Two Northern Irish teenagers have been cast in the principle roles for a new ballet which tells the story of the formation of The Peace People in 1976.
Leah McNally, 16, and Niamh Scates, 15, are taking on the roles of Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams (respectively), who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for ‘the courageous efforts in founding a movement to put an end to the violent conflict in Northern Ireland’.
White Doves, which will be performed later this summer at The MAC, is choreographed by Moneymore’s Ruaidhrí Maguire and is set to Donaghadee composer Amelia Clarkson’s new music.
Read more: Peace People ballet to launch at the MAC this summer
Hailing from Comber, Bloomfield Collegiate student Niamh takes on the role of Betty Williams. Niamh began dancing at three years old and is a current student at Ards Dance Company where she trains in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and acro.
Last year, she was selected to join the Summer Intensive course at the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham.
Niamh said: “Receiving the offer of dancing 'Betty' in White Doves was amazing and I can't wait to start rehearsals.
"I am looking forward to working alongside professionals and learning from them. Also, getting the experience of performing in a proper ballet in a production with live musicians is very exciting.”
Leah, from West Belfast, attends St Dominic’s Grammar School. Dancing from age four at Rana’s School of Ballet, Leah now also trains on High Points Youth Ballet’s year-round pre-professional training programme.
Her recent success includes performing in English Youth Ballet’s Swan Lake at the Grand Opera House and in High Points Youth Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Paquita.
She said: “Ballet has been a massive part of my life and I continue to enjoy it every day. I am excited to perform the character of 'Mairead' as this opportunity will allow for me to gain experience while giving me the ability to study the person and their story.”
White Doves choreographer and Six Dance Collective Artistic Director Ruaidhrí Maguire added: ”We are thrilled to have Leah and Niamh performing as ‘Mairead' and ‘Betty’ in White Doves.
"They are dedicated and talented young dancers with endless potential. We’re delighted to provide this opportunity to perform these characters in this Belfast story.”
The White Doves production brings together both local and international talent.
The work’s title Doves are performed by two international ballet dancers. Portadown’s Leigh Alderson returns home to perform in the show, after leaving home at 11 to train at the Royal Ballet School and a successful career spanning Canada and Europe.
Across from Leigh, Italian-Scots dancer and BBC Young Dancer finalist Danila Marzilli completes the pair.
Leah, Niamh and 26 other pre-professional dancers from across eight counties will dance on stage side-by-side these professionals and live musicians. The production acts as a rare training opportunity providing these aspiring dancers with valuable first-hand experience of professional dance company life.
The project is funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery Small Grants Programme, PRS Foundation, the Vaughan Williams Foundation and Hinrichsen Foundation.
SDC Artistic Director Ruaidhrí added: “We’re proud to be able to showcase the wealth of emerging local talent on stage alongside two seasoned classical dancers.
"We are really grateful to our funders for bringing White Doves to life, especially to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland who supporting bringing these powerhouse dancers to our audiences here in Belfast and providing this training opportunity to our dancers of the future.”
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