More than 100 students and staff from Razzamataz Penrith, West Cumbria, Carlisle and Dumfries joined the virtual studio for a high-energy, fun workshop
She’s the twice reigning champion of Strictly Come Dancing, the winning judge on The Greatest Dancer and has hundreds of thousands of social media fans. However, Oti Mabuse still found the time to host a masterclass exclusively for Razzamataz students.
More than 100 students and staff from Razzamataz Penrith, West Cumbria, Carlisle and Dumfries joined the virtual studio for a high-energy, fun workshop with Oti. The special experience was arranged by ‘super fan’ and principal of Razzamataz Penrith Asha Richardson as she explained: “I reached out to Oti during lockdown as I find her really inspiring in all she does, and I loved joining her for her Instagram dance sessions with husband Marius during the first lockdown. I was so pleased when Marius got back to me and together we planned a masterclass for our students.”
The students, teachers and staff spent just over an hour with Oti, who joined from her office and streamed live to teach a fantastic Charleston routine.
In true Oti style, the routine was fast, fun and there was so much energy on the live stream. Oti said: “If your heartbeat does not feel like it’s running out your body… You’re not doing it right! I look like I’ve just run a marathon.”
Although students and staff were exhausted at the end of the session, they were left feeling inspired and eager to practise and learn more. Oti finished the session with a Q&A, where students from all four schools had the opportunity to ask her questions.
“It was lovely as we found out a little more about her life away from Strictly as she is so busy and has lots of other things going on too,” adds Asha. “She even let us into a secret, she said she much prefers 10 people and a camera because theatre really scares her. She also shared her experience as a dancer, working onstage and behind the screen. She told us it brings her so much joy to dance and it was wonderful to see all our Razzamataz students smiling and nodding in agreement with her.”
Feedback from students and families was extremely positive and included testimonials. “Another amazing opportunity provided by Razzamataz. Learning the Charleston, I was so proud of this little lady. We loved it,” said Rachel Dilger, Razzamataz Penrith parent.
Razzamataz Theatre Schools has been running a number of masterclasses for both students and principals throughout the various lockdowns. The network continues to grow with more people opening their own theatre schools and joining the multi-award winning franchise.