Description

The Middle School Dance Course (Years 10 and 11) is designed to meet the needs of the young dancer that aspires to a future career in the dance industry. Classical Ballet is the primary focus of the Dance Course. The Middle School Dance Course (Years 10 and 11) is designed to meet the needs of the young dancer that aspires to a future career in the dance industry. The range of our curriculum ensures our dancers become well-rounded performers across all three genres studied. Pupils study Classical Ballet, Contemporary (Cunningham and Release techniques) and Jazz Dance and have additional classes in Pointe work, Repertoire, Virtuosity, Pas De Deux and Solos. Fitness, Body Conditioning and Weight training classes help pupils to develop healthy and strong bodies capable of performing at the highest level. Our training is designed to allow the students to hone their technical capabilities, understand their own physicality and apply these skills into a wide range of subjects. This helps to ensure that the dancer becomes proficient in as many styles as possible thus giving them the best outcomes as they grow and develop though this important stage of their training. Dancers thrive in this encouraging environment where both a rigorous physical training and individual artistic expression come together to help students achieve excellence. We believe that dancers need to be multi-employable in order to have longevity in the dance profession and by developing versatile, technically and artistically strong dancers, they have the best professional opportunities. Classical ballet is the main focus of the course, serving to create a strong foundation upon which the young dancers can develop their skills and abilities. Pupils attend daily Classical ballet classes and also study pointe work, virtuosity, pas de deux, repertoire, solo’s, Contemporary, Jazz, fitness, body conditioning and weight training. Students are also able to supplement their vocational training with syllabus classes in RAD Ballet and ISTD Modern and Tap, enabling students to achieve these useful qualifications via additional weekend classes. The annual Young Dancers Show takes place at the end of the summer term for Year 10 pupils. Year 11 pupils annual show takes place in the spring term. This is an opportunity to showcase the technical and artistic skills of our dancers developed during the year. Works are created encompassing all learned genres, created and taught by the dance faculty choreographers. Both performances take place on site, in the school’s Markova Theatre.