We caught up with Lydia to learn all about her exciting career performing on Aurora and Arcadia.
Life as a performer BEHIND THE SCENES with P&O Cruises
She was part of the first cast to install Unbelievable, a Vegas- style illusion show, created by TV favourite Stephen Mulhern and performer Jonathan
As someone who is severely deaf in both ears, this show meant so much to me. It is very rare to see deaf artists out there in the performing arts industry so when I got my dream job to work as a cruise ship dancer it was a light bulb moment where I thought to myself, if I can achieve this then I can achieve anything I put my mind to. I hope this message will inspire the next generation of deaf artists to keep pushing and believe in themselves. What is your favourite part of the job? Definitely getting to see so many new places and being paid to travel! A lot of these places I’ve visited I had never heard of before so I feel very lucky to have been able to see a lot of these countries. Can you describe a day in the life as a dancer with P&O Cruises? A typical day would start with me teaching at 10am or Fitsteps at 2pm – which is a combination of Latin and Ballroom dancing. If I have a show in the evening I will head to the theatre for a quick warm up at 3:45pm followed by a tech run. We will then have dinner around 6pm and after this will start getting ready for the two shows at 8:30pm and 10:30pm. You were part of the first cast to install Unbelievable – did anything surprise you about the experience? I was surprised by how quick the rehearsal process was and how everyone nailed the magic tricks and illusions so quickly. I had seen some of the magic tricks performed in the past and could never figure out how it was done. I was surprised to learn how simple they were!
Wilkes, which debuted on P&O Cruises in Summer 2024, and was eager to share her insider knowledge about the glitz and glamour of life onboard a P&O Cruises ship. How did you first get into the industry? I started dancing from the age of 3, studying a variety of styles including Ballet, Latin and Ballroom, Tap and Jazz and knew I wanted to keep dancing. Since graduating from Performers College in 2021, I have performed at the Wembley Euro Final Ceremony in 2021 and made my lead as a dancer on Alexis Ffrench’s One Look reprise music video in 2022. I saw an open audition for P&O Cruises where around 400 performers attended and managed to secure a contract onboard P&O Cruises Aurora for 7 months followed by Arcadia for 9 months. Describe your most memorable moment on board? For me, it would have to be when we performed Mr Tickerton’s Clockwork Circus for the very last time. The audience gave us a standing ovation and the atmosphere was incredible, everyone was emotional. The show includes a big track of The Greatest Showman and of course that film is all about having big dreams and taking actions to achieve them, no matter how tough life gets.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a professional dancer onboard a P&O Cruises ship?
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