Young dancers learn from choreographer Murray Grant

A group of young dancers from Elgin were given the opportunity to learn some tricks of the trade from international choreographer and performer Murray Grant.

The stage hopefuls from St Giles’ Theatre Group took part in an exclusive masterclass with Mr Grant, who visited Elgin to give youngsters an insight into what is expected of professional performers.

Mr Grant graduated from London’s Bird College in 2001 and immediately won a contract in London City Opera’s US tour of The Merry Widow. He subsequently performed in professional musical theatre, opera, and cabaret productions in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney and Vienna.

And there was glowing praise for the young students in Elgin. Mr Grant said: "I had a great time working with the students in Elgin as they were all focused and keen to learn. It was great to be able to travel to Moray to share my passion for the industry and hopefully inspire some future stars of the stage from the area."

Mr Grant is the founder and creative director of The MGA Academy of Performing Arts in Edinburgh, talent agency MGA Management, Beyond Broadway Productions and Fierce Theatre Schools.

He is also founder and trustee of The MGA Foundation, a charity offering financial support to people from non-privileged backgrounds in Scotland to pursue performing arts training and an international judge for DanceStar world dance competitions, judging qualifiers in South Africa and the world final in Croatia.

Successful north-east performers to have trained under Mr Grant and at The MGA Academy include Lori Davidson (pictured) from Elgin, a former member of St Giles’ Theatre Group who last year performed at Edinburgh’s Queen Hall alongside London West End leading lady Kerry Ellis, and recent graduate Aaron Bisset from Rothienorman, who has just signed for top London agency Becky Barratt Management.

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