Alta Summer 2024 Newsletter

Summer Term 2024 Newsletter

We would like to thank you all for an amazing summer term - dancers, parents and teachers! We hope you enjoyed the watching classes in the final week of term and could see first hand the wonderful progress your dancers have made.

It has certainly been a busy term with a record number taking dance exams. Students have also had some fabulous performance opportunities and represented the school at festivals and competitions.

Latest News - Festivals & Competitions

All England Dance

Four of our dancers performed their qualifying solos beautifully at the 2024 All England Dance (AED) Regionals in May half term.

Zak came first with Honours for both his Modern Ballet and Contemporary solos and is through to All England Grand Finals! Ella, Lois and Matilda were all awarded Distinction with Special Commendation.

We are currently planning for next season - solos, duets and groups!

Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) South East Awards

Three students were selected to compete in the RAD South East Awards finals in May at RAD HQ in London. We are very proud how well Phoenix, Charlotte and Lois performed in their respective classes. (Photos by Marble and Sky Photography)

Auditions, Courses & Performances

Following a successful assessment at Central School of Ballet Associates, Matilda is one of a handful in her Prep 3 group to move up to Pre-Seniors in September.

She was also offered a place in National Youth Ballet’s Senior Performance Company for the 2024 Season.

Having successfully auditioned for a place in London Children’s Ballet main company (450 auditioned for 50 places), Bella enjoyed performing in The Secret Garden a few weeks ago at The Peacock Theatre in London.

Bebel, Ella, Matilda and Zak were offered sought after places for National Youth Ballet’s Senior Performance Company 2024.

We are looking forward to watching performances both in Birmingham and the gala at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London later this summer.

Delilah recently auditioned for Royal Ballet School Junior Associates and has been offered a place on their online programme which starts in September and is on the short wait list for a place on their in person programme.

We were invited to perform at Cardinal Newman School’s annual dance show earlier this term. Our Intermediate group performed their piece from the Spring show and Lesza and Zak performed their Sleeping Beauty pas de deux.

Matilda LM, Rhona and Zak were all offered places at Rambert School Summer Intensive. They have thoroughly enjoyed the course.

Finally, Phoenix successfully auditioned for Brighton Theatre Group’s next production of Charlie for February 2025!

Well done to everyone on all your achievements!

Follow us on instagram or facebook to keep updated.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about auditions, Associate programmes and festivals. We can also help with dance photos which are often required for applications.

RAD Ballet & ISTD Modern Exams

A record number of 77 students took their Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams at the end of term both in Brighton and at RAD HQ in London.

In Brighton we had exams from Pre-Primary right through to Grade 8, which is the final RAD graded exam!

We have just received our RAD ballet exam results which are simply brilliant: 100% pass rate with Merits, High Merits, Distinctions and High Distinctions.

Congratulations to you all!

Certifcates and medals will be presented in classes at the start of the Autumn term!

Below are the vocational graded exams at RAD HQ in London:
Intermediate Foundation to Advanced 1!

We held our first ISTD Modern theatre exams this term. The students achieved amazing results - High Merits and Distinctions.

A big thank you to Miss Charlie for preparing the students so well.

Modern, Contemporary, Jazz Classes

Why not try a new genre next term.

The Autumn term timetable is currently being finalised (check the website for the latest updates). Please email info@altadance.co.uk for further information on classes.

ISTD Modern

We will be introducing more ISTD modern classes in the Autumn term on Mondays at the Octagon Dance Studio. Please register your interest as soon as possible as spaces are limited.

Jazz, Contemporary, Stretch & Technique

We run Jazz and Contemporary classes from age 9+ (possibly younger depending on experience) as well as Stretch & Technique classes which help students improve flexibility and core strength. Please register your interest ahead of the start of term.

Classes for Adults

We run an Intermediate level adult ballet class on Wednesday mornings on a drop in or block booking basis.

We are hoping to start a general / improvers level shortly.

Adults are also welcome to attend higher grade, vocational classes and to take exams!

Our Sixth Form Leavers

It is always sad when we come to the end of the academic year to say good bye to our sixth form leavers. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.

Lesza has been taught by Miss Deborah from the age of 7 and joined Alta Academy of Dance when the school started. She gained distinctions for all her RAD graded exams and was most recently awarded her RAD Advanced 1. Lesza performed the role of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty in our recent Spring Show at the Old Market Theatre. She will be heading to Glasgow University in the autumn to read medicine.

Kendra joined Alta Academy of Dance in January 2023 when she came to the UK from Malaysia to attend 6th form college here. During the past 18 months she gained a distinction for her Grade 8 exam and also recently took her Intermediate vocational exam. Performances include the 2023 Summer Showcase and more recently the Spring Show at the Old Market Theatre. Kendra hopes to study sports science at university.

Lola joined Alta Academy of Dance when we took over Brighton and Hove Dance Academy in spring 2022. She has since taken her Intermediate vocational exam and performed in both the Summer 2022 and Spring 2024 shows at the Old Market Theatre. Lola is hoping to go to York University to study archaelogy.

Autumn Term Dates

Starts: Monday 9th September 2024
Ends: Sunday 15th December 2024
(Taster Classes: from 2nd September)

Half term: Monday 28th October to Sunday 3rd November 2024

See Alta website timetable page for current and future term dates.

Exam Dates:
Provisional Brighton RAD ballet exams - 13th to 15th December 2024.
Provisional RAD HQ ballet exams
- 9th to 18th December 2024.

Please note Autumn term invoices will be sent from mid-August.

Get Your Uniform Ready

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

We also hold a stock of second hand uniform (contact us for details) as well as a facebook page for buying and selling uniform.

If you need any uniform for the Autumn Term, you can use the ordering page on our website or email us. We are also planning to hold our uniform sale on Saturday 7th September ahead of the official start of term and will email details in advance.

… and to conclude

We hope you have a lovely summer and look forward to seeing you back for the start of term in September.