YOUNG dancers from Porlock-based Stacked Wonky performed on the Sadler’s Wells main stage, in London, thanks to the support of their local community.

The 14 dancers aged 11 to 18 years were performing ‘You Don’t Know Either’, an original work by first time director Benjamin Johnson, aged 18, in front of a packed auditorium as part of Making Moves, a national programme celebrating exceptional new choreography.

Yoshi Cooper, aged 13, opened the performance singing an unaccompanied, haunting rendition of Purcell’s Under this stone lies Gabriel John while other dancers filled the stage.

Porlock's Stacked Wonky team at Sadler's Wells, London.
Porlock's Stacked Wonky team at Sadler's Wells, London. ( )

Stacked Wonky artistic director Sarah Shorten said: “What followed was a thrilling exploration of breath, voice, gesture, and explosive dance enhanced by the full might of Sadler’s phenomenal lighting rig.

“As the performance ended, silence filled the auditorium before joyous cheers and applause rang out as the young dancers bowed and thanked musician Seb Tesouro and their technical team.”

Making Moves is a new Sadler’s Wells choreography and performance project which partners school and youth dance companies from across England with international choreographers to make new work.

Stacked Wonky was one of just nine dance groups from around the country invited to feature in the national platform.

Porlock-based Stacked Wonky dancers spent three days in London to perform on the Sadler's Wells main stage.
Porlock-based Stacked Wonky dancers spent three days in London to perform on the Sadler's Wells main stage. ( )

The 10-minute performance was only possible because of a successful online appeal to raise £5,000 to cover the cost of the three-day trip to London.

The group travelled to London the day before the show to undergo rigorous technical and dress performances under the watchful eye of emerging lighting designers Arthur Puttock, aged 16, and Isaac Lammiman, aged 13, guided by the Sadler’s team.

The trip also included a workshop with internationally-renowned choreographer Oona Doherty, whose practice had inspired the performance.

A ‘total-o-meter’ was set up in Stacked Wonky’s Porlock High Street window to show the community how the fund-raising was going, which also encouraged people to drop in with cash donations or to say they were spreading the word.

Ms Shorten said: “We have all been touched by the incredible generosity of those heeding the group’s call to urgently raise £5,000 to fund the trip.

“Within just five days of launching our crowdfunding campaign, we hit our target, ending the campaign with 146 donations totalling £6,024.

“Donors included young people offering pocket money, complete strangers, and a number of community organisations stepping forward with substantive donations, such The Rotary Club of Minehead, St Andrew’s Church, Old Cleeve, and The Lysaght Club. 

“We are grateful to each and every one.

“My favourite moment of the whole experience was being mobbed by the dancers as they emerged from the lift having left the main stage, such was their open-hearted happiness having delivered a stand-out performance on the biggest dance stage in Europe.

“That feeling of achievement goes with them for life.

“In a region dominated by science-led opportunities offered by organisations such as Hinkley Point C and Gravity, such experiences are critical for West Somerset youngsters interested in the performing arts.”

The Stacked Wonky group’s adventures can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.