News

Welcoming our Scholars for 2023-2024!

On September 10^th, we welcomed new and returning Scholars to their first class of the year.

Our Scholars Scheme is open to bbodance Teachers’ most talented students and all dancers must audition for their place. Scholars attend fortnightly Classical Ballet or Jazz classes with some of the UK’s most respected dance teachers, to hone their technique and develop their professional practice.

In April, our Scholars will attend Scholars Weekend, held at Elmhurst Ballet School; a 2 day event packed with classes and a performance to celebrate all they have learned on the programme. We can’t wait to see the talent and creativity amongst our newest intake of dancers.

Image: Our Senior Classical Ballet Scholars with Anita Young MBE.

Meet our Scholars for the 2023/24 year…

Junior Classical Ballet	Mid Classical Ballet	Senior Classical Ballet	Jazz
Anna	Brogan	Sapphire	Brogan
Elijah	Amelia	Amelie	Amelia
Darcey	Edward	Ffion	Emilia
Amelia	Melissa	Ruby-May	Macy
Benjamin	Phoebe	Fraya	Phoebe
Maggie	Chloe	Bethany	Claudia
Ella	Lily	Anna	Isabella
Zoe	Jess	Trixie	Ellie
Maisie	Elin	Lily	Tilly-Jane
Poppie	Annabelle	Eva	Sam
Annabel	William	Poppy	Toby
Willow	Evie	Jessica	William
Daisy	Daisy	Erin	Jessica
Alexa	Elsie		Maddie
	Alicia		Lilia
	Harriet		Elsie
	Amy		Harriet
			Taya
			Emily

We are delighted to be launching registration for Dance Days 2024, our biggest event of the year!

Dance Days is our annual event for dancers and dance teachers, held at Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham. From classes for juniors, intensive days of dance for students, and CPD for teachers, we’re sure there is a way for everyone to get involved!

When is Dance Days 2024?

3^rd – 5^th April 2024

Dance Days – the main student event!
With options to stay overnight or just come for the daytimes, dancers aged 8-18 attend 3 days of multi-genre classes with industry professionals and work towards a showcase at the end of the week.
Everyone is welcome to come to Dance Days; you do not need to be a bbodance member or attend a bbodance school.
The classes are taught by industry professionals and offer intensive training and great fun for everyone.

Early Bird Offer for Dance Days!
Register in August to be eligible for our Early Bird Offer. Place a non-refundable deposit of £100 and secure the Early Bird discount (see the registration page for full pricing breakdowns and payment instalment plans).
REGISTER NOW!

Junior Dance Days
Dancers aged 6-7 attend 1 day of the event to get a taste of what Dance Days is all about!
Take part in two classes, watch a class in the theatre and enjoy a tour of the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School!
You do not need to be a bbodance member or attend a bbodance school to come to Junior Dance Days.
REGISTER FOR JUNIOR DANCE DAYS!

Dance Days for Teachers
We are excited to welcome dance teachers back to Dance Days; observe your students in their classes and take part in exciting CPD courses! All dance teachers are welcome, you do not need to be a bbodance member. More information about CPD courses will be coming soon...
REGISTER TO OBSERVE AT DANCE DAYS!

Take The Stage Regional Competitions: The Build Up to The Dance Days Challenge

Take to the stage and showcase your talent and creativity. We are excited to be facilitating ONLINE DANCE COMPETITIONS for bbodance students in each region of the UK and internationally.

Submit a dance video to be shown at your Regional Members’ Meeting. The meeting attendees, along with bbodance CEO Julie Bowers and an external judge will view the submissions and a winner from each region will be decided.

The winner of each regional competition will go through to the Final, the Dance Days Challenge, held at Dance Days 2024 in Birmingham.
APPLY FOR TAKE THE STAGE 2024

We can’t wait to see you at Dance Days 2024!

We recently spoke to Georgiana Snelling. From bbodance student to bbodance Registered Teacher, she discusses her experience of the bbodance teacher training journey!

Please share a short introduction about yourself
I have taken dance lessons with a bbodance Registered School since the age of 3, taking classes in ballet, tap and modern and completing exams in each of them. I have now been teaching at the same school for 7 years, alongside working professionally in film and TV acting roles.

