Wakefield college students live on TV

And this Saturday (March 22) they will sit back and re-live their magical moment when it is broadcast on BBC TV.

The 15 students all study dance and musical theatre full-time at CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) College in Wakefield.

The college opened in 2006 to provide a lifeline for aspiring arts students. It is the only DfE-funded Free School specialising in the arts in the northeast of England.

CAPA College now has 500 full-time students studying in a range of disciplines, including: dance, drama, musical theatre, film & TV and production.

All have dreams of finding careers in the West End or on the professional stage and screen.

And now – thanks to The National Lottery – they have received a taster of what theatre superstar life really feels like!

They were chosen to take part in Big Night of Musicals by The National Lottery which was staged at the AO Arena in Manchester earlier this year and hosted by Jason Manford.

Their chosen dance performance was Electricity from Billy Elliot – and now they cannot wait to watch themselves on BBC TV this Saturday evening.

CAPA College has received £14,653 of funding from The National Lottery to support its growth and development.

It used the funding to invest in a young playwriter, a CAPA College alumni, who worked to create a script which developed into an original play which toured across regional theatre venues and was supported by The National Theatre. This eventually culminated in a UK tour for CAPA College.

Claire Nicholson, college principal, said, “Performing at the AO Arena and alongside Jason Manford was literally a dream come true for the CAPA College students. They haven’t stopped talking about it! It was an amazing opportunity to have a real taste of what being a stage superstar really feels like performing alongside leading West End names to a sell-out arena as well as on national television.

“This weekend will be very special when they get to watch themselves back on TV. It will be a moment they will never forget!

“This has been an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience and we are so grateful to The National Lottery for making this dream come true for these incredible young people.”

Felix Yates, 18, one of the students who performed, said, “It was such an amazing opportunity performing at The Big Night of Musicals and I will truly never forget it.

“We worked alongside industry professionals such as James Bennett, our amazing choreographer, who pushed us and was able to make us look like professionals on that stage.

“Thank you to CAPA College who gave us this incredible opportunity.

“Since joining CAPA College they have helped me become the performer I am today and taught me how to excel in both dance and musical theatre.”

The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals celebrates 30 years of The National Lottery funding theatre and performing arts across the UK and serves to thank players who have helped support more than 20,000 theatre-related projects to the tune of £1.3BN. National Lottery funding has helped restore theatres as well as enabling hundreds of performing arts projects.

The National Lottery Big Night of Musicals will be aired at 6.50pm on BBC 1 on Saturday (22nd March) and will then be available on BBC iPlayer.

It will also feature on BBC Radio 2 at a later date.