ON SUNDAY, six Berkshire-based dancers will be putting on a performance fit for the Queen as they take part in the Platinum Jubilee pageant outside Buckingham Palace.
Members of the Silver Swans will be dressed as fish, wearing handmade silk dresses, batik outfits and big headdresses – and their appearance is sure to be beamed around the world as the visual spectacle is broadcast live on television.
The group of ballet or tap dancers were chosen to take part in the procession by Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) after they were talented spotted last summer … dancing in a field in Thatcham.
Group leader Sonia Brown, who runs the sessions in Woodley, Reading, Thatcham and Newbury, said: “It was a really muddy field and a really windy day. It might have been in July, but wasn’t good weather.
“I met Manuela Benini who helps with EEA, and in January, she messaged me asking if the Silver Swans would like to be part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pageant.”
She accepted thinking it was for a local event, not the main event.
“It wasn’t until I had my first Zoom meeting with her that I realised it was for Buckingham Palace.
“The more we’ve heard about other companies involved, and the big scale of it, we’re realising how big a deal it is.”
EEA is producing the section of the parade representing the Queen’s motherhood, and the Silver Swans will dance alongside a large oak tree with a humongous maypole, a 60-piece samba band and around 200 other dancers.
Her dancers, across several different groups, all wanted to be part of it, but there were just six places available. The 35 interested people were whittled down by a random draw.
“It’s been getting really exciting, I think we’ve all been feeling a bit emotional about it,” Sonia says.
Rehearsals were held up a little by her studies for a PhD, but since a visit from the EEA at Easter it’s been full steam ahead.
“We did a workshop, and worked out the different things we’re doing in the parade,” Sonia explains.
The Swans will be dancing to eight different songs, but the set has been devised so that the choreography was straightforward to learn, some of which was agreed over Zoom calls with the other group leaders in Sonia’s section.
“We all contributed different styles: we had street dancers adding elements, I added in disco moves I know my dancers like doing, and so on. It was a collaboration for the mass choreography.
“One of my students owns the Old Mill in Aldermaston, a wedding venue, and we’ve been going up and down the driveway for some private practices.”
The Silver Swans comprise a mix of abilities, including a dancer who had to pull out of the Royal Ballet School as a teenager due to a skiing accident.
“Even though she’s danced throughout her life, she said that this is the pinnacle – to be in her late 60s and to be dancing for the Queen,” Sonia says.
“Another has only started dancing this year, and now she’s dancing outside Buckingham Palace.
“They’re all so proud, it’s an honour to be doing it.”
The Silver Swans will be in London for a rehearsal on Saturday, and will stay over to ensure they get to the pageant starting point for 8am on Sunday. They’ll eventually get to leave in the early evening, making it a long day.
“But it’s going to be worth it,” Sonia smiles. “We’re never going to have another moment like this, it is a piece of history.”
Will it be alright on the night … well, day?
“I’m quite confident,” Sonia says. “It’s less about stuff going wrong, a lot of stuff will happen in the moment and you can’t rehearse that.
“It’s like, wave, wave, wave to the people, and throw some kisses.
“We’re all feeling good about what we’re doing… it’s exciting.”
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant will be broadcast on BBC One from 1pm on Sunday, June 5. It can be watched online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00183k3
