Dancers on stage at Charlie Cooper’s debut show at the Princess Pavillion. (Photo credits: Tia Boddey)
Last month, local dance company Charlie Cooper Dance hosted its debut show at the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth, raising £705 for the charity WILD Young Parents through raffle ticket sales and donations.
WILD Young Parents supports young parents and their babies to “give them a fair chance in life.”
Between January and March 2025, the charity supported 700 parents and parents-to-be and hosted 300 online sessions.
“We do so much work for the families,” says Charlie Cooper, owner of Charlie Cooper Dance and a long time employee at WILD.
WILD offers one-to-one support, home visits, regular sessions in family hubs, and community trips to places like museums, beaches, and the Hall for Cornwall.
The charity tailors its support to individual families and works closely with other agencies, helping parents communicate with social workers, housing officers, and health visitors.
“Sometimes our families feel like they’re unable to speak to professionals, so we support them through it,” says Charlie.
The money raised will help cover small essentials such as snacks, cleaning supplies, and special occasions like Christmas and Halloween.
It will also contribute to trips across Cornwall and help fund staff training to keep knowledge and skills up to date.
Charlie has worked with WILD for 12 years, and says choosing the charity was “an obvious choice”.
Donations came from local business, including Waterstones, the Penventon Hotel, and Merlin Cinemas.
Big smiles: Charlie Cooper poses in a Charlie Cooper Dance hoodie. (Photo credits: Charlie Cooper)
A packed audience of friends and family erupted in cheers and applause after each performance, marking the evening as a loud celebration of how far the dance school, and Charlie, have come in their first year.
“[Charlie Cooper Dance] has only been running for 12 months,” says Charlie.
“It got to January and some of the girls were like, ‘Let’s put on a show!’ and I thought, no, we’re definitely not doing that – it’s way too soon. But having the support from everyone actually meant we could go ahead and do it. And then we did. It was so amazing.”
The show featured a mix of performances, from lyrical and sass & heels to commercial, pole, and musical theatre.
After the show, Catherine, whose daughter performed, said: “After seeing all of the preparation behind the scenes it was really good to see the performances come to life. The energy [of the crowd] was great, everyone was really enjoying it.”
The dancers, who ranged in age from 17 to their 50s, shared the same enthusiasm.
Kelly, one of the older dancers, said:, “It’s absolutely exhilarating and so amazing to dance with such incredible ladies. The show was full of empowerment, and we had major support from Charlie Cooper.”
Poppy, one of the younger dancers, added: “I just can’t believe it’s over now.”
Learn more about the WILD Young Parents project at their website here and on Instagram @wildyoungparents.
Find Charlie Cooper Dance at @charliecooper.dance on Instagram and on their website here for blog posts, class information, and event bookings.