The Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts will be performing outside M&S again at 2.50pm, please do come down and support your fellow dancers and get a taste of what we work on in our classes!

CLASSICAL GREEK DANCE

For the summer term Miss Miffy will be offering some Classical Greek workshops to any of the girls who are currently in Grade 2,3 or 4, Ballet and/or Modern.

Ruby Ginner, founder of Classical Greek dance, was fascinated by the Ancient Greek arts and based her aims and ideals upon it. Although considered a classical discipline Greek was developed around the same time as contemporary modern dance and is in many ways quite similar; encouraging relaxation through movement, creativity and freedom of expression. It is considerably more focused on the natural movement of the body, than ballet, but it equally develops control, strength, balance and clarity of line.

The teaching of Greek is also supported by an historical understanding of the ancient civilisation, particularly it’s literature, and even from the lowest grade this encourages the exploration of drama through dance. Greek is a beautiful dance form in it’s own right but also develops important skills that will support and hugely benefit other disciplines too, and help develop your child’s understanding of dance as a whole.

If you would like your child to attend please let Miss King or Miss Miffy know as soon as possible, as space will be limited. Workshops are an hour and a half, from 14:00-15:30 on the following Saturdays:

• May 3rd
• May 24th
• June 14th
• July 12th
• July 26th

The first workshop will be £5 as a trial lesson, and each following workshop will be £10 after then. To book your trial lesson please contact me on 07781414940 or enquiries@thedanceacademy.org.

The image above shows Miss King with her two awards from the Best of Guernsey:

Highly Commended Dance School (Top 5) in the British Isles

AND

Top 20 Highly Commended business in Guernsey

 

Thank you for all of your lovely and heartfelt reviews, some of which I have included below.

 

“My daughter has been dancing with this school for over 4 yrs now she has always had an amazing result in exams. 4 distinctions to date and last year she won at the dance festival claiming first prize and winning the overall trophy ! Thanks to Miss King and the professional approach to the dance school. My daughter loves every lesson she attends at the Dance Academy thanks to Miss King’s fresh approach and friendly atmosphere.”
Donna W

“My daughter is only 4, so just starting out. I would like to say how lovely Miss King is with the little ones. She is patient and caring, while encouraging them to be their best. She creates a warm and nurturing environment and this gives them confidence. We look forward to many happy years at the school.”
Sarah P

“The Academy is my daughter’s second home! Rhianna is a friendly and attentive principal who cares deeply about her students.”
Flo C

“I have been going to the school since I was 6, have competed in competitions and exams and never felt under prepared, under pressure or bored throughout the years. Miss King is an excellent teacher who relates well to us and keeps her students and studio facilities in order to provide us with the best dance education possible.”
Jenna T

“My 2 daughters have been with the Dance Academy for 4 years. They love coming to their lessons and really enjoy being taught by Rhianna, who is both professional and very experienced but at the same time young, fun and dynamic with a warm personality (always smiling!). She is fully committed to helping her students achieve great exam success and she runs her school superbly.”
Ellie R

With exams on Wednesday 19th March, I am looking for someone to operate the CD player in each exam.

The times are 9am-1pm, and you would need to aim to arrive at least 10mins before the exam starts. There will be a 15min coffee break half way through the morning.

If you are free between those times and you’d like to help with the exams, then let me know and we can arrange a practice and I will explain what is required.

Grade 3

Fondu -melt

Frappé -strike

Développés -to unfold

Echappés relevés -escaping snatches

Enchainement -a collection of steps put together in a sequence

Attitude ordinaire -ordinary attitude (same arm high as lifted leg)

Coupés -cut

Sissonne -scissors

Pas de basque -step of the basque (sautés and glisses)

Pas de bourrées -step of the bourrée/running step

Petit assemblé -little assembling (of feet)

Echappés sautés en croix -escaping jumps in the shape of a cross

Grade 4

Petit battements -little beats

Sur le cou-de-pied -at the neck of the foot (ankle)

Relevés from two feet -devant, derriere, passé en avant, passé en arriere

Temps lié -time linked

Posé assemble soutenous en tournant -step, assembling and sustaining, turning

Epaulement -of the shoulders/shouldering

Ballonnés -bounciness

Simples -simple

Changée -changing

Demi contretemps -half against time

Echappé sauté battu fermés -escaping jump, with a beat on the close

 

I am very pleased to say that during the recent www.thebestof.co.uk/guernsey “Local and Loved” competition, the Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts not only placed within the Top 5 Dance Schools Nationally, but also placed in the Top 20 overall businesses in Guernsey!

This was all thanks to your reviews that were uploaded between 1st-14th February.

I was touched by all your kind words and it is fantastic to know that the students enjoy their dance lessons so much. I will continue working hard to increase the Academy’s performance opportunities and keep you all updated!

The Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts on the Best of Guernsey.

FRENCH TERMS REQUIRED FOR GRADE 1 BALLET

FRENCH TERMS REQUIRED FOR GRADE 1 BALLET

Demi plié -half bend

Battement -beat

Tendus -stretch

En croix -in the shape of a cross

Grandes -large

Grandes battements en croix -large beats in the shape of a cross

Retire -draw up

Port de bras -carriage of the arms

Dégagé -disengage/point

Devant -front

Derriere -behind

A la seconde -to second

En avant -forwards

En arriere -backwards

De coté -sideways

Chasse -chase

Posé -step

Temps levé -hop

Petit -small/little

Jetés -throw

Petits jetés devant -little throws in front

Petits jetés derriere -little throws at the back

Saute -jump

Retiré saute en arriere -skips backwards

Changement -change

Allegro -brisk, lively. Jumping section

Adage -slow controlled movements.

