Dance at Wellington College
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” – Martha Graham
The human body learnt to move before it could speak and before it could paint. From that moment we have danced, all of our lives. We dance when we’re jubilant; from the most extravagant of choreographed dances to our own personal ‘victory dance’.
‘The body says what words cannot’ – Martha Graham
We spend our entire lives talking, communicating in the most vocal way we can in a bid to be understood, when really our bodies do most of the speaking for us, so why not train it speak more eloquently by dancing?!
‘Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion’
Dance at Wellington College is an exciting and vibrant part of everyday life. Whether students decide to study GCSE, AS and A Level Dance, or enjoy dance outside the curriculum, there is a class for everyone. A variety of dance styles are taught outside the curriculum, including, Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Street Dance, as well as in-house dance companies allowing the truly passionate to share their commitment and flare through performances.
Since September Wellington are excited to have launched a new auditioned dance group called Wellington College Dance Academy. The group is for students in the Third and Fourth Form. The Wellington College Dance Company is also an audition group and is for students in the Fifth and Sixth Form. Both groups have the opportunity to perform at significant events such Wellington College Dance Shows, Speech Day, Round Square and most recently the Royal Albert Hall.
Ballet at Wellington College is also becoming a central training scheme for students wishing to study dance. Since September the Dance Department offer Vocational Graded Ballet examinations.
The Vocational Graded Examinations in Dance syllabus provides an in-depth study of ballet developing the technique, music and performance skills of the student. It introduces pointe work for female candidates. This highly focused and practical training education prepares students for a dance, or dance related, career. The Vocational Graded syllabi are appropriate for students from the age of 11 years.
Students wishing to study for Vocational Graded examinations should have the maturity and technical aptitude to enable them to respond to demanding study.
These examinations provides students with:
• the means to further their knowledge and understanding of ballet
• a progressive measure of attainment against specific criteria
• a sound ballet base for vocational dance training programmes
Our aim is that everyone will engage with Dance within the College, whether that is through expertly developed classes, exciting and skilful performances, ground-breaking choreography or appreciation of professional demonstration.
“There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them” – Vicki Baum
“Dance is a little insanity that does us all a lot of good” – Edward Demby
Curtain Call Youth Theatre:
Dance, with Drama, runs Curtain Call Youth Theatre, performing arts workshops for local children aged 10 – 14. Classes run on Saturday lunchtimes and offer two hours of Drama and Dance for a very reasonable £70 per full term. Students get the opportunity to perform in their own showcase and the Wellington Panto. Contact Sarah Spencer for details.
Dance Scholarships:
Dance scholarships are available for new students entering the Third Form and the Lower Sixth Form. Students will be expected to prepare a solo of 1-2 minutes in length in choreographic response to a stimulus. They will also be expected to perform another solo of equal length that shows a different style of dance to the first, and someone else can choreograph this. Students will also take part in a short technique class and will be interviewed informally by the Directorof Dance.
Forthcoming Productions:
Get Your Sequins Out and Your Dance Shoes on… Strictly is coming to Wellington!
We are thrilled to announce that this year Wellington will be holding its very own “Strictly Wellington” –Yes – not just any old DANCE competition but THE STRICTLY WELLINGTON dance competition for pupils, parents and staff.
The competition will involve 6 pupil couples and 6 staff couples. The performance will be judged by Erin Boag & Anton du Beck– glamorous dancer and celebrity on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. And it is more than possible that Dr Seldon and Mr Dyer themselves will make it on to the dance floor.
Places are very limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. So, if you want to be part of it – you must email MISS STUBBINGS with the name of you and your dance partner (you must have a dance partner) on FRIDAY 20TH between 7.00 – 10.00pm. She won’t accept any emails before then or after that time. In the interests of fairness. The entire event will support the Jimmy Higham Bursary Fund.
The Dance Department:
Director of Dance: Holly-Jayne Stubbings
Holly-Jayne joined Wellington College in September 2011 since her past position as Head of Dance at King Edward VI School in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk for 5 Years. Holly-Jayne studied at University College Chichester gaining a BA (Hons) in Dance. She then went on to study a Post Graduate Certificate in Dance Teaching at the Royal Academy of Dance.
Dance Teacher: Pandy Dean
Pandy Dean is a classically trained dancer with a professional career spanning 22 years. At the age of 19 she set up her own Dance company and toured as dancer/choreographer for 15 years. On retiring from performing she became a freelance choreographer working alongside artists such as the Bee Gees, Gypsy Kings and Stevie Wonder. She spent 4 years working in Hong Kong and on her return to the UK in 1999 set up her own Dance Academy focusing on street dance styles.
Ballet Teacher: Claire Tyler
Claire trained at The Royal Academy of Dance gaining a Degree in Ballet Education with Registered Teachers Status recognised by the RAD,then continued her studies to complete the PGCE: Dance Studies. She recently completed a Certificate in Benesh Dance Notation allowing her to read and write dance repertoire which she used to her advantage for the 2011 Wellington Dance show where she re-created a section from Petrushka. She reached Advanced 2 in both RAD and IDTA Ballet Syllabi and prior to this she trained with the Urdang Associates and performed in local Pantomime and Dance shows.
Claire focuses her teaching on those students who have started ballet late, or who wish to learn ballet in order to support their strengths in other Dance forms, of which three have progressed to Laban, one to Northern Contemporary and another to Surrey University to study Dance. Claire currently teaches GCSE Dance at Redroofs Theatre School and A Level Dance at The Emmbrook School, alongside private IDTA ballet lessons and an independent GCSE in a year course. Claire's specialism is Ballet but she has also studied Contemporary, Jazz, Theatre Craft, Lindy Hop and likes to choreograph dances that fuse styles together. Claire joined Wellington College in September to teach Ballet and to run the Vocational Graded Ballet Examinations. Claire is also tutoring couples in preparation for Wellington’s very own Strictly Come Dancing Competition.