Teens run Footloose round Safa Park

Dubai: A gang of aspiring teenage actors took part in a run round Safa Park on Saturday, singing the theme tune of hit musical 'Footloose'.

The one-lap run was to increase the young actors' stamina for the production by Vox Theatre company, which is being held on 30-31 May to raise money for blindness and eye disease research charity Foresight.

Vanessa Woodthorpe-Wright, MD, The Talent Station, the umbrella company for Vox, said: "As Footloose is the most demanding show for Vox Theatre to date - the performers need to be able to sing and dance at the same time and there is a lot of high energy dancing in it - we have been trying to prepare the teens and build their stamina.

"It's so refreshing to see these teenagers working together as a team and focused on producing a brilliant show and raising money for worthwhile causes."

The theatre company held open auditions for the production. Children with a variety of nationalities from Dubai's schools, including Dubai College and Jumeirah College, will be performing.

The young actors are eight to 17 years old and are divided into teen and junior groups. The teen group will be performing Footloose, while the junior group will be putting on a production of The Wizard of Oz on 13-14 June, both at the Madinat Theatre.

Local companies have sponsored the semi-professional productions, including Sherwoods, Oasis Water, IBS and Al Laith Scaffolding.

Tickets cost Dh85 and are available from the Madinat box office (04 366 65 46) and Time Out tickets. All ticket proceeds will be donated to Foresight.