A dance teacher, choreographer and performer from Eden is playing a key role at a major European sporting fixture this weekend.
Kelly McClelland, from Calthwaite, has taken on the job of choreographing the opening ceremony of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final at the Philips Stadion, home of PSV Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.
The final, set to take place on Saturday (3rd June) will see Barcelona take on Wolfsburg in a game likely to be watched by an audience of millions, with many of them also enjoying watching Kelly’s creative vision. She has been working to create this with ADI TV, a live event production specialist for a range of high profile sporting events.
Kelly describes it as a really exciting experience and explains that she was approached by ADI TV in November as they were looking for a female choreographer to work on the final.
She said: “After many meetings and idea pitches, my creative vision is now coming to life.
“I am working with 44 community dancers aged 18 to 25 from Footloose, in Eindhoven, who are very excited to be a part of such a prestigious event. The brief was to create a dance that shows the UEFA brand and concept that there can only be one crown — the Women’s UEFA logo — using huge flags, banners and streamers to bring the City of Lights to life.
“I was lucky enough to be allowed an assistant and without hesitation I knew my ex-student from Eden Dance, Evie Webzell, from Keswick, was the right choice to help on this massive challenge.”
Kelly, Evie and the young dancers have been rehearsing their routine at the PSV training ground but will be allowed into the main stadium before the match for their final rehearsal. Although it is probably the most prestigious event Kelly has been involved with to date, she has already choreographed and danced at national level.
Many of her pupils from Eden Dance and other groups have gone on to perform at the highest professional levels.
She said: “I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to bring dance and the women’s game together and can’t wait to see the vision in full scale on Saturday in front of a sell-out stadium of 35,000 fans.”
