wait to see the finished pieces.”