A group of talented child performers who specialise in covers of musical theatre songs are taking YouTube by storm, and their Disney medley mashup video has today hit 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 company that 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.
The Spirit YouTube channel has 20 times more subscribers than ‘Matilda the Musical’, 10 times more subscribers than ‘WhatsonStage’, ‘Billy Elliot UK’ and ‘Official London Theatre’, and double that of the ‘National Theatre’ and the ‘Royal Shakespeare Company’.
Watch the Disney medley video: click here