Stagecoach

For the first time anywhere in the Stagecoach international network, some new ALL BOY dance classes were launched here in Darlington in October 2006 for boys aged 8 and over. Our Head Office did not even have a class - but they do now, since I have told them what the boys have achieved. This may now be a forerunner for other groups around the country.

The object of the classes was to attract more North-East boys into Dance. By choosing Street Dance, which is the style with the most street `cred`at the moment, and by training the boys all together, we hoped to remove many of the obstacles which stand in the way of boys wanting to learn to Dance. The class has been a huge success and I have been astonished by the achievements of the boys in terms of focus, commitment, team work and progress - and all that from 7.30pm until 9.00pm on Fridays at the end of a long week at school!

Jamie Bell, the star of the film “Billy Elliot”, won a BAFTA for Best Actor for his role in the film. Jamie trained at Stagecoach Yarm for a year we sent him to the film`s audition. Now the casting personnel from the West End stage show of “Billy Elliot” are very interested in our new classes. They are very keen to find the first North-East boy to play the role of “Billy” in London. They have offered us the advice of their choreography team and promised us regular visits from their casting team.

If you are one of the boys from the class then tell us

Why you enjoy being in an ALL BOY class
What type of Dance you like
How you think the class has helped you
What you would say to other boys who might like to try Dancing
If you are a boy who is interested in the classes, ask us any questions that you may have

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NORTH EAST SCHOLARSHIP AUDITIONS 2011

Seventy six candidates from dance schools in the North East and North Yorkshire and over 100 parents/guardians/teachers attended the annual North East Scholarship Dance Auditions on Sunday 25 September 2011 at Polam School in Darlington. Candidates, ranged from 7 to 14 years of age, participated in a junior or senior non-syllabus ballet class, which enabled them to dance with other enthusiastic children and to be taught by highly qualified dance teacher, Helen Gray. Each ballet class was judged to assess the students’ performance ability by independent adjudicator, Alison Leadley. Held in honour and inspired by the teachings of Miss Nora Lycette Fearn and Miss Joy Beadell, the North East Dance Scholarship Auditions were created in 1997 to
encourage young dancers to pursue training in classical ballet.

Seventeen talented students (Andrew amongst them) were chosen to win this year’s scholarship award, where they will participate in a Master Class held by Peter Parker on Sunday 16 October 2011 at Polam School, Darlington.

Theo Close leaves for London very shortly, not only to start on his 2 year course at The Brit School but also because he was chosen to perform in `Mack and Mabel` when he was down at a workshop with The Brit School after he was given his place. The musical will be performed to the public across several nights.

As you can see from the newspaper article, Theo also won the `Further Stages Student of the Year` this year for all his efforts with Early Stages, his Distinction won in his LAMDA exams and for the fact that he gained the highest marks of any of the Further Stages groups in the recent PAA exams.

Theo was chosen by The Northern Echo for its scholarship for the All Boys Dance Class, when we opened in 2006.

If the piece is hard to read below then follow the link to the Northern Echo website:- http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/9182676.Performer_wins_spot_at_top_school/?ref=rss

We will all miss Theo but look forward to hearing about his future successes. WATCH THIS SPACE!

The boys need to wear white T shirts and black trousers for the event at Preston Primary School on June 11th. They need the same clothing for Hallgarth Hotel too