Our students age in range from three to nineteen and we also have classes for adults, including Adult ballet, Silver Swans over 50’s ballet and Yoga.
Nursery ballet is an ideal starter for younger children. Our Nursery ballet
classes are based on fun, musicality and coordination, with an emphasis on hopping, jumping and skipping, with children learning basic ballet technique and gentle stretching without even realising it.
The class has the same structure at the start and end each week so children feel safe and secure, however the middle portion of the class varies from week to week, for example one week we may have our dance class based around a trip to the kingdom of toys, another time we may visit the zoo. Parents are welcome to stay in class for the first week, some children need a week sat on a parents knee watching and others are happy to come straight in, it depends on each child’s own level of confidence. Parents are welcome to wait in the waiting room during class, and at the end of each term we have watching week, where parents are invited in to observe a normal class in progress.
Older student helpers assist in the class. Children wear the pink Royal Academy of Dance skirted ballet leotard, pink ballet socks or tights, pink leather ballet shoes and crossover cardigan, with hair in a ballet bun. Once settled we take in the fees half termly.
The term as children are turning five, they move up into Pre Primary ballet.
This means they start to work towards their RAD ballet exams which go in
order of:
Exams from grade 6 upwards give UCAS points that students can use in their university applications. When ballet students reach grade 5, they are also invited to start the vocational RAD grades, starting with Intermediate Foundation, which is where they are introduced to pointe work for the first time, which must always be undertaken safely.
Once children have moved into Pre Primary ballet around age 5, they also have the chance to start other classes with us, including tap, modern, Jazz, Commercial, acrobatic arts. & Body conditioning. All of these classes compliment each other and improve coordination, fitness, flexibility and strength.
Students have the opportunity to take part in ISTD Tap and modern exams, RAD Ballet exams and Acrobatic Arts exams. Older students also enjoy Commercial classes and Body Conditioning. We have big productions shows every two years at Theatre Royal Wakefield, plus other performance opportunities with companies such as Chance 2 Dance where students have performed at Blackpool tower ballroom , Birmingham Hippodrome & Alton Towers.
We also have summer schools and dance workshops, and in the past we have had workshops from one of leads from 42nd Street, one of the dancers from Disney’s Aladdin, Stars from Chicago the musical and Hairspray to name just a few.
Classes: Benson Lane, Normanton (rear of Unique Fitness Gym)
Contact Principal Gaynor Datson on 07910011988
Email: [email protected]