Norwich choreographer who has worked with Kylie Minogue and Take That unearths Norfolk talent for Olympic show

Aaron Sillis hosts masterclass for the Olympic flame dance at Sportspark in Norwich. Photo: Bill Smith Aaron Sillis hosts masterclass for the Olympic flame dance at Sportspark in Norwich. Photo: Bill Smith

Kate Scotter Saturday, February 18, 20126:30 AM

He has worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue and Take That but now Aaron Sillis is on a quest to find Norfolks most talented performers to be at the forefront of the countys Olympic celebrations.

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The Drayton-born dancer and choreographer has spent this week working with dancers, athletes and martial artists to help unearth the countys talent ahead of auditions for a new show called Pulse.

Set to be performed at Chapelfield Gardens, the Norwich City Council commissioned show will form part of the Olympic torch relay celebrations on July 4. It will be the only locally-created element of the Olympic torch relay show.

This weeks masterclasses, which have been held at venues across the city, provided a taster of things to come and gave people of all ages the chance to explore how their skills can be turned into performance work.

Mr Sillis, who is also working on dance pro! jects fo r the closing ceremonies at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, said: The show is supposed to be a time capsule of Norwich today so we want a broad range of people to take part, not just dancers. We want skateboarders, breakdancers, footballers, basketball players, anyone who is really remarkable at something. Were looking for the best Norwich and Norfolk has to offer. Weve had a really nice selection of people so far and Im really excited about it.

The project is being delivered by The Garage in Chapel Field North and Norwich and Norfolk Community Arts (Norca).

This weeks masterclasses were held at the Norfolk Academy of Gymnastics in Besthorpe, The Garage, Norwich Academy of Martial Arts in King Street and the UEA Sportspark.

Jorja Roach, 21, from Costessey, who took part in yesterdays session at the Sportspark, said: Ive loved it. Dance is quite a big thing in Norwich and its great to put the city on the dancing map.

Auditions for Pulse will be held on March 4 at The Garage. Sixty people will go through to a bootcamp on March 11 before the final selection is made.

Just 15 musicians and 15 performers will be selected for the show which will form the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympic torch event and will be part of the Lord Mayors Procession. Carrie Mansfield, project manager for the show, said: This is an amazing opportunity for people to be part of the Olympics and its great to see how theres an opportunity in the arts and the creative side to be part of this sporting event.

Anyone who wants to take part in the auditions should sign up at The Garage. For more information, go to www.thegarage.org.uk.

For a picture gallery, go towww.eveningnews24.co.uk.

Have you got an Olympics story for the Evening News? Call reporter Kate Scotter on 01603 772326 or emailkate.scotter@archant.co.uk.