Do you know your arm positions?

Bras bas -arms low

En avant -forwards (opposite tummy button)

En couronne -shaped like a crown

A la seconde -out to the side

Attitude -one arm above head and the other out to the side in seconde

Bras croisés -arms crossed, one arm in front of tummy, the other out to the side

Demi bras -half arms, presenting a bunch of flowers

Music Polka (a 1 & 2) Waltz (1 2 3) March (1 2 3 4)

FRENCH TERMS REQUIRED FOR GRADE 2 BALLET

All Grade 1 terminology, plus:

Ronde des jambe -round of the leg

A terre -on the ground

En l’air -in the air

En dehors -outwards (out the door)

En dedans -inwards

Assemblés -assemble

Soutenous -sustain

Relevé -snatch

Attitude grecque -greek attitude

Passé -pass

Chassé passé -passing chassé

Demi détourné -half turn

Jeté ordinaire -ordinary throws

Glissade -glide

Pas de Chat -step of the cat

Soubresauts -sudden leap/jump

Echappés sautés to 2^nd -escaping jump to second

Balancés -rocking step

Do you know your alignments?

Croise – Crossed (to the audience)

Ouverte – Open (to the audience)

En face – Facing (the audience)

Do you know your music section?

Semibreves – 4

Minims – 2

Crotchets – 1

Quavers – ½

The pianist will play four crotchet beats on the piano, and then continue with any of the above note values. You need to join in clapping once you know what note value it is, and be able to name it when asked.

 

SPRING TERM 2014 NEWSLETTER

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a happy and restful Christmas break and New Year celebration.

Spring term is a quieter term usually, however I will be using this term to start to plan performances the children can take part in, and am looking at putting together performance teams of juniors and seniors.

The Bowls Centre

I would like to thank you all for your co-operation regarding the Bowls Centre, I have had no further complaints or comments about children running around or disturbing anyone.

Christmas party

I very much enjoyed the Academy’s Christmas party and prize giving! Very well done to all the students who received an award for their dance, and contribution to the school.

The Academy branded clothing

I’m very excited to have sorted the Academy clothing now; if we ever have events that the children are present at then I would request that they do wear the hoodies/vests/t-shirts that they own at the events.

The prices for clothing are as follows:
Vests £13.50
T-shirts £13.50
Hoodies £20
Zip hoodies £20

However, due to cost, I am only able to order 12 items or above. Therefore the next planned order is February half term. Please let me know your clothing order by Friday 14th February.

Extra classes

Remember, all children studying Ballet are welcome to attend a second class if they wish, at no extra charge.

Classes available are as follows:

Ballet Students. To gain extra strength and placing you would be welcome to attend an
extra class:
Grade 1 attend Wed & Fri classes (Both run at 17.00-17.45)
Grade 2 attend Wed & Fri classes (Both run at 17.45-18.30)
Grade 3 attend Grade 4 (Friday 19.15-20.00)
Grade 4 attend Grade 5 (Tuesday 16.30-17.30)
Grade 5 attend Grade 6 (Tuesday 18.45-19.45)
Grade 6 attend Intermediate (Tuesday 19.45-20.45)
Intermediate attend Grade 6 or Advanced 1 (Wednesday 19.15-20.15)
Advanced 1 attend Intermediate

Modern students: if you are interested in attending another class, please speak to Miss King to find out which class would be suitable.

Payment

To make payment for classes easier, please contact Miss King for the Academy’s account details so fees can now be paid online. You are still welcome to continue paying by cheque/cash.

If you do decide to pay via BACS, please put as the reference whichever term we are in, and the invoice number given, ie SPRING014 or SUMMER095.

Please still pay for kit in cheque/cash.

Performance opportunities

As I managed to talk about to most parents during Watching Week, I am on the look-out for opportunities for students in Grade 3-4 and above to perform at events around the island to raise the school’s profile, and also give more opportunities for performance other than the Festival – which I don’t feel is enough.

If there are ever any charity events that you know of, please do not hesitate to contact me, and I will see if I can put together a couple of groups, junior and senior. To ensure that the groups look their best, I would need at least 2 months notice for the first few performances so I can create a dance that doesn’t look unfinished or unpolished.

Rehearsals for these would be either Saturdays between 12.30-2.30 or Sunday afternoons.

Starting new classes

If any students are interested in learning tap to a level that they could go into a Festival group with, after February half term (dependant on exam dates) I will be running a beginner’s tap class again from 16.15-17.00.

With ballet and modern, it is easier to slot in and work your way up to the appropriate grade, however with tap I think it would work better if students wishing to start learning tap to have a separate class in which I can work through the basics at their own speed.

Exams

I will be holding a small exam session at the start of March, for Grade 6 tap, Grade 3 tap and a small group of Grade 2 modern students. If you haven’t already, please advise me if you have a trip away planned and I will do my best to work around it. Please check your emails regularly for extra coaching sessions – these will all have to be at the weekend as there is no free studio time during the week unless it’s after 9pm most evenings!

As ever, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me, via text, phone call or email.

Rhianna King
Principal
07781414940
enquiries@thedanceacademy.org

Please note that I will be away during half term and will be unable to respond to e-mails until October 27th.

 

Rhianna King