It was a Good Friday for Acropolis – Live at Stirling Castle

Acropolis rehearsals with Diversity Members at Deerness Gymnastics Academy – Ushaw Moor

 

FOUR North-East gymnasts will appear on stage alongside Diversity on the dance group’s new UK tour.

Acropolis, part of Deerness Gymnastics Academy, will join the Britain’s Got Talent winners’ Limitless tour, which starts at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Tuesday (December 3).

Today (Monday, December 2), the quartet, Millie Nesbitt, Liam Sneath, Tim Pritchard and Alex Houston, was in rehearsals with Diversity members at the academy, in Ushaw Moor, near Durham.

via Acropolis show their Diversity From The Northern Echo.

Gymnastic team to appear at Local Heroes Awards (From The Northern Echo)

A SPECTACULAR gymnastics team who have appeared on TV across Europe are to perform at The Northern Echo’s Local Heroes Awards.

Although four members of Durham-based Acropolis are currently on a UK tour with Ashley Banjo and Diversity, 10 of the team have agreed to appear at the awards ceremony, taking place in the Dolphin Centre, in Darlington on December 5.

Acropolis, based at Deerness Gymnastics Academy in Ushaw Moor, perform incredible feats of acrobatic strength, agility and bravery, combined with beautiful gymnastics and stunning choreography.

Performers at Local Heroes will include European silver medallists: Chelsea Fisher, Abbi Greaves, Michael Gill, Stuart Napier, Nathan Brady and Finn Gavin, alongside the emerging talent of Steven Dixon, Paul Dixon, Andrew Piper and Marcus Winship.

Acropolis won last year’s ITV show \”Let’s Get Gold\” and came second in the French talent show \”The Best Le Meilleur Artiste\”.

via Gymnastic team to appear at Local Heroes Awards (From The Northern Echo).

Durham gymnasts to support Diversity on UK tour From Durham Times

FOUR North-East gymnasts are to support dance stars Diversity on their UK tour.

 

Acropolis, part of Deerness Gymnastics Academy, in Ushaw Moor, County Durham, will join Diversity, winners of TV talent show Britain’s Got Talent, for the dance group’s Limitless tour.

Diversity choreographer Ashley Banjo said: “I had heard that Acropolis had world-class gymnasts so I visited the club.

“They are amazing – and having international medal-winning acrobats is definitely giving the show an added dimension.”

The Acropolis stars taking part are: Millie Nesbitt, 14, from Durham; Liam Sneath, 16, from Spennymoor; Tim Pritchard, 18, from Durham; and Alex Houston, 20, from Consett.

The tour visits Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Tuesday, December 3.

For more information on the Limitless tour, visit diversityofficial.com

via Durham gymnasts to support Diversity on UK tour From Durham Times.

Deerness Valley prepared for British battle

 

 

 

Ahead of the Acrobatic British Championships this weekend in Stoke on Trent, British Gymnastics caught up with Deerness Valley, a well-established acrobatic and tumbling club based at Deerness Gymnastics Academy in County Durham.

Having produced numerous British, European and World Champions and become winners of the ITV talent show ‘Let’s Get Gold’ with the group Acropolis in 2012, head of acro at the club, Stuart Thompson is now looking forward to 2013 and beyond. Stuart is excited about the upcoming talent at Deerness and knows with many gymnasts retiring that hard work is essential and this weekend we can look forward to seeing the stars of the future.

“In terms of competitions, the club has taken a break since the Worlds in Florida last year and my aim has been to build up the squads again. We have development groups coming through now and I want to make sure I develop them because they are the future – there is a great deal of talent in the club. The British Championships will be our first focus as we have had a lot of moving around with a few people retiring from Florida. You have to crack on and push yourself; we will work hard and see what it brings.”

For a lot of the gymnasts competing this weekend it will be their first British Championships. It’s a time for new talent to shine as fresh partnerships and groups are formed and it will be a key competition for gymnasts looking to be selected for the World Games this summer in Colombia. Club member, Abbi Greaves is looking forward to the weekend.

“It’ll be my first British Championships this year in a pair with my teammate Chelsea. It’s a big competition but I don’t mind, I try not to think about it so I don’t get nervous. I love doing acro, I like travelling to different places and meeting new people, you’re never alone – you always have someone to compete with.”

World Champion and ‘Let’s Get Gold’ winner, Richard Hurst has now retired from the sport and is a full time coach at the club. He achieved outstanding success at international level and although he was also successful in the talent show world he knows the importance of the British Championships and other competitions and how the feeling of achieving in your sport will always be the best.

