Burnley College rooftop stars secures dance role with renowned choreographer Dane Bates

A Burnley College alumna and student at the prestigious London Studio Centre has been sharing her success with and passing on her skills to first year learners.
By John Deehan
Published 4th Jan 2024, 15:16 BST
Updated 4th Jan 2024, 15:16 BST
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Maisy Andrea recently had the privilege of auditioning for renowned choreographer Dane Bates. Dane Bates is celebrated for his influential contributions to the dance industry, including the "LSC Collective" and popular mainstream shows like "Britain's Got Talent".

And now she’s been selected from hundreds of hopefuls to perform in Dane’s upcoming piece at Move It, the world’s biggest dance event, staged in London in March 2024.

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Maisy Anrea dancing on the rooftop of Burnley CollegeMaisy Anrea dancing on the rooftop of Burnley College
Maisy Anrea dancing on the rooftop of Burnley College

Andrea's journey with such a well respected choreographer began at Burnley College.

“I had the opportunity to attend one of his open dance classes. It was really inspiring. It was announced he was choreographing for one of the pieces on the main stage at Move It. I was worried I wasn’t good enough, but my mum said ‘You HAVE to audition!’”

The auditions weren’t without incident though.

“I injured my foot! After the audition I went home and sat on my bed and got a pack of ice to put on it. As soon as the ice pack hit my foot, the email arrived saying I’d got the part. I immediately called my mum and burst into tears. This is easily the biggest job of my career so far.”

In addition to sharing this news, Andrea was also back on Burnley College’s campus to lead a special choreography lesson and also offer her expertise in judging the second-year dancers’ solo assessments:

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"Performing your assessment can feel really overwhelming at the time. Of course everyone is on your side, and there's so much support from the tutors who just want you to shine.

“So to be invited to give my constructive criticism of the students work is such an honour.”

Andrea also highlighted the importance of learning how to give and receive constructive criticism.

"It’s an industry that relies on auditions, notes and feedback so you have to be prepared to be judged all the time. You have to live and learn and get used to receiving criticism as it is a really valuable way to grow as a performer. Being on the other side of the desk at auditions is a really interesting role reversal.”