I’m a Butlins dancer – here’s what happens backstage and what it’s really like living at the park

HAVE you ever wondered what goes on behind the glitz and the glamour of magical entertainment shows?

Ellie Carwithen is a performer and dance captain at Butlins Minehead and she’s well versed on everything that goes on backstage.

She graduated dance college at 21 and has spent the last decade on cruise ships and performing at Butlins.

Ellie told she auditioned to be a dancer at Butlin’s in 2019 not knowing what to expect but soon fell in love with the job.

Avoiding Big Weekenders and the messier side of Butlins, Ellie says her rehearsal and performance schedule is akin to the West End.

Ellie and her team have an extensive warm up process.

She says: “Right before a show, I always do 10 tuck jumps, a little plank and a couple of lunges.

“A plank warms you up through the core, the tuck jumps get your blood flowing and then a lunge makes sure my hips are okay”.

The performer says she has to follow rules and stay in character even if children try to disrupt her performance. 

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Even if the fire alarm goes off or the lights cut out, Ellie and her team must stay in their roles.

Ellie has to do quick customer changes she says “30 seconds is enough for a costume change.”

For Ellie, the holiday park in Minehead not only feels like home but it acts as her home too.

She and her dance troupe live at the park full time while performing, with Ellie admitting they’re like a “big family.”