Mini west end stars' Disney video on YouTube hits 2million views as overall audience approaches 10 million

London weekend stage school becoming international YouTube sensation

 

A group of talented child performers who specialise in covers of musical theatre songs are taking YouTube by storm, with nearly 100 videos on their channel attracting 10 million fans, and their Disney medley mashup video alone today hitting the 2 million-view mark.  
 

Twenty-three singers from Spirit Young Performers' Company perform the medley, which features songs from films such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical and Frozen and it has proved hugely popular with the international fanbase of this London weekend stage school.
 
 

Spirit is home to some of the most exceptional young performers in the country, and is the brainchild of Sophie Boyce, a 23 year old entrepreneur, whose groundbreaking way of training and showcasing her students on social media has meant competition is fierce for spaces at the company's weekend classes and holiday courses - with students travelling from all over the UK to attend the London sessions.
 
 "The songs from the Disney musicals are so enduring," says Sophie, "High School Musical is celebrating its 10th birthday this year, Aladdin is hitting the West End again in June and it has just been announced that Frozen is to be a stage musical too, so these are songs that will have appeal forever." 

Many of the Spirit kids have starred on the West End stage in productions such as Matilda, Billy Elliot, and Les Mis, and Spirit fans from all over the world eagerly await the next posting of a Spirit musical theatre cover video, and are even travelling to the UK to meet their mini-idols.

Sophie, an ex-Channel 4 scriptwriter with a 1st class degree in filmmaking from the prestigious Met film school, established Spirit YPC two years ago, inspired by her love of filmmaking, her huge passion for musical theatre, and her knowledge of filmmaking.

 "We are the only performing arts training company that regularly uses a professional multi-camera crew. We release both performance videos and behind-the-scenes footage on YouTube. They have received a phenomenal amount of attention" Says Sophie.

"They have really tapped into the huge following that musical theatre has with pre-teens and teens in the UK and around the world."

Spirit's total audience currently stands at just under 10 million: a following it has built up in under two years. 

 Watch the Disney medley video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-e_0FWD3E

** A CHANCE TO BE IN SPIRIT'S SECOND DISNEY MEDLEY  - THE SPIRIT EASTER WORKSHOP **

Due to the phenomenal success of the first Disney medley, Spirit YPC will be putting together another one! 

Just 20 selected singers will be selected to partake in the second celebration of Disney and will need to submit an audition tape, singing a song of their choice in order to be considered for the workshop and video. Audition tapes should be sent tosophieboyce@spiritypc.com with the subject: Disney Submission

Applications must be in before Monday 14th March. The can be recorded on a phone or computer.

After two days of rehearsing and training, the final musical theatre performance will be filmed in a studio in London, making everyone in it an official YouTuber! 

When? Monday 4th April - Wednesday 6th April 2016

Where? Central London, St Marylebone CE School, W1U 5BA

What time? 11am - 4pm per day

 Cost: £145 for the two day course.

 Spirit website: www.spiritypc.co.uk

Spirit YouTube channel:  www.youtube.com/spiritypc

 - ENDS - 

Sophie Banks and Angie Cronin
Loudbird PR and Communications
Tel: 07815 147073 and  07970 810302
www.loudbird.co.uk
Follow us on:www.twitter.com/loudbirdPR
 

About Spirit Young Performers Company

• Spirit founder, Sophie Boyce (23), studied practical filmmaking at the renowned Met Film School, leaving in 2012 with a 1st class Honours Degree.  She went on to work in TV, becoming a writer for TV shows like Skins and editing promotional films for Hollyoaks, amongst others, while continuing to pursue a filmmaking career.  She is a huge fan of musical theatre.  She founded Spirit two years ago. 

• Over 75% of a Spirit students have been employed professionally as a performer.

• The overall view-count for Spirit videos currently stands at just under 10 million. 

• In the last month, Spirit videos have been watched for an estimated 2,292,748 minutes, and have proved most popular in the UK, USA, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.

• Spirit YPC offers one of the most intensive part-time programmes in the UK, with children training for between 3-14 hours every weekend in musical theatre, singing, drama and dance.

• Spirit YPC is best known for professionally filming performances. Their performance troupes have generated millions of online viewers; their talents drawing a YouTube audience of around 900,000 views every month. Through this online success the troupe were scouted to perform on prime-time national television, on ITV's 'Keep it in the Family' in 2015.

• Spirit's online audience currently includes: 41,000+ YouTube subscribers (increasing by 180 p/day on average) 10 million YouTube viewers (increasing by 25,000 p/day on average)

• In the last year, Spirit has been approached to perform at the Perform/Move It Main Stage, at the 02 Arena supporting Andrea Bocelli and on prime-time television: ITV's "Keep it in the Family".