Ex-Eastender, Frankie Fitzgerald, who played the son of Nasty Nick Ashley Cotton in the soap, is hosting a 24-hour dance-a-thon in Gravesend, Kent, to raise funds for a children’s charity.
The Friends of Centre Stage helps children and young adults get access to musical theatre and the arts.
Students and staff from the Centre Stage Theatre Academy and volunteers of The Friends of Centre Stage will put on their dancing shoes on 9 September at The Woodville Theatre in Gravesend to begin the mammoth 24-hour challenge.
Frankie Fitzgerald, Director of Centre Stage Theatre Academy, whose character Ashley Cotton featured in the soap, said: “Everyone is very excited about the 24 dance-a-thon on the 9th and 10th of September.
“We desperately need funds to ensure we can carry on providing children and young adults, (who may not be able to afford to participate), with access to training in musical theatre and the arts.
“We hope to get lots of support for this mammoth dance session, not only to keep us going and keep us fed and hydrated but also to donate towards our £5,000 target.”
The dance-a-thon will start on the community square at the front of The Woodville Theatre, where there will be music and dancing all day, with stalls, games, and refreshments. The dancers will move into the theatre at 8pm and plan to continue dancing right through to the following morning when they hope to head back outside to complete the challenge.
Centre Stage Theatre Academy is run by Lydia and Frankie Fitzgerald providing professional performing arts training to children aged four to eighteen years.
The 24-hour dance-a-thon starts at 11am on 9 September, finishing twenty-four hours later at 11am on the 10 September. Students and staff from Centre Stage Theatre Academy, alongside members of The Friends of Centre Stage, are aiming to raise £5,000 through this sponsored event.
Friends Of Centre Stage was established in 2016 by a group of parents to raise funds to increase the opportunities offered to young people in performing arts. Since then, they have raised funds to reinvest in students at Centre Stage through productions, showcases and workshops.
To support the dance-a-thon visit the Friends of Centre Stage Just Giving page.
