MORE than 300 young performers from across Chester and Cheshire will express a medieval city tradition through dance at Chester Cathedral on Friday.
Pupils from Dee Point, St Saviour’s RC and Dodleston primary schools, The King’s Junior School, Delamere Academy and Eaton Bank Academy will join young dancers from Homegrown Youth Dance Company and Homegrown’s Young Performers in a performance of Mini Mysteries, in conjunction with the Chester Mystery Plays.
The project is funded by Arts Council England after Homegrown director Julia Williams was successful in securing the young company’s first ever grant.
She said: “We’ve been awarded £9,500 from the lottery funded Grants for the Arts scheme and we are absolutely thrilled.”
City composer Matt Baker, who is writing an original score for the main Chester Mystery Plays production in June and July this year, has created a special soundtrack for the Mini Mysteries performance based on his composition for the 2008 cycle of the plays.
This is not the first collaboration between Homegrown and Matt Baker. Dancers and schoolchildren performed in his Olympic anthem Across the World and his company Theatre in the Quarter’s opera The Chester Giants at the amphitheatre in 2012.
Chester Mystery Plays were originally written in the 14th century by Benedictine monks at the Abbey of St WErburgh, which is now Chester Cathedral.
Mini Mysteries is at Chester Cathedral on May 10 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £3 (£2 concessions) from julia.williams.homegrown@hotmail.co.uk. For tickets for the Chester Mystery Plays visit www.chestermysteryplays.com.
