Subtitles: WDR mediagroup digital GmbH on behalf of WDR
Warm up at 08:30, Monday morning,
before the start of ballet class.
Tom Wooton, like the other students here,
wants to be a professional dancer.
Tom chose to study here in Liverpool instead of London.
I was very young when I applied to come to Liverpool
I had just turned 18 and if I had made the decision to go to London
the industry and the competitiveness would probably have eaten me alive.
Tom studies dance at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts,
known as LIPA.
In the ballet session Tom's learning to hold the correct posture.
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All day the dancers are at work practising their art.
For Tom injuries are part and parcel of being a dancer.
The practice sessions are very strenuous.
Tom has been carrying an injury in his shoulder
for weeks now.
It's not too bad in this session because it's slightly lyrical.
So I can work through my shoulder pain and the arms are a bit slower.
When things are a bit faster and we are about to go into Jazz
that is probably when I'll have more issues with it.
Tom knows that professional dancers are trained to ignore pain.
The show must go on.
The students in this class are competing with each other
for future dancing roles and rarely miss dance sessions.
Are you all okay?
In the Jazz class Tom's friend Aden takes time out.
He feels a twinge in his calf muscle.
The class nevertheless continues training.
The dancers are preparing themselves
for a very important event that will happen later today.
An expert in the dance industry will select some of them
for a dance festival in London.
The master class later today is very important.
It's a perfect time for me to start to understand the industry.
And it's very important because I'm a third year.
So when I graduate, which will be later this year,
it's a fantastic place to gain knowledge of the industry
that I want to go into.
Liverpool is a vibrant cultural centre.
A short break from dancing is important for Tom.
Hi, can I grab a coffee? Cheers.
Rest is a fundamental training strategy
for would-be professional dancers.
If I do get some free time I really like to do some things
that will further me as an artist so I'll come down to the docks
or maybe go to the Tate or the Liverpool Museum.
Just something along those lines.
Just to relax and think about something
that is different to dancing.
Northern weather. Liverpool weather.
And we're down by the docks.
It's very cold, isn't it?
Later today is the first session of the master class.
Tom heads home.
I'm going to show you where I live. I have lived here since September.
I had a bit of trouble when I first moved in.
Me and my friend Aden couldn't find somewhere to live together
but there's a big student community in Liverpool
so we managed to find this place.
I'll show you that now.
Tom comes from a small town called Leamington Spa in the West Midlands.
It was a big step for him to come here at the age of 18.
Back now.
How are you? - I'm okay, not too bad.
How did you find Contemporary?
Yeah, Contemporary was good.
Tom and Aden rarely spend time together at home.
The three-year BA degree dance course is very demanding.
They have little time to talk together about household chores,
like looking for a new WiFi.
Tom fell in love with dancing at a very early age.
Well, it started when I was six.
My sister was doing ballet classes and my dad brought her back.
And she showed us what she was doing in class.
Then I did it to copy her
because I wanted to do everything my sister did at that age.
My dad liked what he saw and thought I might be quite good at it.
So dragged me along to ballet classes.
And from age six I've danced. And that's all I've really done.
The time has come for the first master class session.
Tom is ready to impress.
The competition is fierce.
Dance teacher Emma Annetts will select the best of the best.
Yes, a little bit for those that haven't worked with me loads.
I just pop in and out.
Six, seven, eight.
Grabbing here.
One, two, three.
Then we're going diagonal.
We're taking the arm behind the head,
swirling and pressing head down here.
That's flat. So we start diagonal.
But we end flat.
Tom does not know if he'll be selected.
He gave his best.
Change the direction.
I'm really interested in Patrick, Tom Wooton, Jack.
Those three, yes.
Thank you, it's so lovely to see you again.
In the master class earlier Emma was also running an audition
for the MOVE IT piece which is a chorographical piece
that is performed at the dance festival MOVE IT in London.
She selected me along with about another 10 students from my year
to come back for a recall audition for that piece.
So I'm staying here tonight to do that with Emma Annetts.
For Tom it's important he get's his shoulder looked at
before the forthcoming master class recall session.
It's causing him a problem and may well effect his performance.
When I stretch over, the muscle feels very tight and very pulled in,
almost like it doesn't want to go further.
Is there a way to lengthen it?
Yes, every time you hit resistance that's actually good information.
Your body is talking to you. So you want to work with pain.
And you use breath to help you.
So you use your breath to go into that location of pain.
Really enter deeply into the breath and you'll find,
over a short period of time, the body will start to release.
If you breathe in with me then enter into the stretch.
Exhale and relax the body.
Even the receptionist at LIPA practises his art.
It's late in the day and there's a lot still to happen.
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At the LIPA bar the dance students meet
before the master class recall session.
Although they are in competition with each other,
they are also friends.
I know. She's great, isn't she? I love her.
Her choreography is always so hard as well.
You have to push yourself.
I'm doing the Lion King audition tomorrow.
Really?
That's so exciting.
Tomorrow morning.
If selected for the MOVE IT Dance Festival in London,
Tom will be dancing at Britain's largest dance event
with 20.000 visitors.
He could get noticed and fulfill his dreams.
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Go.
Yes. Good. Great, guys.
Thank you.
Everyone is nervous to hear the results.
Tom Wooton, Jack.
Great. So those names, could you stay?
Thank you so much for everybody else.
Tom is one step closer to his dream.
But late in the evening Tom's also working on something very different.
It would look like repulsing from you, yeah.
That would look quite cool.
Just try it. Shall we try now? - You want me to go back?
This is what I'm working on in my own time, using the studio space,
at the end of the day at LIPA.
So when the classes are done
they let us use the studios for free.
So I'm choreographing this.
Which is sort of starting to develop my skills for when I retire
and hopefully become a choreographer.
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