Alta Summer 2023 Newsletter

Summer Term 2023 Newsletter

A very warm welcome to all the new students and their families who joined us this term.

We hope you all enjoyed the end of year showcase (pictures below*) and seeing the amazing work all the students have been doing in their classes this term.

A big thank you goes to our wonderful team of teachers and support staff, all the parents and guardians for your ongoing support and all the students for their hard work throughout this year.

*Showcase photographs by AFM Photography are availabe for purchase. We sent an email recently with details. Please let us know if you have not received this.

AFM photography specialises in dance photography so please get in touch if you are interested in a dance photoshoot or require photos for auditions.

Royal Academy of Dance Exams

Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Exams

This term we had a record 53 dancers taking RAD Graded exams and Class Awards at our Brighton studio.

Pictured here is a candidate who took her Grade 5 Solo Performance Award.

We had exam groups covering every level from Pre-Primary to Grade 8 (the last RAD Grade)!

RAD Exams at HQ (London)

Some groups travelled to the RAD in London for their higher grade and vocational exams.

Exam Results

It is always exciting getting exam results and in the Spring term, we achieved 50% disctinctions from our record number of vocational exams.

With the summer term exam results just in, we are celebrating another record with two thirds (65%) distinctions! Including some high distinctions.

Congratulations to you all on your wonderful achievements! We are so proud of how well you presented yourselves and how much you have learned and progressed.

Latest News

Leavers

At this time each year, we say goodbye and send our best wishes to those are about to embark on new ventures.

Alyssa, who we coached for her RAD Advanced 1, will be starting at Rambert School on the Foundation Degree course.

Emily is off to Northern School of Contemporary Dance in September.

Claire, who achieved her RAD Advanced 1 last year and who is about to take her RAD Advanced 2 in a few weeks, has secured a contract with B&M Company in Biarritz.

We have loved working with you all over the past few years and will miss you. We look forward to following your future progress.

We also wish Miss Lucy all the very best as she heads off on maternity leave. We look forward to hearing your news and hope to see you back in 2024!

Welcome

We are delighted to welcome Miss Charlie to the team this term. She will be teaching the contemporary classes and the new ISTD Modern classes on Mondays.

Charlie trained at Bird College, gaining a degree in Dance and Musical Theatre. She also trained at Chichester College and the Centre for Advanced Training at Trinity Laban. She holds her ISTD DDE qualification and is working towards her Licentiate. Charlie has performed professionally in both Contemporary and Musical Theatre. Most recently in Mary Poppins (Europe and West End). She has taught in a number of schools and colleges.

Awards, Intensives & Associate Programmes

Many of our students have been busy with auditions for performance companies and summer intensives and we are delighted to hear of some end of year awards; Zak, Ella, Matilda, Lois and Bella all received awards from their respective schools for their contribution and excellence in dance.

National Youth Ballet (NYB)

Zak, Matilda and Bebel have been offered places in the senior performance company for National Youth Ballet’s 2023 season. They will work with choreographers and perform at the end of the intensive this summer in Birmingham.

We can’t wait to see you on stage.

Royal Ballet School (RBS) &
Central School of Ballet (CSB)

Marcus and Joel were offered places on the RBS Summer Intensive. Both are also RBS Mid Associates.

Lois, Matilda and Bella were selected to attend the CSB Summer Intensive.

Lois and Matilda are also CSB Associates and will be joined in September by Sophia.

Congratulations to you all!

English Youth Ballet (EYB) &
South Coast Ballet

Exciting times ahead for a number of students who successfully auditioned for EYB’s production of Coppelia coming to the Hawth, Crawley and Sophia who will be perfoming in South Coast Ballet’s production of Nutcracker in Eastbourne in November.

We are looking forward to watching both performances.

Center of Advanced Training (CAT) Programme

Charlotte has successfully auditioned for the CAT Programme which she starts in September with classes every Saturday. She will join Zak who is already on the CAT Programme.

If you don’t already, you can follow us on instagram or facebook to keep up to date with our news.

We would love to know about any performances or courses that your dancer may be involved in and are happy to provide help with applications for vocational courses or Associate programmes. Teacher guidance is often required for photos or videos to ensure the best outcome.

New & Current Classes

ISTD Modern Classes

We are starting ISTD Modern classes from September on Mondays and potentially on Wednesdays depending on numbers.

Check out the Autumn term timetable and contact us for further information.

Contemporary & Jazz

We run both Contemporary and Jazz classes (from age 9+ approximately).

It is so beneficial to experience different movement styles as versatilty is increasingly important for today’s dancers. Why not try a new genre next term. Email info@altadance.co.uk, call or text 07876 492899.

Other Classes

We run conditioning classes for ballet and pointe, PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) as well as adult ballet (on a drop in or block booking basis).

Adults are also welcome to attend higher grade and vocational classes. We have helped some take RAD exams!

Autumn Term Dates

Starts: Monday 4th September
Ends: Saturday 9th December

Half term: Monday 23rd October to Sunday 29th October.

Provisional exam dates: Friday 8th December, Wednesday 13th December

The Autumn term timetable can be viewed on the website here.

Please note that classes are subject to change depending on numbers. Invoices will be sent from mid August.

Ordering Uniform

We work with specially selected suppliers with a view to provide you with good quality, reasonably priced dancewear.

If you need any uniform for the Autumn Term, please place your order early. You can use the ordering page on our website, email us or attend the open afternoon on the first Saturday of term.

We also have a second hand facebook page for buying and selling uniform.

Open Afternoon: Saturday 9th September

Come along to the Church of the Good Shepherd Hall on the first Saturday of term from 2pm to 4pm.

We will be on hand to answer questions about classes, do uniform and shoe fittings and take orders. We hope to have second hand uniform available for purchase so if you have any items you wish to sell, please get in touch.

Next year is “show” year!

Bi-annual Alta Show

Please save the provisional dates for our next school show.

We have pencilled dates with a local theatre from Wednesday 27th March to Saturday 30th March 2024. We will be using two dates within this block for our bi-annual school show.

… and finally

We thank you for your continued support and wish you and your families a lovely summer. We look forward to seeing you all next term!

We sign off with a selection of photos from the showcase.