"Stand In The Spotlight - Inters Annual Showcase".

Spotlight Theatre School.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

Day two and this afternoon we saw what the Inters - the younger members of Spotlight can do.

The choices of pieces performed were mainly focused towards the younger performer, with just a few surprises on the way.

The show opened with "Brand New You" from the musical "13", followed by a rousing "Come Follow The Band" from "Barnum".

Showing that talent and confidence run through the genes of the Young family, Edward Young performs "I Can't Stand Still" from "Footloose". To start with I thought that Edward was miming to a soundtrack but I soon found out that he has the same vocal talents as his siblings.

I think I can honestly say that I have never seen "Saturday Night At the Movies" danced ballet style, but it worked really well, yet another nice and unexpected surprise.

And then comes the first appearance of the Minis/Juniors as they took to the stage for "Reach" by S Club 7; an overload of cuties.

There were segues from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" into a gorgeous version of "Corner Of The Sky" from "Pippin".

"Cotton Eyed Joe" was done tap dance style and then another one of my favourite musical theatre songs "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" from "Grease" and another tap section to Paulo Nutini's "Pencil Full Of Lead", followed by "Pure Imagination".

Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold" was given a Bob Fosse inspired choreography, which I loved, complete with black evening dress and gold top hats.

There was a very comical monologue regarding Jelly Beans from Freya Shane who really knows how to deliver a piece with excellent expression and diction.

Another cuteness overload from the Minis/Juniors with a brilliantly executed "Penguins Of Madagascar" section, "Shake A Tail Feather" from "The Blues Brothers" and a power packed group choreographed piece to "American Idiot" closed the first half.

The second half opened with a bang to "I'm Still Standing" from "Sing" and a wonderful Cockney rendition by a pair of young ladies of "The Lambeth Walk" from "Me & My Girl".

Another smooth segue from "Where Is Love" into "Food Glorious Food" from "Oliver" and then another visit to the stage by the Minis/Juniors for "Thumbelina".

Ben E King's "Stand By Me" was performed partly in sign language into another beautiful ballet section. Following this was a note perfect version of "Tomorrow" from "Annie".

Rosie Hudson then delivered another excellent monologue all about a cat who warned its' owner that they were being poisoned by the cat for monetary reasons, except the cat's mode of poisoning was by chocolate! I don't know if this is a monologue written for this show, but it was wonderfully delivered.

Later on we were treated to another monologue called "Smile" by Hemani Kader, which led  the way to another ensemble piece, sung by The Inters of "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" from "Annie".

Closing the afternoon showcase everyone appeared on stage to "Spread the Love Around" from "Sister Act" and a lovely closer of Meghan Trainor's "Better When I'm Dancing".

The Inters are split into three sections and they are....

Inters 1: Chloe Davey, Holly Fraser, Erin O'Regan, Emily Taylor, Freya Shane, Saveliy Bibicev, Gracie Horner and Hattie Horner.

Inters 2: Sophie Brown, Hattie Buxey, Lottie Buxey, Ruby Foreman, Zara Halse, Eliza Harrison, Kiera Hicken, Rosie Hudson, Willow Hunter, Lalita Kader, Atia Morrell, Rory O'Regan, Jake S, Freya Sankey, Clara Wheldon, Lyla Wilkinson and Dahliya Williams.

Inters 3: Isla Crawford, Tessa Gibbon, Jessica Griffiths, Hallie Gregory, Freya Holmes, Martha Houghton, Karin Hurst, Hemani Kader, Grace Moroziuk, Erin P, Caitlin-Rose Robinson, Phoebe Searson, Etta Stevens, Dillon Taylor, Holly Towey, Honor Wilkie, Martha Wilson, Edward Young and Harry Keiller.

The Minis and Juniors are Savannah, Francesca, Marina, Malaika, Otis, Aska, Verada, Pasha, Frankie, Hettie, Grace, Cora-Mae, Ruby, Bea and Mila. All deliver a massive dose of cuteness!

The tutors are Liam Petruccio-Hall (Drama), Bethany Wear (Dance/Ballet), Sophie Petruccio-Hall (Technique), Maddie Pritchard (Tap) and Tilly Wishart and Laura Ellis (Minis/Juniors/Singing).

Technical manager was Nigel Newton, the Lighting Design is by Tom Mowat and the Sound Design is by Rob Kettridge and SM and Sound 2 by Bronwen Webster. The show was supported by College Street Technical Services CIC.

Creative Director is Amanda Hall, Assistant Creative Director is Liam Petruccio-Hall and Administrator/Costumes by Sophie Petruccio-Hall.

The staging, as with yesterday's showcase, was slick and tight and a very varied showcase which really highlighted the quality of the choreography, and the half a dozen lads were a match for the ladies. I was really impressed with Harry Keiller who you could tell has a flair for dance, and as Justin Timberlake sang, he has the "feeling in his bones, it goes electric wavey".

Another thing that I noticed was the friendship this group have. From the very youngest to the Inters, I spotted several of them helping each other and pointing them in the direction they needed to go on stage. Spotlight have obviously taught this group not only how to perform, sing, act and dance, but life skills along the way.