SCOTTISH Ballet has made another wish come true as part of its 50th anniversary year celebrations.
The national ballet company has performed with the Every Voice Choir of Dumbarton, a choir which meets on a fortnightly basis for people with living with Alzheimer's and dementia.
Responding to a nationwide call for wishes by the ballet company, Lesley Cumming, Alzheimer Scotland’s Community Activities Officer for West Dunbartonshire, expressed her wish that Scottish Ballet would perform alongside the choir as part of their summer celebration.
Now Scottish Ballet and Every Voice Choir will continue to work together ahead of a special performance that will see the choir join the company on stage during a matinee of Christopher Hampson’s new production of The Snow Queen, in Edinburgh, later this year.
This week Scottish Ballet Soloist Jamiel Laurence choreographed a duet between principal Bethany Kingsley-Garner and soloist Evan Loudon, that was performed alongside the 50-strong choir to their rendition of Only You, by British synth-pop band Yazoo.
A sold-out performance at St Augustine’s Church in Dumbarton saw Scottish Ballet and the Every Voice Choir perform together after the choir came to rehearse at the national dance company’s Glasgow headquarters on Tuesday 28 May.
The performance was held during this year’s Dementia Awareness Week in Scotland.
It is estimated that there are around 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and it is now estimated that 20,000 people will be diagnosed with the condition every year by 2020.
Lesley Cumming said: "I am over the moon that our community choir has been granted this wonderful wish and been able to perform with Scottish Ballet as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations.
"Thank you to everyone who has supported us, and all those who voted for the Every Voice Choir; the journey from rehearsals to performance has been magical for all involved. It is part of a once in a lifetime memory.
"Even more special is that we were able to take part in the performance during Dementia Awareness Week.
"Hopefully this will help to raise even more awareness of dementia and the support that is available."
Christopher Hampson, the artistic director of Scottish Ballet, said: "Scottish Ballet continues to be inspired by each of our Five Wishes, as we discover the personal stories behind them.
"For the third wish, Scottish Ballet has worked with 50 singers from Alzheimer Scotland’s Every Voice Choir in Dumbarton to make their wish ‘We Sing, You Dance’ come true.
"I am looking forward to continuing our work with Every Voice Choir, ahead of their performance with us during The Snow Queen this winter."
More than 400 wishes were submitted to Scottish Ballet’s Five Wishes campaign, with over 100,000 votes cast by the general public.
The top 50 were presented to a judging panel which includes Dame Darcey Bussell, Susan Calman, Fred MacAulay, Janice Forsyth, Christopher Hampson and Principal Dancer Christopher Harrison.
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