Dance shows will go ahead in Musselburgh tonight and tomorrow after the late cancellation of three performances yesterday (Sunday) left organisers "absolutely heartbroken".
Young dancers were due to take to the stage at the Loretto School Theatre in Millhill as part of Alpha Dance Academy's annual show 'Dance Across America.'
But the dance academy, which hosts classes in Musselburgh and Tranent, was left "devastated" after being told, the night before the first show, that there was no entertainment licence in place at the venue.
The show was originally due to be staged at The Brunton in Ladywell Way but was switched to the Loretto School Theatre.
This was was because of the temporary closure of parts of The Brunton after a survey detected "structural issues" in the theatre's roof.
READ MORE: The Brunton closed for all performances until June; shows rescheduled
The Brunton Theatre Trust is working in partnership with Loretto School and other venues to present their programme of events during the temporary closure of parts on the building.
Taking to social media to inform parents of the cancellation, the academy stated: "We are absolutely heartbroken and can’t believe we have to inform you of such bad news at 10.30pm on a Saturday night, hours before our first show."
"However, we have just been informed by the Brunton Theatre that there is no entertainment licence in place at Loretto School Theatre, therefore they have cancelled tomorrow’s [Sunday's] shows.
"We are completely taken aback by this revelation, we have only just heard about the lack of licence at 9pm tonight and, unfortunately, this is completely out of our hands.
"If the licence is granted on Monday then we will go ahead with the Monday and Tuesday shows, as well as rearrange the Sunday shows.
"We can’t stress enough how devastated and disappointed about this situation we are and can completely understand how upsetting this will be for you to hear, especially for our dancers."
By 9.30am this morning, the issue had been resolved and the licence was approved, with shows tonight and tomorrow at 6pm going ahead as planned at Loretto School Theatre.
Tickets are available from The Brunton website.
READ MORE: Musselburgh: The Brunton 'heartened' by response as new venues added
Sunday's cancelled shows will be rescheduled, with the date to be confirmed, the dance academy stated on social media.
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: "Survey work is currently taking place across the roof areas of performance spaces at the Brunton. The team at the Brunton has been working hard to make arrangements to move shows and screenings to alternative venues.
"Loretto School had offered use of their theatre to help accommodate displaced shows as a result of the Brunton performance spaces being unavailable. The theatre at Loretto School had been earmarked for use by Alpha Dance Academy at the weekend.
"The council’s licensing team worked to process an application for a temporary public entertainment licence for specific performance dates as quickly as possible, including carrying out the necessary statutory consultations, and issued the licence on Monday morning. This enables performances on Monday and Tuesday evening to go ahead.
"Unfortunately, as it was necessary to have a public entertainment licence in place before performances went ahead, the Brunton reluctantly had to take the decision to cancel the weekend performances and has apologised to the dance academy for the inconvenience caused.
"The Brunton team continues to work hard to liaise with Loretto theatre and other partner venues to secure an alternative date for the cancelled shows so that they can be presented as soon as possible."
Alpha Dance Academy, which was founded in 1985, aims to "create the perfect balance between having fun in class whilst training to a high technical standard."
On offer is a range of classes including ballet, tap, modern jazz, hip hop and cheerleading for all ages and abilities.
Classes are held in the East Lothian towns of Musselburgh and Tranent, Bonnyrigg in Midlothian and Portobello in Edinburgh.
Children have the option to sit BTDA Examinations in Ballet and Tap. The exam qualifications hold an NVQ and are recognised by the Council for Dance Education and Training (CDET).
Many of the children have appeared in both professional and amateur productions and some of our pupils are now in full time dance training.
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