Hello. Hello. Hello!
How are you? I'm all right.
Hello, hello, hello.
I'll check you in. Hi, hi, hi.
OK, guys, seats, seats.
Are you Jonathan? I am, yes.
Come up. Let me get you checked in.
So, what's the act name? We are AWA.
Perfect. We've got you guys here.
Take a seat.
How do you all know each other? We go to the same school. Same school?
Yeah. I'm the dance teacher in the school.
The ones who have left now, the ones with beards,
they're too old to be in school.
HE LAUGHS
Would you say Jonathan was a great teacher?
Yeah. He's a brilliant teacher.
He's actually my favourite teacher.
Group hug. Here it comes. Yes, he is a great teacher.
HE LAUGHS
They were mean to me!
Hi, I'm Kim. I'm James's mum.
He is a member of AWA.
Also known as Autism With Attitude.
James has high-functioning autism.
He's always been quite a solitary child.
But dancing has opened his eyes to a lot in the outside world.
I see him dance with passion and excitement, happiness.
And these are a lot of emotions that we never saw from him.
All of the members in AWA are on the autistic spectrum.
They began with Jonathan Baron, a dance teacher at their school.
He saw an opportunity for the children to be able
to express themselves through dance.
They've become a real family unit.
They just want to prove to everyone that, regardless of your abilities
and your capabilities, that you can achieve anything.
They're an amazing bunch of kids.
AUDIENCE: Aw.
Aw.
How are you feeling? Are you nervous?
Oh, come here, don't be nervous.
He'll be fine, he'll be fine.
They've got this, they're going to smash it. They're going to smash it.
They're ready for you. Let's do this, guys.
Good luck. Thank you very much. You're going to be amazing.
Bye.
Hey, guys. Hello.
Hi. Welcome to The Greatest Dancer.
ALESHA: OK, lights down and quiet, please.
Right, let's do this, guys, let's do this.
The teacher's nervous, bless him.
It's all right.
# Somebody once told me
# The world is gonna roll me
# I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
# She was looking kind of dumb
# With her fingers and her thumb
# In the shape of an L on her forehead
# Well, the years start coming
# And they don't stop coming
# Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running
# Didn't make sense not to live for fun
# Your brain gets smart... #
The lights are popping.
# Hey, now, you're an all-star
# Get your game on, go play
# Hey, now, you're a rock star
# Get the show on, get paid
# And all that glitters is gold
# Only shooting stars break the mould... #
UP-TEMPO DANCE MUSIC
Here we go.
Let's go!
They are really good.
CHEERING
Yes!
INDISTINCT LYRICS
# Everybody jump, jump, jump, jump!
Hey!
# Everybody jump, jump, jump, jump!
INDISTINCT LYRICS
CHEERING
# Throw your arms around me
# Throw your arms... #
SHE CHEERS
Are you Alesha Dixon? Yes. Nice to meet you.
Lovely to meet you too, darling.
LAUGHTER
That was absolutely incredible. You know what?
You came out with passion, with force, with fearlessness.
And you did exactly what your mam said before.
No matter your ability, no matter what's going on,
if you put in hard work and dedication,
you can achieve your dreams.
CHEERING
So good, so good.
Obviously, every single one in this theatre loves you,
because you were amazing! So, well done!
CHEERING
To perform how you did with such style and such grace.
and the flips and everything...
And, Jonathan, I just have to say,
I really salute what you are doing. My nephew has autism and...
APPLAUSE
It's...
Guys, make some noise for AWA!
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
# Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh
# You know I kept holding on
# Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh
# If you never try you'll never know... #
WHOOPING
They're so pumped! That's so great.
They didn't see it coming. They were just...
It was like I was going to heaven. It was that...
It was that amazing. It was just that amazing!
But the best thing is, I'm still alive, and we made it through.
And I just can't be any more happier than...
You thought you were going to die? You know!
That's the reactions that you wait for, isn't it? Yeah.
The reaction was incredible. It was amazing.