MUSICAL theatre enthusiasts in the area are in for a treat this July, as McQueen’s Dance and Theatre School in Launceston puts on The Greatest Show!

McQueen’s Dance and Theatre School, based in Pennygillam Industrial Estate, is led by Rachel and Mark Oles, with their venture coming about when the pair wanted to provide a space for people of all ages and abilities to express themselves artistically.

Having set up McQueen’s Dance and Theatre School seven years ago, Rachel and Mark now run a huge variety of classes for toddlers, children and adults, from musical theatre and tap dancing, to singing and circus skills.

However, one of their main focuses at present is their upcoming show, The Greatest Show, to take place on July 5 and 6 at their studio on Pennygillam Industrial Estate.

Rachel, a trained singer, dancer and actor, explained more: “We’re just working on our upcoming production, The Greatest Show, with lots of songs and dances. This is something we choreograph ourselves, but we have taken inspiration from The Greatest Showman (2017).

“We’ve been working really hard and the kids have been putting in a lot of time in the evenings and after school. They’ve been phenomenal — so good and patient, and very understanding too.”

“We have Lorraine, over there,” Rachel continued, pointing in the direction of Lorraine Stringer, perched in the corner of the studio over her sewing machine. “She’s making some of our costumes. She’s a mother of a student, and the grandmother of two of our younger students.”

The idea for the show came about when The Greatest Showman came out two years ago, with work starting on the production straight away. The cast have shown snippets of their work on the production at events like PlayFest in Truro as well as at the arts bizarre in Launceston Town Hall at Christmas time.

“But over the last few months we have got far more professional,” Rachel continued. “It’s become more tense and more concentrated.”

McQueen’s generally offers classes to people from the age of two and up, but is extremely passionate about including people with learning difficulties and additional needs, with their ethos being ‘everybody has a chance to shine’.

Mark explained: “All our shows try to put everyone together, including those with additional needs, so that they all have an experience.”

Rachel grew up on the stage, having danced since she was just three years old and attending the likes of Sunbeams Theatre in Bradford and undertaking exams with the Royal Academy of Dance.

Mark entered the industry from a slightly different angle, having had a career in social care while dancing when he could. He decided he wanted to give people with additional needs the opportunity to enter the arts, and went from Salisbury to Bristol, to Cornwall and ‘then to Rachel’ five years ago.

“It’s our ethos to give everyone access to the arts,” Mark said.

He remembered a young man with autism during one of their summer shows. “David didn’t want the limelight, but, with another boy living with autism, we managed to get them performing. We gave them a dressing room of their own so they could be away from the bigger groups, and we had a scene together where I was the puppet master, so I was their support.”

Rachel said: “We like to amalgamate everyone. The other students don’t bat an eyelid at their differences — it’s our ethos of acceptance. We don’t make it an issue at all.”

“Everybody has a chance to shine,” Mark said.

McQueen’s has just started working with Launceston Day Centre, as well as another day centre in Liskeard.

“They loved what we were doing, so they asked if we would come and work with the day centre there,” Rachel said. “Denise, who is in a wheelchair, she has Down’s Syndrome and is basically non verbal. Since working with her, we’ve kind of worked out her way of communicating.”

McQueen’s offers a variety of opportunities and support to students in their ‘exceptional’ dance abilities. For those wishing to explore the industry on a professional level, McQueen’s has spring-boarded students into universities, dance and ballet schools. Students have also performed at a number of festivals including the North Cornwall Dance Festival and the North Devon Dance Festival.

“We cater to a wide spectrum,” Rachel said. “For those who want to go on to a more professional level, they get the support they need.”

Students are supported and guided with audition pieces, with one student previously aiming for a scholarship at Shebbear College, and another young student auditioning for the musical theatre epic, Les Miserables, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Mark explained that the school is now taking on social prescriptions from local health centres, with some of the classes being seen as an ‘alternative to medication’.

