The original and largest network of part-time performing arts schools for 4-18 year olds

Stagecoach Theatre Arts works with young people in the Performing Arts. Sessions run mainly at weekends and consist of dance classes, singing classes and drama classes. Each class is an hour long and students have their dancing class, for example, in a group consisting of no more than fifteen students.

During these dance classes, students learn

• how to warm up,
• basic dance technique and steps,
• how to express themselves creatively through dance,
• simple choreographic skills.

Dancing classes are led by experienced and caring teachers who nurture both individual and group skills in the dance lessons.

Dance is a vital activity for anyone wishing to pursue a career in the performing arts. However the training within the Stagecoach dance class is of great value in its own right, whether or not this career path is anticipated. Dancing is an excellent form of creative self-expression, stimulating the mind and the imagination, as well as providing excellent aerobic exercise. The specific benefits of dance are numerous:

• Training within good dancing classes engenders self-control, giving students a vital discipline for life.
• They (the dancing classes) gives a sense of self-worth and achievement
• Dancing classes encourage good posture, balance, co-ordination and spatial awareness
• Dancing strengthens the heart muscles, aids good circulation and enhances muscle tone
• Music plays an integral part in the dance class, building up in the student a basic musicality, e.g. an understanding of pitch, rhythm, timbre, dynamics, speed and musical texture.
• In the well-run dance class, students will be encouraged to work as a team, developing emotional and physical sensitivity towards others.
• Dance encourages students to feel at home in, and comfortable with, their bodies.
• Dance at Stagecoach helps to stretch the imagination and explore creative ideas in an atmosphere of safety.
• By taking part in dance activities, the individual becomes aware of the inter-relationship of dance with other performing and expressive arts.

Stagecoach is very aware that one of the most important aspects of its work with children is that of building up of confidence. From the age of four years upwards (in 'Early Stages' Classes) children learn to move in an easy and controlled manner through dance/drama activities, dance/singing activities and mini musical theatre presentations.

Dancing classes at Stagecoach are also very much about skills learning in an atmosphere of discipline, encouragement and rigour. Mastering repeated sequences of steps, complex ty the age of 13 upwards, taking part in work from the centre and the corner, floorwork, breathing, side stretches, jumping etc all build up a dancer's technique.

Dance technique can be defined as the acquisition, practice and mastery of eight fundamental elements. They are: 1) Centering, 2) Gravity, 3) Balance, 4) Posture, 5) Gesture, 6) Rhythm, 7) Moving in Space, 8) Breathing. These eight elements are generally considered to be vital for all dancers.

These dance techniques form the springboard from which imaginative work can take place. In addition to the building up of skills, techniques and routines, Stagecoach dance classes offer students the opportunity for their own individual creativity to be tapped into and developed so that they may become versatile, imaginative and thoughtful performers.