With just over a week until departure, students from the St Mary’s College Hull Performance Academy have been in rehearsals recently in preparation for the performance of a lifetime at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at the end of February.
Taking centre stage at LEAPX Dance Vegas, they are part of a spectacular creative project that is bringing together up to 600 talented young dancers and cheerleaders from the UK, USA, and Australia.
Over months of intense preparation and fundraising, these students have worked with LEAPX to design, produce, and deliver an original stadium-scale performance to thrill tens of thousands of fans during a half-time show at one of the world’s most technologically advanced sporting venues.
On Saturday 28th February 2026, the Allegiant Stadium (home of the Las Vegas Raiders) will welcome RUGBY LEAGUE LAS VEGAS, a ground-breaking international sporting showcase and cultural spectacle. The event will feature six elite clubs across two continents. Four NRL heavyweights Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs. St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights vs. North Queensland Cowboys will launch the 2026 NRL season.
Most notably for the Hull local community, the day includes a historic UK Super League clash between Leeds Rhinos and our city’s very own Hull Kingston Rovers. For the students at St Mary’s College, performing alongside their home team on American soil adds a huge layer of pride to the experience. One student described the upcoming adventure: “There will be a big crowd obviously, but the adrenaline and the crowd will bring everyone up and help us think ‘wow, this is amazing.’“
Director of Performing Arts, Ben Lancaster is thrilled with this opportunity, “We are incredibly proud to be taking the Hull Performance Academy to Las Vegas. This experience reflects the ambition of our school and the extraordinary commitment of our students, offering them world-class performance opportunities while showcasing Hull’s creative talent globally.”
The team’s ambitious journey has been helped the incredible support of the students’ friends and families and the Hull 100, a group of local businesses dedicated to supporting the college team with £100 donations. By sponsoring the St Mary’s College team, these businesses have ensured that local talent is represented on a world stage. This partnership highlights the unique bond between Hull’s schools and the commercial side of the city.
This is a hugely impactful, once-in-a-lifetime experience that will stay with these young performers forever, proving exactly what they are capable of when given an international platform.