A Grove Theatre success story!

7 Jan 2020

A good news story for the New Year! Today we are delighted to introduce you to Rafaela, who joined Grove Academy in 2017 aged 15. Straight away she shone as a young dancer and in just two years with us she also gained a huge amount of confidence with her acting and singing culminating in successful auditions for a number of prestigious drama schools.

Rafaela played the Magic Carpet in her first Grove Academy annual show ‘Aladdin’ which was a perfect role to showcase her dancing talent. She then went on to win the role of Bet in our 2018 summer production ‘Oliver!’ and this year was successful in gaining the female lead Swallow in ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ where her exceptional work ethic and natural stage presence radiated from the stage in every performance. As well performing in our summer productions Rafaela now also works front of house here at the Grove Theatre in between her performing arts studies.

At Grove Academy Rafaela won and was nominated for the following:

Nomination – Outstanding Effort and Achievement in July 2017

Winner – Outstanding Effort and Achievement in December 2017

She also won the Directors award for her role in Whistle Down The Wind.

Rafaela starring as Swallow in ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ – August 2019

‘Thank you for everything you have done for me.  Not only did you all help me improve my skills in singing, acting and dancing but your teachings gave me an unimaginable confidence boost that I never believed could happen to me.  Waking up early every Saturday to come to the Grove was the highlight of my week.’ - Rafaela age 16

If you’d like your child to join Grove Academy, or any of our Education classes, head over to our Take Part pages for more information, or contact Anna Elmore, Education Manager via Grove.Education@sll.co.uk