Louise White

I first discovered my love for dance, aged 4 when my primary school dance teacher offered dance lessons after school. Miss F was so enthusiastic and energetic; little me had stars in her eyes. I started auditioning for roles in school plays and even got a few leads throughout my Primary Journey! It wasn't long before I was harassing my parents for more and started at a local dance school, participating in showcases, Christmas fayres etc. Disaster struck Age 9 and injury took me away from dance for what seemed to me, the longest year of my life but as luck would have it, in my return to dance, my Mum signed me up for a taster session at a new school; Vinnies Dance and Theatre. It was here that I was introduced to the idea of Musical Theatre and I went along to an open audition for Northampton Musical Theatre Company: Youth. Aged 10, I auditioned to be Eponine in Les Mis! Of course I didn't get it but the panel saw something in me because they gave me the next best thing: Young Eponine. And the rest, is history. I've been with NMTC Youth ever since, taking part in every one of their shows, and two of the Adult company shows, Shrek and Footloose. Covid hit me during Shrek rehearsals and stopped me from being able to perform the first half of the run but as soon as the test result came back clear, I was back on stage, not letting illness steal the buzz I knew I would get - and it didn't disappoint. Footloose was in Oct 2024 and working with some incredibly talented performers was enlightening! While I loved performing from a young age, my appreciation for live performance didn't pick up until later. I'd been to the Panto a few times, but Secondary School brought me a whole new perspective and experiences. I wanted to go on every trip available to me, and even a few which officially weren't for me but magically had enough space. National Theatre Connections, Theatre shows, performing a song called "Nene" about my home town; Northampton by Benjamin Till at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Music for Youth Proms, Young Voices 2018 and I found London! There is a charge in the air around the theatre district that I've never found anywhere else. My first London show was an impromptu trip to see "&Juliet" with friends and I've longed to be back at every opportunity. I've seen plenty of the newer shows such as Hamilton, Come From Away and Six and Hadestown and have a couple more planned. I've been to Birmingham, Milton Keynes and as far as Brighton to support friends in their roles in shows too. Showcases, concerts, Diwali festivals - if there are people on a stage performing, I'm in! My journey through the MT world so far has been incredibly transformational. I have learned so many lessons along the way about Dancing, Acting and Singing. A couple of private vocal teachers have said to me that they can't help with my vocals after just a few lessons because I sing well naturally and I was a little lost as to how to continue to improve. As luck would have it, my College vocal tutor has been fantastic! She has taken my singing to a whole new level, enabling me to explore my full range and control, to portray emotion through the lyrics. Having previously been reluctant to belt, not wanting to damage my voice, working together, we have achieved so much and in return I assist her in lessons suggesting melodies when she can't find the right ones, coaching my peers to success in their own auditions and even getting some of the more 'over excited' people to be calm and quiet so that we can learn. I recently sang "I Dreamed a Dream" in the Colleges Drama Course Showcase, receiving feedback that it was the best vocal performance I've ever given. College has really taken me to a new level in every aspect of my journey and I can't wait to see what Uni can help me to achieve. My goal, ambition and dream is, of course, to perform on the West End or with a Tour of a show and I know that University is the best path for me to help achieve that.