Last week, our neighbours at Martenscroft Nursery School in Hulme hosted the Shiny Christmas team for a week of rehearsals, and the nursery’s youngest children were among the first to see it!

The week began at Z-arts with costume fittings and a photoshoot that was full of sparkle. The dancers jumped around with shiny material and mirrored boxes, spun in gold dresses and sent silver flutter flying around the theatre. We also filmed lots of behind-the-scenes content for the Z-arts social media channels – keep an eye out!

From Tuesday the company moved into Martenscroft Nursery, just down the road from Z-arts in Hulme. Over four days the company practiced their gumboot dance, experimented with the shiny foiled floor, built their ideas for the flutter finale and lots more!

On Wednesday they visited the baby, toddler and pre-school rooms, the dancers performed sections of the show and saw first-hand how little ones respond to the shiny materials and the dancing.

On Thursday and Friday, families came along to Martenscroft to see a work in progress sharings of the show. Their reactions and thoughts will help the company create the final version of Shiny Christmas. Some members of the team from Z-arts and Wonder Arts were also able to watch the sharing on Friday, you can see some footage from it on Instagram.

Thank you to everyone at Martenscroft for welcoming the company so warmly!

Shiny Christmas has been created by Turned On It’s Head, is supported by Arts Council England, produced in partnership with Z-arts and commissioned by Wonder Arts.