A CARDENDEN girl has been starring in the Bird Theatre Company’s production of 42nd Street which took the stage in Dundee this week.

Paige Morrison is currently completing a three year scholarship at the presitigious London based Bird College of Performing Arts.

Paige is a former pupil at St Ninian’s and Denend Primary Schools, and was encouraged by her late grandmother, Mary McDonald, who was a ballet dancer herself.

Paige started dancing from the age of two. She was taught ballet by Caroline Kelly Dance Academy, in Kirkcaldy, and jazz/hip hop with Stacey Keenan, in Lochgelly, with the Zodiac Dance Company, before going to The Dance School Of Scotland, in Glasgow, at the age of 11. Paige always thought of herself as just a dancer, but in the last few years at The Dance School, she started singing and acting lessons and realised she loved that too!

Then, at 17, she auditioned alongside thousands of hopeful kids for five of the top performing arts schools in London and was awarded scholarships from every single school she auditioned for.

She finally decided to accept a £42,000 scholarship to go to Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts and she moved to the bright lights of London to study dance, singing, and acting full-time.

She has almost finished her three year Professional Diploma in Musical Theatre.

Whilst she’s been at Bird, she’s been the lead in ‘No No Nanette’, appeared as a dancer in ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ and ‘Joie De Vivre’ and now, The Bird Theatre company have cast Paige as one of the principal characters (Lorraine) in the musical ‘42nd Street’.

Said her mother Beth, who now stays in Angus, “They have just finished performing this in London before coming on tour to Dundee.

“42nd Street opens this Thursday in the Gardyne Theatre, Dundee, so she is home in Monifieth for that.

“We haven’t seen her since the Christmas Holidays, so to have her home for the next week or two is great and even better because we will be seeing her perform in 42nd Street.” Beath added, “Lots of friends and family will be filling the theatre up in Dundee, we’re all very excited to see her again in the theatre and we’ll be having a wee party next weekend to celebrate her success”.

Paige has had a busy year so far and as soon as 42nd Street is finished, she will be back down in London auditioning for the next role before she graduates in July.

Beth and her dad will be going to London to see her graduate with her two brothers, Calum and Fraser.