Cameron Flynn vividly recalls his early days of falling in love with dance after watching his sister, Erin, perform in a north-east show.
It was the catalyst for the youngster embarking on his own single-minded passion with all different forms of movement and rising up the ladder after taking his initial steps at Aberdeen’s Danscentre: a place which has produced a veritable conveyor belt of talent since it opened its doors in 1987.
Indeed, some of the early students have already gone on to enjoy successful careers in different branches of culture and entertainment: Angela Towler is a renowned performer with the Rambert company, while actress Laura Main is known to millions of TV viewers from her role in Call the Midwife.
And now Cameron is returning to his roots as part of Matthew Bourne’s production of Romeo and Juliet, which will be staged at HMT from October 31 to November 4.
He said: “I began my journey at Danscentre, which was run by Karen Berry and Michelle Whyte and it started out with a once-a-week jazz class.
“But that rapidly became a full week of classes in various styles including classical ballet, contemporary, tap and hip-hop.
“At the age of 14, I moved to Glasgow to attend the Dance School of Scotland at Knightswood where, after a further two years of training, I moved to London to attend Laine Theatre Arts and received my Diploma in dance.
He’s relishing a return to his roots
“HMT has a special place in my dance journey, starting from local dance shows, being Michael in [the pantomime] Peter Pan, appearing in Lord of the Flies with [Bourne’s ground-breaking British dance-theatre company] New Adventures and now returning as a professional in Romeo and Juliet.
“It’s a full-circle moment and I’m very much looking forward to performing to the people of Aberdeen, many of whom will have watched me from as young as 10.
“I think its important the north east gets dance theatre, because a lot of the big productions only hit the central belt.
“So I’m very excited that New Adventures will be shining on Aberdeen.”
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Cameron teaches at dance schools and studios around London and is the co-founder of FLYT Productions, a digital company which shares stories across online platforms.
He is just one of the myriad prodigies who first found his feet with the help of Karen Berry, who told me about her admiration for dancers in the north of Scotland.
Boys have fire in their bellies
She said: “I think that there is something special about Aberdonians when it comes to dance. There isn’t any trace of the notion that dance classes are just for girls.
“If anything, it is the boys who have the fire in their bellies and have the right build to do well, whereas it is the girls who tend to be a bit more meek and mild.
“You have timing, co-ordination, movement, basic athleticism….there is definitely a link between sport and dance. And we have boys coming in wearing shorts rather than tights and loving doing what they are doing.”
Cameron is certainly among that number.
Tickets are avialble from:
https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/matthew-bournes-romeo-and-juliet/