“Acro gymnastics has always been great for display; it’s fascinating for people to watch. I however still prefer the competitions; the talent show was completely different experience to worlds for example. The high you get from winning competitions and hearing the national anthem playing is a completely different high that you get when you do a display. The applause is still the same and it’s great, but nothing beats competing.”

For the full article ‘For the love of acro’ on both Richard Hurst and Stuart Thompson, check out the next issue of the GYMNAST magazine coming soon.

via Deerness Valley prepared for British battle.

Eggstra Special Gymnastics this Easter – Deerness Gymnastics Academy

Former international gymnasts, world-class coaches and members of talent show winning ‘Acropolis’ will be at Deerness Gymnastics Academy in Durham this Easter offering an eggstra special program of gymnastic activities.

The daytime sessions will take place during the school holidays and provides the opportunity for youngsters aged 4 yrs-12 yrs to give gymnastics a go over the two week break.

The sessions take place on Tuesday 2nd and 9th April and on Wednesday 4th and 10th April between 12 noon and 2pm. The costs is £6 for one session or £10 for two including a free healthy snack and drink.

The sessions will include use of the world class gymnastics facility including foam pit, trampoline, sprung floor and tumble track and will be instructed by qualified coaches from the club. These include:

Stuart Thompson, a former international gymnast turned coach. Stuart is not only a coach for Great Britain and Acropolis but also coached the current acro-gymnastic World Champions.

Richard Hurst, the current acro-gymnastics seniors mens group european and world champion and now is a coach at the club. Richard is also a performing gymnast in Acropolis.

Katie Lawton, a former international acrobat & European medal winner. Katie is a coach and development officer at the club; and

Vicki Copeland, another former international acrobat. Vicky is a qualified teacher and high performance coach with over 15 years coaching experience.

The sessions form part of the community programme introduced by the club after it took over the running of Deerness Gymnastics Academy in 2011, following the closure of Deerness Leisure Centre and it aims to make gymnastics coaching available to all ages from novice to elite level.

“We had over 300 children take part in our Summer sessions last year and the club is really looking forward to these Easter sessions. It is fantastic that so many people are wanting to give gymnastics a try and we try our hardest to accommodate everyone who wants to give gymnastics a go and not to turn people away,” said Karl Wharton, director, Deerness Gymnastics Academy.

“Gymnastics provides many young people throughout Durham and the north east with the opportunity to improve their health and physical development, promote social and emotional skills as well as boost their confidence. These sessions are a great way of learning and practising gymnastic skills and strengths at the same time as having fun. They will hopefully inspire and encourage more people to get involved with the club and help us to develop happy, healthy and confident children.”

Places are still available for the Easter sessions and on Monday April 15 the club will resume its recreational classes aimed at developing happy, healthy and confident children. There are places for hundreds of children on the recreational classes, which run both weekdays after school and weekends, making use of the world-class facilities available at Deerness Gymnastics Academy.

To book or to find out more call: 0191 373 9419 or visit www.deernessgymnastics.org follow on twitter @deernessga or find on Facebook.

via Eggstra Special Gymnastics this Easter – Sky Tyne and Wear.

Acropolis to Top the Bill at the Deerness Christmas Shows

Tickets are now on sale for one of the hottest performances in Durham this Christmas.

Deerness Gymnastics Academy have announced the dates of this year’s Christmas Displays, which this year includes a performance by Acropolis, winners of the ITV talent show Let’s Get Gold as well as the clubs international tumblers and acrobats. Acropolis will perform the winning routine from the TV show as well as a new display.

The display will feature over 20 performances ranging from recreational gymnastics through to world class performances at Deerness Gymnastics Academy in Ushaw Moor from Tuesday 18th December – Friday 21st December at 6.30pm – 9pm, and on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd from 2pm – 4.30pm.

The displays combines all aspects of the traditional and the modern in acrobatic stage performance, including dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment, with awesome displays of physical strength and incredible feats of balance.

“This is going to be a magical week of events at Deerness Gymnastics Academy”, said Karl Wharton, director of gymnastics at Deerness Gymnastics Academy. “The high-quality, artistic entertainment is perfect to kick off the festive season with friends and family. As well as providing great entertainment these shows help to provide much needed funds to support our gymnasts throughout the year.”

As an acrobatic quartet, Acropolis won £100,000 on Let’s Get Gold the ‘sports meets entertainment’ show for the club in July 2012. The quartet, which includes current European and World Champions have now been joined by six other elite gymnasts from Deerness, including the 2011 European silver and 2012 World bronze medallists.

