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Darcey dances to the Azura tune
Friday, 12 Apr, 2010
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Ballet star Darcey Bussell named P&O Cruises’ £380 million new ship Azura during a dance-themed celebrity naming ceremony on Saturday night.
Acting as godmother to the new vessel, she helped conduct the naming on board the 2,100-passenger vessel in Southampton prior to its maiden cruise to the Mediterranean today (Monday).
The naming ceremony was a departure from tradition while aiming to capture the glamorous spirit of dance and romance with clips from memorable dance sequences in film history, on the ship’s giant outdoor cinema screen, along with a live dance show.
Bussell performed part of a dance routine before formally naming the seventh ship in the P&O Cruises fleet.
More than 1,200 guests were on board including Azura’s consultant Michelin-star chef, Atul Kochhar; TV wine expert Olly Smith, who has a designer wine bar on board; GMTV presenter Emma Crosby; Strictly Come Dancing stars Tom Chambers, Camilla Dallerup and Craig Revel Horwood; Angela Griffin; Mistresses star Shelley Conn and comedian Johnny Vegas.
Bussell said: "It’s a great honour to be involved as Azura’s godmother. For me this is a wonderful event because I am able promote the best of dance within one evening. It’s wonderful that P&O Cruises is carrying on that theme from the old films where dance was so important.”
P&O Cruises managing director Carol Marlow said: "Darcey embodies glamour, vitality and classical elegance, which are also reflected in Azura.
"We are honoured that she has agreed to become godmother. Azura has one of her three magnificent dance floors right at the heart of the ship, so with dancing a real feature, Darcey was a natural choice for godmother and very fittingly will give Azura the best possible start in life.”
The occasion benefited three charities supported by Darcey Bussell – The Prince’s Rainforest Trust, Royal Ballet School and Sydney Dance Company.
See highlights at: http://www.youtube.com/pandocruises
by Phil Davies
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