10:12am Thursday 25th March 2010
By Michael Purton
A SCHOOLGIRL who dances in a hit West End show and performed on TV says her “dreams are coming true”.
Holly White, 12, joined her fellow Billy Elliot stage show cast members to perform live in front of millions of viewers during the BBC’s Let’s Dance For Sport Relief TV special earlier this month.
The pupil at Dartford Grammar School for Girls in Shepherds Lane has been playing ballet dancer Tina Harmer in Billy Elliot since December last year and says it is “a dream come true”.
Holly, from Crockenhill, said: “Being in such a phenomenal West End hit musical is my dream come true, as I have been longing to have this opportunity from such a young age.
“I had to go through some tough auditions to get in, however it was worth it and I always have my family behind me supporting me all the way."
On Wednesday night she is dancing in the show’s fifth anniversary special at the Victoria Palace Theatre, with stars such as Elton John watching.
Holly has been dancing since the age of five, when she joined the Roos Academy of Performing Arts in Greenwich.
She is a skilled dancer in the styles of ballet, modern, tap, street and jazz, and also takes singing lessons.
Her first stage performance was in 2003 when she was just five, in Roos performance of Mary Poppins at the Broadway Theatre in Lewisham.
Since then she has gone on to star in a number of shows, including playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in her last year at Crockenhill Primary School in The Green, Swanley.
Holly lives in Stones Cross Road with her mum 46-year-old Caroline, dad Philip, 44, sister Emily, 14, and nine-year-old brother Matthew, and they say they are “incredibly proud” of her.
Mrs White said: “Holly has always been a performer and would love to become a professional dancer, singer and actress and make a career in the theatre or on television.”
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