A former student from Stratford-upon-Avon College has paid a return visit to the College, fresh from a West End run in the musical Thriller Live.
Reece Bahia, originally from Coventry, studied Musical Theatre from 2012 to 2014. He returned to the College last week to conduct a workshop with current musical theatre students, passing on the skills he learnt during his time on Thriller Live. As part of the workshop, Reece taught the students the choreography from the musical’s opening section – “I wanted them to enjoy it and inject as much passion as possible which is always the best way to ensure you give your best performance. It was a lot of fun and they picked it up really quickly.”
After graduating from College, Reece became the face of Indian clothing company KOOVS, filming commercials in India and Argentina, and also took on the leading role in the musical Laila for its UK tour. Then, at the end of 2016, he secured a 12-month contract for his role in Thriller Live.
He considers being part of the production the best thing he has ever done. “It was incredible. I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan so I always knew it was going to be something special to be a part of. The magnitude of the show and the dance numbers were phenomenal and wonderful to be able to call a job.”
Although still on the production’s contact list if a stand-in is required, Reece decided not to renew his contract, so he would be able to move on to other work. Passionate about music from an early age, he has been working on his own music at Ealing and Acton Studios in London and hopes for label recognition in the near future. He is also busy auditioning for shows and accepting more modelling work.
Reece is quite clear about the most important lesson he learnt from being part of Thriller Live – a lesson which he passed on to the students: “Never be unsure of yourself or doubt what you’re doing. You have to go out on stage every night with confidence to perform to your best.”
