Young performer from Great Dunmow to dance at the House of Lords

Amy Goulding, from Great Dunmow, will be dancing and singing in the House of Lords, the Royal Festival Hall and the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane this month.

Amy, 14, a pupil at Helena Romanes School, and a former student at Scene II Performing Arts Academy in Great Dunmow, will have a vocal solo at the Imagine Children’s Show at the Royal Festival Hall on February 12. She will sing the part of the Ugly Ducking from Freak Flag, one of the songs from the musical Shrek.

Amy is a member of West End Kids, a musical theatre song and dance troupe based in London who have been invited to perform for the Guild of Freemen of the City of London in the House of Lords on February 10, the Royal Festival Hall on February 12 and also at a rugby ball at the Hilton.

Amy has been dancing since she was two years old and now dances for nine hours every Saturday in classes with West End Kids, which is based at the Elephant and Castle in South London.

Amy said: “I dance for nine hours on a Saturday, sometimes it’s eleven. It’s a long day, it’s hard work. My mum took me along to a dance class when I was two and I really liked it and tried all the different styles. I started singing lessons when I was six and I have a singing lesson every week.”

Asked if she would like to be a performer when she leaves school, she said, wisely “It is a dream but I would like to keep my options open.”

This is the troupe’s second Westminister gig. In 2011, they performed in Westminster Hall for international heads of state at the Commonwealth Centenary State Banquet.

Martin Williams, founder and artistic director of the company said: “Six years on from the last West End Kids performance at Westminster Palace, we are delighted to be returning to perform there once again. Performances like these create lasting memories for the performers and provide wonderful experience in handling those nerve jangling occasions.”