Dancing Fit

It is arguable that dance teachers are the biggest advocates for dance and its multitude of benefits, however it is also clear that this standpoint is expanding into many others' points of view too. In 2019 the NHS website published a guide to help people start dancing, and dance is now seen much more frequently in many areas of life, and with a wider spectrum of styles. Read More

Instagram Dance Solos

New Musical, Old Musical

Following a number of musical theatre shows opening and closing in quick succession over the past few years, putting aside the global pandemic, it is unclear as to whether there is a successful musical theatre model on which to base a new show heading for Broadway or the West End. Read More

Government Cuts to Arts Higher Education

Earlier this year the government confirmed a 50 per cent cut to arts higher education subsidies, meaning arts and humanities subjects such as music, dance and performing arts will all suffer, despite much opposition to the plans. Read More

News for The Musical Theatre Academy

Earlier this year it was reported that The Musical Theatre Academy, founded in 2009, would close down at the end of this academic year. Read More

Out with the Old?

As the world of theatre, dance and performance begins to return to a semblance of normality, as with every other part of the world we can ask, ‘which parts of normal should we be returning to?’ Read More

Jobs of Nightmares 

For many of your students, the dream is to become a professional dancer, paid to do the thing they love most in the world. If a dancer is lucky enough to 'make it', this might be deemed enough for them to live out their dreams as a dancing pro. However even once this goal is achieved, there may be unknown trouble brewing within the job itself. Some dancers may not be lucky enough to land their dream job - it may actually be a nightmare. Read More

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Off-stage Dance Breaks

An on-stage dance break is one that is usually met with energy, complex dance sequences and tricks when a song breaks into its melody. However, a break from dance, or dance teaching - off-stage and usually unintentional - can have negative connotations for the dancer or teacher, and can be for many reasons. Can you imagine ever not dancing? Read More

Image Credit: "Young Dancers ¬ 3062" by Lieven SOETE is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, click here

National Youth Dance Company and Candoco Dance Company's new Summer Residency  

Sadler’s Wells has announced a National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) + Candoco Dance Company Summer Residency for disabled and non-disabled dancers aged 16-24. Read More

Summer Intensive Course

The new academic year brings all sorts of excitement to aspiring dancers, returning to the studio after the upcoming summer break. Many may be about to audition for places on different dance courses, and many others may still be deciding which summer dance programme to apply for or enrol on. Read More

Lineup announced for U.Dance National Festival

Some of the biggest names in dance have assembled for U.Dance National Festival 2021, One Dance UK’s free youth dance festival in July. Strictly Come Dancing’s Karen Hauer and former Strictly champion Joanne Clifton, choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne, West End leading lady Miriam Teak-Lee and The Royal Ballet star Marcelino Sambe are confirmed in the lineup for the festival, full of opportunity for young people. Read More

Helping Dancers with Disabilities - Impetus Dance

Impetus Dance are keen to support their members by providing them opportunities and demonstrating to others the importance of inclusion in Dance practice in the UK. Read More

Greenwich Dance launches ArtsUnboxed

Greenwich Dance has launched ArtsUnboxed, a new platform created to safely and sustainably create, produce and share work. Featuring new commissioned dance works from a diverse group of artists, ArtsUnboxed offers venues, festivals, dance organisations and schools across the country the opportunity to purchase everything needed to present these original creations in their own settings using local artists. Read More

The Lonely Studio

If there is one clear message to have emerged since the 2020 inception of the coronavirus pandemic, it is that we are not alone. Even if being a dance teacher can sometimes feel isolating and even lonely, it is important to remember that the support teachers can offer each other is priceless. Read More

Feet Treats

The body is vitally important in dance: for both dancers and dance teachers it is their instrument and must be looked after. Many dancers and teachers are guilty of using their feet to their limit, but often do not look after them sufficiently. Read More

Image Credit: "Graceful strength" by KMo Foto is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, click here 

Stretching - what, when and why?

Most dancers have a reasonable amount of flexibility due to the nature of dance, however it is important to think about timing, the type of stretching and how much to do. Read More

Dancing Full-Time

Dance is undoubtedly a much-loved hobby, regardless of your students’ age, gender and background. For many younger dance students, their dreams include becoming a professional dancer. Read More

New Adventures announce Cygnet School - a new training programme for young people

New Adventures has announced its brand-new training programme, Cygnet School. It is a dance training programme for young people predominantly from backgrounds with limited access to arts provision, and has been developed as part of the company’s commitment to increase diversity in the sector and provide equity of opportunity. Read More

One Dance UK and BBC Arts' Dance Passion to return in 2022

One Dance UK and BBC Arts have announced that Dance Passion will return in early 2022 as part of the BBC’s Dance Season, shining a light on the UK’s world-class dance sector in all its forms. Read More

Image Credit: Dani Bower Photography for One Dance UK

Your Students' Second Home

Dancers possibly spend as much time in the dance studio as their own homes, especially now rules surrounding lockdown and Covid-19 are beginning to ease. Read More

National Youth Dance Company’s 2020/2021 Cohort 

National Youth Dance Company has continued to work digitally with its new 2020/2021 cohort throughout the pandemic. NYDC, as the country’s flagship company for young dancers, has completed its second fully digital residency for the 2020/2021 cohort, led by Guest Artistic Director Alesandra Seutin. Read More

First Pointe Shoes

The first pair of pointe shoes is a huge milestone for any ballet dancer. There is so much care, preparation, training and time that goes into the process of learning pointe work, so to ensure the longevity of a dancer’s time en pointe it is important they work hard and not cut corners. Read More

