OUR CLASSES

The Royal Academy of Dance is recognised around the world. They offer grades for all ages and abilities and are taught by highly qualified teachers. 

The RAD graded examination syllabus consists of Pre Primary, Primary and numbered Grades from 1-8. Each grade consists of classical ballet, free movement and character dance. The Rad uses character based on Hungarian, Russian and Polish dance. Children will learn each grade, once they have perfected their technique reached the required standard and are confident with the knowledge of the syllabus they will be entered for their exam. These take place at the Royal Academy of Dance Head Quarters in London. A very exciting opportunity for them. Successful applicants receive a certificate and a medal. They also begin gaining UCAS points which help with university applications. The RAD has created new, fun and enchanting syllabus which the children love.

Jazz is a modern style dance that includes moves such as kicks, turns and leaps. We concentrate on different styles of jazz depending on the chosen style of music, including aspects of commercial, hip hop, street, American technique etc.

Modern theatre dance is a rhythmic dance style which originated in America before traveling to the rest of the world. This is a very highly energetic dance style, working towards examinations, focusing on steps such as travelling steps, high kicks, leaps and turns.

Fun danced based class, high energy, great for fitness and stamina. Basic lifts are taught along with jammed packed dance routines.

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The children are taught drama and acting skills as well as working on their singing voices. All the training is then put into a musical theatre piece which they perform in our annual showcases. A fantastic class to help children’s confidence and self-assurance.

Fitness and limbering is a dance class that combines various aspects of ballet, jazz, acrobatics and modern style dance. We work on stretching and strengthening the muscles, technique and a lyrical style dance in show term.

Vocational exams are for those students with a more confident and higher ability in classical ballet as it is technically very demanding. Pointe work is introduced in this syllabus. When the time is right, each child is assessed on their core, ankle and foot strength as well as maturity. The teacher will then decide if the vocational route is right for them.

Tap style dance is when the dancer uses their feet to strike the floor, beating out different rhythms. The dancer is wearing tap shoes. The students work towards graded and vocational examinations.

Contemporary dance was developed during the mid-twentieth century and has grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world. It combines the strong but controlled legwork of classical ballet with modern that stresses on torso. It also contains floor work, fall and recovery, unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed and direction are often used. Children are encouraged to use their own choreography skills to explore what shapes and movement their individual bodies can do.

Hip Hop is an intricate, very fashionable form of dance made very popular by the worldwide known group Diversity. Including styles such as popping and locking, break dancing, tutting and krumping and performed to all the latest hip hop music tracks. The children learn amazing routines which are also performed in our shows.

Working on speech and drama, LAMDA offers children the opportunity to develop a broad range of skills that will serve them throughout life. They learn the ability to; read easily, fluently and with good understanding, expand vocabulary to improve powers of self-expression, improve confidence in speaking and listening, memorise and recall information, create and defend arguments, engage in constructive informal conversation. These classes are taught on a one to one basis or in partners.

These are performance classes where we work on many different styles of dance such as commercial dance, street dance, pop dancing and high energy movements. Everything taught to upbeat music choices. The classes are split into three sections; they first do a warmup, we then work on technique for kicks, turns and leaps and lastly learn a dance routine, the style of dance depends on the music choice. The children work towards two showcases, a small demonstration day held at Christmas and a massive summer show held at a professional theatre. The standard of the classes and shows are very high with regards to technique and choreography but are suited to any young dancer of any ability. The main element and objective of troupe classes is performance and fun. The shows build so much confidence in children, they are the highlights of the SOEL calendar.