The dance act from Liverpool impressed the judges with their incredible routine
LMA impressed the judges with their showstopping routine on Britain’s Got Talent(Image: LMA)
LMA are hoping to make the city proud as students from the performing arts campus in Liverpool wowed audiences on Britain’s Got Talent last month. LMA, which stands for Liverpool Media Academy, took centre stage on the ITV talent show with a jaw-dropping dance routine as they featured on the first episode of the new series.
Britain’s Got Talent returned to screens last month with a spectacular 17th series of one of the nation’s favourite Saturday night TV programmes. Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon returned to the judging panel, this time joined by social media sensation KSI.
Ant and Dec have also returned for their all-important presenting roles, welcoming a fresh batch of hopeful contestants hoping to win the hearts of the nation and perform at the prestigious Royal Variety Show.
The TV presenters welcomed 64 students from LMA Liverpool, who are based in the Metquarter, onto this year’s Britain’s Got Talent auditions held at Blackpool Winter Gardens. The episode aired on Saturday February 21, and it’s fair to say the group wowed audiences with their showstopping routine.
Their routine was choreographed by Sadeck Berrabah(Image: LMA)
The unique piece, choreographed by internationally renowned artist Sadeck Berrabah, was intentionally created without any soloists, instead focussing on collaboration, unity and storytelling among the talented group of LMA performers. Their immaculate synchronisation took viewers by surprise, offering something completely new and unique.
In an exclusive interview with the ECHO, Richard Wallace, co-founder of LMA, said he feels “incredibly proud” to showcase the immense talent the group has to offer on a national scale. He explained the company hopes to prepare their students for the future of dance and the ever-changing world of the creative arts, through amazing opportunities like BGT.
Their aim for Britain’s Got Talent was to create something new and unique, and it’s fair to say they did exactly that. The dancers took to the stage in black and white outfits. The title of the dance “Murmuration”, refers to the mesmerising formations made by flying birds.
Richard, 49, told the ECHO: “After 17 years of Britain’s Got Talent, it’s hard to create something no one has seen before. We wanted that wow factor to create something innovative and unexpected.”
He added: “We wanted to create something new and original so it was a really proud moment for us. We wanted to push boundaries and allow our students to flourish. Rehearsals were long and intense but we wanted to take a risk and I think we created something really special.”
“There is so much joy in dance and it is important to take risks and tell a story through a routine. LMA are the next creators of tomorrow and it’s important to prepare them for that, and the opportunity to go on Britain’s Got Talent is just incredible.”
The audition was met with high praise from the judges including Amanda Holden who said: “That was as different and exceptional as it gets. I’ve never seen anything like it”.
Simon Cowell added: “Wow, wow, wow. I loved that audition.” Alesha Dixon said: “I thought that it was beautiful, really, really beautiful. The way you commanded it was just so strong and central to all of it. Sensational.”
Kemal Kuguloglu, head of dance at LMA Liverpool, is immensely proud of his dancers, who put themselves through long, tiring days of additional rehearsals while also studying towards their individual qualifications.
Kemal, 35 from Crosby, described the routine as a “melting pot of creativity” as the students merged together to create a remarkable routine that will go down in history at LMA.
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He told the ECHO: “The routine brought about additional friendships among the dancers. The diversity of the group was just incredible. It’s a melting pot of creativity and it was beautiful to see.”
He said: “It really is a testament to everyone involved. The rehearsals were intense and I hope their hard work, commitment and drive came across on stage.”
While the piece was created by Sadeck Berrabah, Kemal enjoyed watching the students “flourish”, gaining the experience of working with a renowned artist. He said: “It allowed the students to network and develop, really exploring the global voice of dance.”
Asked how it feels to be representing the city of Liverpool on-screen, co-founder Richard said: “Liverpool is known for its creativity, and to be able to showcase our dancers on such a huge scale is really special”.
He said it was privilege to be included in the first episode of the series, after keeping their participation on the show a secret since their audition last October.
He said: “It was a privilege [to be in the first episode] but also a huge sigh of relief to be honest because we’d been keeping it a secret for a very long time, even other people on the campus didn’t know what we are doing. So it was nice to finally be able to talk about it.”
Michael Davis, 20, who is a level five dance student at LMA, also spoke to the ECHO about his experiencing performing on the Britain’s Got Talent stage.
The student from Bootle told the ECHO: “For me it showed that dreams really do come true. It makes me so proud to be from Liverpool and I never imagined that I would ever get opportunities like this.”
Speaking about performing on the Britain’s Got Talent stage, the 20-year-old said: “It was surreal and so amazing, to get a standing ovation was just incredible.”
Rose Aspinall, 21, originally from Kent but who now lives in Liverpool, is also a level five dance student at LMA. She told the ECHO: “Choosing to study at LMA in Liverpool has been the best decision of my life. I am loving it here and enjoying living in Liverpool.” Richard joked as he added: “She’s an adopted Scouser now”.
The two dancers said Ant and Dec made them feel at ease before they headed on stage to take their places.
Michael told the ECHO: “Ant and Dec gave all 64 of us a high-five before going on stage, they were so lovely”. Rose added: “They were full of life and it was really warm and reassuring that they were the last thing we saw before going on stage.”
Since the audition aired, the students have been filming with Britain’s Got Talent in Liverpool. They led the crew from ITV down to the docks last week and filming took place at the Pier Head and in front of the Liver Building ahead of the semi-finals.
LMA hope the people of Liverpool will get behind them on their incredible journey, as the group have successfully earned their spot in the next round.
Micheal said: “We just want to make Liverpool proud”.
Teasing what fans can expect from their semi-final performance, which will air during the live shows in May, Kemal told the ECHO: “I can’t say too much but what I will say the ideas are huge. It’s going to be bigger, bolder and better”.
Britain’s Got Talent airs tonight at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX