Dancing at the fringe

The Fiona Henderson School of Dance thrilled their audience in Edinburgh on Monday.

Members of the Fiona Henderson School of Dance (FHSD) made a welcome return to the festival on Monday, selling out their specially choreographed dance show ‘Origins’ to a packed audience.

The one-off show, which was performed at theSpaceUK, featured 22 senior dancers from FHSD.

They performed a wide variety of dance genres – Highland, Ballet, Commercial, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical and Contemporary – to a rapturous response from their audience.

The show included a range of dance styles and went down well with the audience.

Their ‘Origins’ show had been specially choreographed and taught to the pupils in just the five days immediately prior to the performance – it really was a ‘show in a week’ concept which saw some of leading choreographers in the UK coming to teach the dancers special routines at their dance studios in Peebles.

School principal Fiona Henderson said: “Our audience was absolutely delighted with the show.

"Each of our pupils really stepped up to the unique ‘Senior Summer Intensive’ challenge and put on a wonderful performance to an incredibly high level.

"It is even more remarkable that the show was prepared from start to finish in only five days.

" We hope all our star performers had a wonderful experience being part of the whole Edinburgh Fringe experience.”

Audience reactions after the show included: “Fabulous Show”; “Fantastic Show”; “Fabulous”; “Absolutely loved it!”; and “Awesome show”.

The 22 performers were: Aaron Prady, Beth Lapsley, Beth McNamara, Daisy Brown, Ella Scott-Bruce, Emma Sharp, Erica Munnis, Grace Clark, Heather Whelan, Heidi Allen, Holly Fraser, Jess Allen, Jess Mackenzie, Karyna Moryeva, Kirsty Collier, Lara Little, Leah O’Donohoe, Lucy Watts, Mollie Keay, Nina McDowell, Rebecca Spence and Rosie Spence.

The FHSD was established in 1985 and now has over 350 pupils ranging from early years to adult, offering more than 100 classes a week in a wide range of styles.