“We do attract people with mental health issues,” Mark continued. “It can be very beneficial, we’ve had people who are majorly depressed and who have self-harmed. People want to come to us, because it’s more like a family. The students are really supportive of each other too.”

The couple joked that there were ‘no dance moms’ taking their children to the classes, discouraging competitiveness among parents.

“We’re more nurturing,” Rachel said. “I think it benefits all the students that way, and they reach their goals far quicker that way.”

McQueen’s holds classes six days a week at their studio, providing something for all 150 students from throughout Devon and Cornwall, including Bude, Tintagel, Falmouth, Wadebridge, Callington, Halwill, Exeter and the Launceston area.

“We are so proud,” Mark said. “Every day is a blessing. Even if you come in and you’re in a bit of a bad mood, within minutes you feel lifted because the students do that. By the end of the class they feel so much better. We must be doing something right.”

Rachel said: “The students are always listened to if they have an idea. These ideas might not always be taken on board, but sometimes they are, and the most important thing is that they are listened to.

“We’re currently working on a play in Callington, which is written by the students who are four to 13 years old, so we have dancing cats, unicorns, that sort of thing. They’ll be performing it, and we just have to make sure there is continuity in all their ideas. We are brave enough to let that happen. We love to give them the space to explore their ideas.”

In a pressure-fuelled society, McQueen’s really gives people the opportunity to express themselves.

Mark continued: “Everybody is expected to conform. We don’t believe in restricting students, we want them to grow in confidence.”

“The physical development to these things takes time,” Rachel added. “We have figured out how not to do things because of my knee, for instance. I have lost some of the cartilage in my knee and have arthritis, but that doesn’t stop me. We have installed sponge flooring so the students won’t suffer with joint problems.

“I have a gymnastics background, so we are very hyper mobile. We offer flexibility training and strength training, so students are not unsupported in their movements. We do street dance, which is mainly Mark who does all the stunt work, and I’m more the hip hop movements.”

The classes include ballroom, salsa, tap, musical theatre, private singing, additional needs classes, tots ballet, tap and musical theatre, contemporary dance and more. To add to this, they will be starting a drama class, and they hold private dance and singing lessons every other Saturday — beneficial when Rachel was trained by a professional opera singer.

Mark said: “We are not grant reliant, so we’re quite self sufficient. We receive support from outside agencies, such as Cornwall Council, the mayor and the Co-op Community Fund, but we are a CIC, a not-for-profit organisation.

“We have bought some quite expensive equipment — we are currently waiting for a trapeze, which should be arriving within the next few days, as we offer circus classes in conjunction with Airfish Circus.

“We have a committee, allowing us to move away from the church halls. Launceston needs a venue where all this can happen. We’re the only company like this in our area that teaches so many arts classes.

“We have been led by the community. The community seems to be approaching us for these different things.”

But within the next few weeks, McQueen’s Dance and Theatre School will be transformed from a studio into a theatre for their show on Friday and Saturday, July 5 and 6, with blacks and wings being installed and the floor being painted black.

Unfortunately they are unable to afford theatre curtains at this stage, but this is something they are working towards for the near future.

“Over the last two years, lots of money has been invested into this space,” Rachel said. However, the pair feel the time may soon come when they will need to expand into a bigger venue. She continued: “This place is great and our landlord is fantastic, but we do need a bigger venue.”

This rings true when considering The Greatest Show will have 80 to 90 cast and crew members taking part. And preparation for the show is very much underway, with costume, set design and production being done in-house.

“We source everything as eco-friendly as we can,” Mark said. “We are members of the scrap store in St Austell, which have recycled materials that we use for our costumes. We work with other CICs as much as possible, which is good because it’s for the community.”

The Greatest Show will take place at McQueen’s Dance and Theatre School, 32b Pennygillan Industrial Estate, Launceston, on Friday, July 5 at 6pm, and 2pm and 6pm on Saturday, July 6.

Tickets are available from Jolly Little Gifts and McQueen’s studio. For more information call 07758 292978.