Northern Ballet School Students perform at Denise Welch’s Annual Charity Gala, A Night at the Moulin Rouge

4 December, 2023

On Saturday 18 November, Northern Ballet School’s third year Jazz Focus students performed at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester as part of A Night at the Moulin Rouge, a charity ball hosted by actress, presenter, and Coronation Street alum Denise Welch.

For 23 years, the annual event has raised money for the GEM Appeal, a charity founded by Karen Johnson in 1994 that works to raise money for research into treatments for life-threatening genetic and metabolic disorders.

NBS students performed several numbers, choreographed by Principal Lecturer Andrew Margerison and Dance Tutor Rebecca Jackson, including an energetic and lively can-can!

Denise Welch Dances with Performers College students

Students Maddie Bell and Chloe De Boer reflected on the experience:

Performing at the event was a magical experience!

Year 3 Jazz Focus and year 2 Jazz Focus Men were given the opportunity to perform alongside and in front of industry professionals. We spent the day working in a professional environment where we had to be adaptable, responsive and efficient; it was great to collaborate with industry experts.

For this specific event, we worked around multiple staging platforms, including a 10-metre catwalk, whilst using large white feather fans! It felt like a very successful evening, we made sure to put in as much flamboyant and upbeat energy as we could to reflect the buzzing atmosphere of the night.

Performers College stuents pose on stage at the event

Principal lecturer, Andrew Margerison, said of the students who took part:

NBS Jazz Focus students conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism at the Charity Gala. It was a real pleasure to watch them in action as they worked with good humour, passion and energy. This event gave our students an opportunity for learning and growth, as well as being an enjoyable experience. They made me very, very proud!

Congratulations from all at NBS and Performers College for a successful, professional performance. You did us, and yourselves, proud!


To discover more about joining Northern Ballet School & Performers College, including auditions and how to apply, contact us at [email protected] or book onto an Open Day.

© 2024 Performers College
All Rights Reserved