A partner at a leading Midlands law firm will be first to go toe to toe at a glittering dance competition being held on Friday evening.
Nyree Applegarth, a commercial and residential property dispute lawyer with Higgs & Sons, is one of 11 legal professionals taking part in the No5 Chambers sponsored Strictly 9 to 5 being hosted by Strictly favourite Anton du Beke at Villa Park’s Holte Suite.
She and her partner Dean Edwards will be dancing the quickstep to Dolly Parton’s Working 9 to 5 in the star studded event which is raising funds for the Child Brain Injury Trust.
Camilla Dallerup, the 2008 winner of Strictly Come Dancing, was unveiled last week as one of the judges at the competition – alongside Elisha Willis, principal artist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet; Richard Rose, principal of Richardz which has trained children and adults in Ballroom and Latin for more than 30 years; and Jamie De Souza, Nyree’s colleague at Higgs who as an amateur Ballroom and Latin dancer represented Great Britain.
Nyree said: “I had never danced before but following 14 weeks of intense training at the Crystal Dance Studios in Dudley I feel I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be!
“It has been really demanding, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it – and have been practising whenever I can with my sister-in-law taking on the male role. I definitely feel inspired to carry on dancing beyond the competition.”
The Child Brain Injury Trust was established by a group of health professionals in 1991 to research and provide information regarding the effects of ‘traumatic’ injury on a child’s developing brain. It is the leading voluntary sector organisation providing non-medical services to families affected by childhood acquired brain injury across the UK. It receives no Government or NHS funding. The Trust has a national network of child and family support co-ordinators.
Higgs & Sons is based in the heart of the Black Country at the Waterfront Business Park in Brierley Hill. The growing team now boasts 100 plus specialist lawyers available to support clients in a comprehensive range of business and private sectors.