aaamusic | On 09, Dec 2010

Charlie Bruce, the winner of the hit BBC 1 series So You Think You Can Dance, will be making her West End acting debut this Christmas by putting on the famous pink dress and taking on the iconic role of ‘Baby’ in hit West End musical Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage.

Charlie, who joined the cast in September and has been performing the role of Gina in the ensemble, will play Baby from 20 – 24 December. Charlie has been covering the role of Baby since starting in Dirty Dancing in July but this will be the first time she has performed the role in her own right.

Fulfilling her dream of performing in a West End musical, the Leicestershire born Charlie Bruce started to dance at the age of three. Her passion for dance grew and at the tender age of ten she went into full time training at Tring’s Arts Educational School and soon progressed into the Laine Theatre Arts stage school.

Fresh out of college, the jazz dancer competed in BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance in January 2010. After wowing the judges and audiences alike with her performances, Charlie received much praise for her development throughout the competition and was soon crowned the winner and awarded the £100,000 prize as well as getting the opportunity to go to Hollywood and perform on the US version of So You Think You Can Dance.

Dirty Dancing – the hit West End production, is now in its triumphant fifth year and has been seen by over one million people in the UK, thrilling audiences on a nightly basis. Due to overwhelming demand, the show recently released over 250,000 additional tickets – extending its booking period until 29 October 2011. A Dirty Dancing national tour was recently announced, which will start September 2011 in Bristol and continue through seven cities until May2012, with further dates to be added. For tickets go to www.dirtydancingonstage.com.