English National Ballet School announces partnership with CW+

English National Ballet School has announced a new partnership with CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to share the School’s performances to patients both in-hospital and isolating at home. Read More

Image Credit: "Chelsea and Westminster Hospital" by duffs100 is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, click here

Dancing for Life

For any aspiring dancers amongst your students, their passion for dance means their parents or carers must also be invested, to enable the student to follow their dreams and help make them a reality. Read More

Image Credit: "Galit and her Classic Ballet Class" by Flavio~ is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, click here

Returning to Dance after a Break 

It might be possible to think of a life in which you did not dance. However for many dancers and teachers, a break from their passion is exactly what they need. Stopping dancing for a period of time could be due to a number of reasons, the most common being injury. Read More

Working Hard in your Dance Classes

Young or old, old or new, it is important that dance students work hard in their classes, be it tap, ballet, modern, and everything in between. A new dance class will inspire increased concentration and commitment due to the novelty of the new technique, teacher and class mates. Read More

Sadler’s Wells announces new Artist Residencies programme

Sadler’s Wells has announced an open call for a new Artist Residencies programme, available to artists with five years’ experience or more, and artists who have recently embarked on a career in dance. Read More

Support for dance teachers

As the UK is gradually edging out of its lockdowns, there are still many instances of support available for dance teachers and their businesses. Read More

Returning to Dance after an Injury

Injuries, for dancers or teachers, are the worst things that can happen. Using your body for your craft means that any ailment that is detrimental to this can have huge repercussions. If you do sustain an injury which prevents you from dancing, it is important that you do your upmost to repair the body fully and return in a safe and sensible manner. Read More

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Beginning a Dance Course

For many, the beginning of a dance course, either at college or in higher or further education will spell an exciting time. It will mean lots of hard work and dedication to the course, however there are certain things fresh new students can do to enhance their learning and enjoy the new course as much as possible. Read More

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Dance: The Benefits

Dance, and exercise generally, have many obvious physical benefits, however less attention is paid to those mental benefits that occur as a result too. Read More

Stretching The Limit

Dancers are renowned for their flexibility, and to many non-dancers, the main aspect that defines 'a dancer' is whether they can do the splits or not! It is without question that dancers have an increased range of movement in comparison to the average person, and often dancers coincidentally have a natural flexibility aside from that as a result of their training. Read More

Motivating Your Dance Students

The choice to dance is a very conscious one: as a hobby or as a profession, dance requires huge personal effort. Usually this effort is one we don't even acknowledge as our passion for dance makes the effort so natural, however sometimes that effort required can be too much. Whether for personal, physical or economical reasons, sometimes dance can fall to the bottom of the priority list for dance students. Read More

Ten Professional Ballet Schools Pledge Continued Support For Students

Following a joint statement issued in summer 2020, ten of the UK’s leading professional ballet schools have announced a unified message of support and reassurance as hundreds of prospective students consider applications for places on programmes starting in September 2021. Read More

Barre for Rehabilitation 

For young dancers the ballet barre can be an unappealing place, without realising that it provides the basis for all their work as they become better dancers. The barre continues to support dancers even when their training or performing has become stilted, perhaps through injury, providing rehabilitation back into normal working practice. If you are recovering from an injury, have an ongoing condition, or just want to add gentle, low-impact movements to your fitness regime, a ballet barre workout could be ideal.  Read More

Scottish Ballet Brings the Health Benefit of Dance in 2021

Scottish Ballet has launched an expanded programme of ballet classes, community engagement programmes and health resources to bring the benefits and joy of dance to everyone this new year. Committed to connecting with communities, Scotland’s national dance company is offering a range of ways to improve physical and mental wellbeing, help alleviate stress on the body, and use creativity to inspire audiences of all ages. Read More

Goals For The New Dance Term

The new dance term is back with a vengeance for all students out there. Whether it is online or in the studio, the ‘back to school’ feeling has truly settled and dance students should now be hitting into their new term of classes. Many students like to set themselves personal goals for the term or year ahead, something to aim towards and set their sights on for their own sense of achievement. Read More

Training For Dance

When you think about a dancer, what might come to mind? Physically fit, athletic, stylish, skilled. Despite these positive accolades, more and more dancers - both amateur and professional - are realising they cannot just be fit to dance. Cross-training for dancers is very much in vogue, encouraging them to increase their overall fitness as a way to complement their work and increase their ability. Read More

When Should Difficulty Override Execution?

It is widely argued that difficulty should never come before the execution of a dance move or combination. Whilst high level competitions demand more and more from competing dancers, ultimately it is more important to execute the movement well and with high quality, rather than struggle with something that is too challenging. Read More

Becoming a choreographer

In the role of a choreographer, the main responsibility is to create movement for a certain brief, be it personal or professional. A choreographer might be commissioned to create routines and movement sequences for singers, bands or even dance companies, creating effective work to suit the subject matter. Many dancers aspire to create and become choreographers, preferring this to performing on stage. Read More

Using yoga to become a better dancer
Many dance students supplement their training with alternative practices, in order to aid their development as a better and stronger dancer. A popular practice is yoga, providing many benefits for dance students, and may be something you already offer as part of your timetable. Read More

Dance studio dilemmas
Any dancer can feel the pressure within the dance classes they take, from beginners right up to professional levels. These pressures can be formed as a result of the dancer's own anxiety, from their peers and even their dance teachers. Pressures can be a result of injuries, aspiring to an 'ideal' body shape and even changes in the behaviour of dance teachers. Read More