SOUTHERN CONSORTIUM DANCE ACADEMY
Our Dancers of the Future
The Southern Consortium Dance Academy is a new educational initiative for Post 16 students with the purpose of providing a top-level, specialist dance training programme and creating experiences and opportunities for students who show potential and talent in dance from across the Southern Consortium Sixth Form schools. This programme has been initiated by Dagenham Park Community School (Arts College) and operates in partnership with Jo Richardson Community School.
Our purpose is to develop highly skilled, responsible dancers for higher education and beyond. The Dance Academy provides selected students with the opportunity to raise aspirations and develop their potential to aim higher and experience some of the challenges and realities of a career or further studies in dance.
(Carol Tustanowsky, Director of Performing Arts Dagenham Park).
The Dance Academy programme operates alongside academic studies as part of a broad and balanced Post 16 curriculum and aims to enrich students’ provision and opportunities. It has developed even stronger partnership links between the four Southern Consortium Sixth Form Schools.
Our Dance Academy is unique because it centres on the students experiencing the working practices of a professional dance company making it a realised vocational experience.
(Danae Rees, Head of Dance Jo Richardson)
C12 Dance Theatre is a professional dance company and currently the Southern Consortium Dance Academy Company in residence.
C12 Dance Theatre has an innovative approach to performance and devises its professional works by fusing different dance techniques and dance styles from street to contemporary dance with physical theatre.
Our goal is to enrich students’ movement vocabulary by building upon their existing dance knowledge, enabling them to become versatile as to adapt to the requirements of given works.
(Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster. Co-founder of C12, Director and Company rehearsal director)
C-12 Dance Theatre uses physical theatre elements in their work as a way to express their concepts and ideas. C12 Dance Theatre methods are taught to the Academy students to enhance their performance skills and make them more aware of their physical expressions and presence in performance.
Our Dance Academy students work closely with their tutors and C12 on developing competencies in dance technique, excellence in dance performance skills, repertory and choreography. Our students are inspired, challenged, trained and developed by C12 Dance Theatre in order to achieve their maximum potential in dance and have an insight into the performing arts industry.
Academy students and tutors work in collaboration with C12 to choreograph and produce a variety of dance performance work for regional, national and international dance platforms and events. In the process of devising work students are guided by their tutors and C12 in the choreographic process to equip them with confidence and self belief in creating their own works and expanding their creative acumen.
Our Academy dancers and tutors perform alongside and with C12 Dance Theatre company dancers bridging the gap between the amateur and professional, linking our dancers of the future with the professional dance industry. A positive vocational scenario is experienced as our Academy dancers form their own dance company Xcellerate and develop increased understanding of performing arts business.
C12 Dance Theatre is excited to be a part of this unique collaboration. It will be a delight to fuse together our experience and the Dance Academy’s enthusiasm and raw talent. The end results will be fascinating to watch.
(Adam Towndrow, C12 Dance Theatre General Manager)
Each Academy students is mentored by their personal Academy tutor and C12 Dance Theatre company member. Students on the programme receive expert guidance on their developing dance skills, options available at higher education or careers advice and individual progress within the Academy. Individual needs are identified early in the programme and a personalised learning programme is produced to focus on areas for self improvement.
Initial mentoring sessions establish the Academy student’s ambitions, strengths and weaknesses and set an individual student programme with specific targets.
Midway mentoring sessions discuss the student’s progress within the Dance Academy, and focus on areas for improvement and review the individual programme and targets.
Final mentoring sessions are evaluative and include self reflection. The Academy student’s experiences of the Dance Academy are discussed and monitored for their effectiveness and impact on teaching and learning, retention, career or higher education prospects and attainment in examination performance.
The individual training programmes enable our Academy students to improve ability, belief and their professionalism in dance.
(Caroline Watkins, Dance Academy tutor)
The Dance Academy is a one year programme for selected Gifted and Talented dancers who attend the Southern Consortium Sixth Form.
The process of selection is through audition at the start of the Academic Year in September. There are 22 places available for students each year.
The Academy operates during term time throughout the Academic year.
The programme commitment is:
Dance technique master classes every Monday at Jo Richardson Community School at 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Repertory and performance sessions every Wednesday at Dagenham Park Leisure Centre dance studio at 2.30pm – 5.15pm.
In addition to the mentoring sessions, programme of education visits and high quality performance opportunities.
The Southern Consortium Dance Academy programme is supported by East London Dance.
We are grateful to the generous funding organisations that support the programme.
and the Southern Consortium Project Fund.