Acropolis, working with coach Stuart Thompson, has now developed a repertoire of routines to wow their audiences. Following appearances at the Local Heroes Awards and the North East Sports Awards in early December and the Christmas Shows at Deerness, they will head out onto the corporate event circuit to hopefully secure additional income for Deerness Gymnastics Academy.

The club took over the running of Deerness Gymnastics Academy last year, following the closure of Deerness Leisure Centre and is making gymnastics coaching available to all ages from novice to elite level. Now a charitable body Deerness Gymnastics Academy needs to raise funds to keep the club going.

Karl Wharton said “Gymnastics provides many young people throughout Durham and the north east with the opportunity to improve their health and physical development, promote social and emotional skills as well as boost their confidence. These displays are a great way of demonstrating gymnastic skills and strengths and will hopefully inspire and encourage more people to get involved with the club. As well as providing great entertainment these shows help to provide much needed funds to support our gymnasts throughout the year.”

Tickets are priced £9 for adults, £6 children and concessions with all proceeds going to support the future of Deerness Gymnastics Academy. Tickets are available from reception at Deerness Gymnastics Academy at Ushaw Moor.

To find out more about Deerness Gymnastics Academy and the classes available go to: http://www.deernessgymnastics.org.uk find them on Facebook or follow on Twitter @deernessga.

To find out more about Acropolis go to: http://www.acropolis-live.com find them on Facebook or follow on Twitter @deernessga.

via Acropolis to Top the Bill at the Deerness Christmas Shows.

Acropolis win ITV’s Let’s Get Gold talent show | ITV News

Acropolis have been named as winners of the ITV 1 talent show “Let’s Get Gold” and have won £100,000.

The group of acro-gymnasts wowed the judging panel of Rio Ferdinand, Freddie Flintoff, Martine McCutheon and Una Healy with their technique, skill and creative flair.

The programme was hosted by Vernon Kay and combined sport with entertainment in a mini-series of three pre-recorded programmes shown this week on ITV 1.

Over the three nights the programme was shown, groups competed to impress the judges in an attempt to win the trophy and £100,000 prize fund.

This is the latest achievement for the group who have previously already won a selection of European and worldwide competitions for gymnastics.

They train at Deerness Gymnastics Academy in Ushaw Moor, Co. Durham and are planing to use the prize money to encourage more people to take part in sport.

via Acropolis win ITV’s Let’s Get Gold talent show | ITV News.

Acropolis – Deerness Gymnastics Academy wins £100,000 on ITV’s Let’s Get Gold

Acropolis – Deerness Gymnastics Academy wins £100,000 on ITV’s Let’s Get Gold

A QUARTET of North-East gymnasts have bagged £100,000 for their club by becoming the first winners of a new TV talent show.

The four acro-gymnasts from Deerness Gymnastics Academy, based in Ushaw Moor, near Durham, wowed judges on ITV’s Let’s Get Gold, picking up the first cash prize in a show broadcast on Saturday night.

Competing as Acropolis, Matthew Evison, 19, and Richard Hurst, 21, both from Esh Winning, Dorian Walker, 21, from Durham City, and Jesse Heskett, 17, from Seaburn, Sunderland, showed off their skills to a judging panel of footballer Rio Ferdinand, cricketer Andrew Flintoff and singers Martine McCutcheon and Una Healy, with host Vernon Kay watching on.

Over recent years, the club has won a string of British, European and world titles, producing more than 60 Team GB athletes. However, Saturday’s cash jackpot completes a remarkable turnaround its recent fortunes.

Just last year, it was threatened with homelessness when Durham County Council announced plans to close its leisure centre base.

However, the club took over running the facility itself and now offers community classes, courses and meeting spaces.

Karl Wharton, the academy’s director of gymnastics, said: “As a charitable body and volunteer-led club, the prize fund is going to make such a big difference to our future.”

Mr Walker, 21, said: “It was just incredible. I didn’t really believe it was happening. You were on stage and all of a sudden people were congratulating you.

“We were up against people doing other sports and the aim was to find the one with the most entertainment value, so it was a bit different to competing in a championship.”

Jesse said: “When they said we’d won it was really a shock. We went into the competition a bit bare, not really knowing what it was all about. I was just astonished to think we’d won.”

Team coach Stuart Thompson added: “It (the academy) costs about £7,000 a month to run and while we could have managed without the prize money it will give us a handy buffer while we build up membership.”

For more information, visit deernessgymnastics.org.uk

via Durham gym club wins £100,000 on TV talent show From Durham Times.