Dancers in Burton and South Derbyshire will have the opportunity to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster at an event tomorrow, Friday, June 30.
Wendy Bates School of Dancing is opening its doors to anyone who wishes to pay their respects to the victims of the Grenfell tragedy which happened on Wednesday, June 14.
A fire broke out in the high-rise block of flats in Kensington, London, after a Hotpoint fridge-freezer caught fire in one of the flats on the fourth floor.
The blaze rapidly spread to the entire tower block due to the external aluminium cladding placed on the outside of the building to improve the look of exterior and for insulation.
So far, 79 people are missing presumed to have died in the fire.
Tomorrow people of all ages are invited to Wendy Bates School of Dancing to take part in their thoughtful performance dedicated to the victims of the blaze.
The school, which is attended by 250 children and adults, has choreographed a dance routine to the newly released “Bridge over Trouble Water” official tribute single help the Grenfell Tower disaster victims.
The cover of Simon & Garkfunkel’s classic hit generated a massive 120,000 combined sales on the first day of its release and is still the UK’s number one after week in the charts.
Wendy Bates, who is the principle at the school, says performers are to follow a routine to the main chorus but can then dance however they wish to the rest of the song – whether it be contemporary, freestyle, ballet, street, ballroom and more.
The 55-year-old said: “We saw it on the news and we just felt like we were such a long way away and we couldn’t do anything to personally to help down there.
“As soon as the song was released we thought it was a great opportunity to use that and to use our talents so we could at least think we were doing some small gestures to help and be able to raise some money.
"Luckily dance has no boundaries from language, background, religion or ability. Everyone can dance, and together, we can help to improve the future of those people affected."
Those attending have been asked to bring a minimum donation of £2 to go towards the Grenfell Tower fund for victims and families.
So far, around 30 people, including parents and children who have never danced before, have expressed their interest in performing on Friday, although anyone is invited to head down to the venue and express their condolences.
Wendy, who was once a pupil at the school, took over ownership after previous owner Jean Blessington gave her the school as a wedding present.
The school teaches classes five times a week and ranges in styles from dance, ballet, tap, contemporary and modern.
Anyone interested in partaking in the performance is invited to join the group on Friday evening at 5pm.
Those looking to watch the performance can head down to Wendy Bates School of Dancing on Shobnall Road, Burton, where the performance will begin at 6.30pm.
Grenfell Tower: Everything we know so far
- On Wednesday, June 14, a fire broke out at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington at 12:54am.
- Forty fire engines and over 200 firefighters attended the scene.
- The fire rapidly spread and affected all floors of the building, from the second floor upwards.
- Firefighters worked with the gas authority to isolate a ruptured gas main in the block.
- Once completed, fire authorities were able to extinguish the blaze with the aid of a 40-metre aerial appliance.
- The fire was finally put out over 24 hours after it began, on Thursday, June 15, 1:14am.
- So far, a total of 79 people are either dead or presumed missing.
- 18 people have been officially identified by police.
- Firefighters rescued 65 people from the building, according to the London Fire Brigade.
- The external cladding on 95 high-rise buildings have since failed safety tests and hundreds more blocks are still to be tested.
