Gala event raises funds for The Hunger Project

The Royal Ballet's Liam Scarlett 
dances Texan Kangaroo Rat
 - ‘Still life’ at the Penguin Café. 
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 The Hunger Project UK

The Gary Avis & Friends Charity Gala, which took place in September, turned out to be an important fund-raiser for The Hunger Project. A Harlequin Liberty™ sprung floor used in conjunction with black Harlequin Reversible™ dance surface was installed at the Ipswich Regent Theatre for the two performances, which included dancers from The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet. 

Gary Avis, a Principal Character Artist and also Ballet Master at the Royal Ballet brought a glittering array of talent to his home town of Ipswich. "It was a fantastic success, we had two packed performances with 2600 guests and we raised £50,000 for The Hunger Project which was incredible" said Mark Speirs Marketing, Communications & Fundraising Manager of The Hunger Project UK. 

Bryony Wells of The Hunger Project explained, "the performances, hosted by Angela Rippon involved 10 Principal Dancers from the Royal Ballet and we therefore needed to put in place a good sprung floor. " She continued, "Harlequin provided the floor for an event involving the Royal Ballet last year in Lagrasse, and all the dancers were very happy with this floor. Additionally, Gary Avis teaches at the Wells Summer Schools at which a Harlequin floor is used, and has been very impressed with it. " 

This "World Class Dance Event"included 80 performers supported by 250 volunteers backstage. Performers included The Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae, Jumoké Fashola, Roberta Marquez, Nehemiah Kish, Melissa Hamilton, Paul Kay, Leanne Cope, David Pickering, Yuhui Choe, Ryoichi Hirano, Yasmine Naghdi, Nigel Cliffe and; English National Ballet’s Principal Ballerina Begoña Cao and from East Anglia - The Co-op Juniors, Ipswich Operatic Society, Appeal Theatre Group, The Gallery Players and young performers from the Linda Shipton School of Dance. 

A round up of the gala is published on The Hunger Project blog and there is still an opportunity to give at Gary’s fundraising page on Justgiving.com.