A dancer coming home to Bognor Regis to star in a sell-out show | Vicky Meets

​You are on tour with the musical show Come What May, which is coming to Bognor Regis on March 28. Why is this date on the schedule so important to you? Because it’s my home town! I am SO excited to come back and perform at the Regis Centre – it is a venue that means so much to me.

I saw my very first pantomime here at the age of four. Since then I have appeared in pantomimes on that stage, but this will be my first time in a professional show that isn’t pantomime. I can’t wait!

How did you start dancing? I have been dancing around the house since I was very small, but when I was 11 I started having dance lessons at Art of Dance & Fitness [ADF] in Bognor.

I learnt all kinds of different dance styles and had lots of different performance opportunities. That really helped when I started to do auditions. The ADF family were – and continue to be – amazingly supportive.

Where did you continue your training? I got a place at Laine Theatre Arts, which is a highly respected college. I studied there for three years, although the first two were during the pandemic, so I was mostly doing online lessons and dancing in my conservatory at home!

Training during Covid was weird, but I did my final year at college and absolutely loved it.

What advice would you give to anyone a career as a dancer? Go for it! But be prepared; it can be an erratic career, with lots of ups and downs. But that feeling of being on stage and entertaining an audience is the best in the world.

I’d say that if you want to do musical theatre then it’s not enough to just dance – you need to be able to sing and act too. I had to take lessons in both.I also joined the Goodwood Actors Guild, which gave me experience of immersive theatre.

What can we expect from the show? It’s the ultimate tribute to Moulin Rouge and other movie musicals. It stars Robin Windsor from Strictly Come Dancing and it’s full of brilliant song and dance numbers, including Lady Marmalade, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend and, of course, Come What May. It’s got stunning costumes and it is two hours of pure joy – it’s like a party!

How long is the tour? We started in January and we run into April, finishing in Monte Carlo! We are somewhere different every night, so there’s no time to sightsee. But it is lovely to see some of the country’s beautiful theatres.

What’s next? We’ll have to wait and see. There are some interesting things in the pipeline. If I could choose a dream lead role it would be as Jenna in Waitress. As a member of the ensemble, it has to be Wicked!

How can we book for Come What May in Bognor Regis? Visit www.alexandratheatre.co.uk, or call 01243 861010

See also – A Chichester Pilates teacher on how the exercise builds strength and why qualifying as a counsellor complements sessions | Vicky Meets

The operations director of a Chichester wedding venue on how people tell their story and being ‘Queen of the spreadsheet’ | Vicky Meets

The founder of a Worthing wildflower memorial service on filling an ‘obvious gap in the market’ | Vicky Meets

A North Bersted dementia club co-ordinator on the positive impact the club has and why there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer | Vicky Meets