Spelbound
Encyclopedia
Spelbound are a gymnastic troupe
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series
Britain's Got Talent (series 4)
The fourth series of Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV from 17 April 2010 to 5 June 2010. It was presented by Ant & Dec and won by gymnastic troupe Spelbound. Judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden returned for the televised auditions on 18 January at the Clyde Auditorium in...
of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
. They also performed in the Britain's Got Talent Live tour. They have since performed at numerous venues and have been featured in advertisements.
Early years and lineup (2009-2010)
Spelbound was formed in late 2009 at SpelthorneSpelthorne
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell and Sunbury...
Gymnastics Club in Ashford
Ashford, Surrey
Ashford is a town almost entirely in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England, with a small part falling within Greater London. It is a suburban development situated 15 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in London and forms part of the London commuter belt...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, specifically to enter Britain's Got Talent. The spelling of the troupe's name is a reference to the club. On 3 May 2010, after their successful live semi-final, the Head Coach Neil Griffiths resigned from Spelthorne Gymnastics Club with immediate effect and joined Heathrow Gymnastics Club. Three senior coaches, the dance teacher and choreographer also joined him. This was immediately followed by the entire group of over sixty elite gymnasts also joining the club. At the time of the final, the troupe were members of the Heathrow Club.
The original group was composed of seven boys and six girls with ages ranging from 12 to 24. They were Adam McAssey, Adam Buckingham, Alex Uttley, Jonathan Stranks, Douglas Fordyce, Edward Upcott, Nicholas Illingworth, Katie Axten, Leighanne Cowler, Lauren Kemp, Hollianne Wood, Abigail Ralph and Amy Mackenzie. Between them, they have won numerous medals in their sport, acrobatic gymnastics
Acrobatic gymnastics
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive partner sport combining the strength, flexibility and technical precision of gymnastics with the grace and musicality of dance as well as the trust and camaraderie of a dedicated partnership...
, which is an internationally recognized type of gymnastics. Additionally, some of them have taken home European and World medals. Six members (Upcott, Fordyce, Uttley, Stranks, McAssey and Buckingham) went on to the 2010 world championships subsequent to BGT with gold medals in their respective disciplines (men's pair and men's four) in the senior category.
They have competed for their club and for Great Britain all over Europe, including the 2008 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships
2008 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships
The 21st Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Glasgow, Scotland from October 10 to October 12, 2008.- Men's Group :- Men's Pair :- Mixed Pair :- Women's Group :- Women's Pair :-References:*...
, with six of them competing for GB in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
at the 2009 World Games
World Games 2009
The World Games of 2009 took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from July 16, 2009 to July 26, 2009. The games featured sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games....
, an Olympic style event for non-Olympic events.
Britain's Got Talent (2010)
Spelbound auditioned for BGT, and wowed the judges and the crowd from the start. They performed to the song 'Oh, Fortuna' a poem originally written in the 13th century as part of a collection known as the Carmina Burana, and set to music in 1935/36 by the German composer Carl Orff. They went on to the semi-finals and finals, beating Twist and Pulse in the final round to win the competition. They received £100,000 to split amongst themselves, and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Show in December. There were 14 members, Adam McAssey, Adam Buckingham, Alex Uttley, Jonathan Stranks, Douglas Fordyce, Edward Upcott, Nicholas Illingworth, Dexter Reed, Katie Axten, Leighanne Cowler, Lauren Kemp, Hollianne Wood, Abigail Ralph and Amy Mackenzie.Change of lineup and Royal Variety Performance (November-December, 2010)
In November 2010, prior to the Royal Variety performance, Katie Axten abruptly left the troupe. She has since told fans on Twitter that the coach Neil considered her overweight, and had told her she needed to lose weight in order to safely perform the routines. When she failed to do so, she was kicked off the troupe. Although Katie claims to be over it now, she Tweeted that she cried when she was kicked out.Katie was immediately replaced by Edward Upcott's younger sister, Alice Upcott. At the age of twelve, Alice displaced Amy Mackenzie as the youngest member in the troupe.
In December 2010, they performed for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance as their reward for winning Britain's Got Talent. They performed an entirely new routine, to the theme of the movie Tron.
Recent events (2011-present)
In May 2011, Spelbound returned to Britain's Got Talent to perform as the opening act. They are hoping to perform for the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.