Chesterfield dancer is promoting body positivity in TV show Britain's Got Talent's semi-final

Kira O’Donnell, 20, who lives at Gladwin Gardens, Walton, is among more than 40 dancers in the Unity group who are promoting diversity in the televised competition.

Unity will perform in the semi-final on Friday night, hoping to win enough votes to carry them through to Sunday’s final.

Kira said: “We would absolutely love to be in the final. It's one of those shows that you watch as a child and you just dream of being on it.”

Her mum Rachael Boyden said: “I am unbelievably proud of her and I know how hard she’s worked with her dancing and her musical theatre throughout her life.

"She has promoted body positivity and it’s not been easy for her. The opportunity she has been given has been amazing.

"Kira is only 5ft tall and a size 14-16. In the dance world they are normally tall and slim.

"When she's done auditions, she's got to the last cut and not made it; possibly with her size she’s been overlooked.”

Interviewed on television’s This Morning, Kira said: “Sometimes they don’t even look at you because they’ve got ready-made costumes so it’s like she’s not worth looking at, but I am worth looking at.”

The dance which took Unity to Britain’s Got Talent is called I Will.

Kira is one of six to tell their story during the dance in which she says: “Society has conditioned me to believe I'll never be good enough because of my size. People say I'll never make it, but I will.” Other dancers talk about being bullied, having Down’s Syndrome and gender fluidity.

Rachael, who lives at James Street, Stonegravels, said: “I don’t feel like it's a sob story as some people have said. They are saying these are issues we face in life but we are going to keep going and we are worth it. I think that’s brilliant for the youngsters of today to teach.”

Kira said: “Like we said in audition, it’s about getting the message out there, just making people feel like they’re worth it. If it inspires one person or a million people we've done our job 100 percent.”

Unity won the heart of Britain’s Got Talent founder and judge Simon Cowell who gave them the much coveted Golden Buzzer that sent them through to the semi-final.

Rachael said: "It’s very well deserved. We are encouraging everyone to vote for them.”

The troupe first performed I Will at the National Diversity Awards and then at the Move It dance convention in London. Unity is composed of students of Jelli Studios, the school run by Brookside star Jennifer Ellison.

Kira, a former pupil of Holymoorside Primary and Brookfield Community schools, has been dancing since the age of four. She started at the Diane Bradbury School of Theatre Dance then moved to Chesterfield Studios to do musical theatre and had singing lessons at Georgii’s Musical Theatre Company.

Rachael said: “She has done dance shows in Chesterfield every year from four to 16. She performed in musicals with Chesterfield Operatic Society including A Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music and The Music Man.”

Her daughter has been overwhelmed by the backing of her home town with posters flooding social media sites Kira said: “Thank you for believing in me, for training me and for supporting me."

Roseanna Sanderson, principal of Diane Bradbury School of Theatre Dance, said: “I’m really proud of what Kira has achieved. There shouldn’t be barriers in the way of dancers following their career, but unfortunately there are. Kira and Unity getting the Golden Buzzer really show that anything is possible.”

Britain’s Got Talent is not the first time that Kira has appeared in front of cameras. She was an extra on the film Everyone’s Talking About Jamie. Now taking a year out from performing arts, Kira is working at Centre Parks activity centre having originally been taken on by the leisure company to play the part of an elf.

Unity’s performance in the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent will be broadcast on Friday, June 2, at 8pm.

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