What is your dance teaching context? What education sector do you teach in and what dance styles/genres do you teach?
I currently teach within a private dance school setting, delivering classes in ballet, tap, modern and musical theatre. I teach predominantly syllabus-based classes and work towards entering students for exams. For my pre-school and adult dancers, I often use the syllabus to gain inspiration for lesson content, even though they aren’t always working towards exams.

How did you hear about the bbodance teacher training courses?
Having grown up with the bbodance syllabus, I have always been involved with the company and knew of their courses. When knowing I wanted to gain a qualification, I had a look around (even outside of bbodance courses) but kept coming back to bbodance. I wanted a foundation of knowledge to build my practice upon and the courses provided this, as well as being incredibly flexible with their online delivery structure. It is also important to me to not have to specialise in a dance genre; I teach a variety of classes and value understanding teaching practices of them all, not narrowing down my studies. The bbodance course facilitates this multi-genre approach to teaching.

Why did you choose to do the Level 6 course? How does it fit with your career development plans?
I completed the Level 4 and Level 5 Diplomas prior to applying for Level 6. I thought I would stop once completing Level 5 but the more I learned, the more I knew there was still to learn. I was keen to develop my knowledge and educate myself in how to deliver dance to increasingly varied audiences. Completing Level 6 means I have opened a door to teaching within public settings, rather than limiting myself to private settings. I am passionate about bringing dance to people who may not otherwise have access to it; the Level 6 course has provided a pathway for me to do this.

What was the application process like? Were there any challenges?
The application was very simple; the bbodance team are always incredibly quick at responding to queries and emails. The process may have been different for me, as I already had the foundations of the Level 4 and 5 courses, but throughout the entirety of my course administration I have found the applications easy to follow.
The online form itself provides you with plenty of time to complete each section, the instructions are easy to follow and any questions are very quickly clarified by the bbodance team!

How did you feel at the start of the course?
Despite previously completing the Level 4 and 5 courses, I was still a little apprehensive because Level 6 is an extra step up. It feels as though you’re stepping into the bigger picture of dance rather than just aiming for the qualification. However, as soon as the course began my worries settled. Throughout all the courses I have found the delivery to extremely clear, easing any nerves and allowing me to plan far in advance for each module. We use SharePoint to access the materials; each assignment is presented from the start of the course so there is never any worry about what will be expected of you or when deadlines will be.

What has been your favourite module and why?
The Informing Wider Practice module was my favourite. It was valuable to see how my teaching practice within a private dance school setting fits into the wider industry. Teachers can often feel alone but this course, and in particular this module, opened my eyes to the wider impact dance can have on people outside of the classes delivered. Every dance teacher has an important role in the wider industry.

Would you recommend our Level 6 course and why?
I would definitely recommend this course. It can be tempting to stop training after completing Level 5 and gaining your full qualification, but the Level 6 course can deepen your knowledge and practice. I saw an immediate impact on my students right from when I started the course. An understanding of inclusivity within the classroom and adjusting resources alongside this has enabled my students to truly believe they are dancers, where they may not have owned this belief before.

As well as the course content, the delivery of the course is perfect for experienced dance teachers. The modules are all delivered online and accessible from all over the world. Teachers are incredibly busy, so the bbodance team have a personal approach to each student, ensuring they can complete the course alongside work and additional studies.

What are your plans for after the course? Where is your dance journey taking you next?
In the short term I will continue to teach within the private school setting but I now feel equipped to begin delivering dance classes in public settings. I would love to work with children with special educational needs. Many children have physical or emotional needs, preventing them from accessing dance in many ways; I would love to help break these barriers.
As well as this, I enjoy working with adults so would like to develop this further. Many adults enjoy restarting dance in their later years and I love helping them to achieve this goal! Using the dance science knowledge from the Level 6 course, I feel confident in delivering safe dance classes to a wide variety of people.

Can you describe some of the main skills you’ve learned from the course?
My ability to look inwards and evaluate my work has improved. Teachers can always evolve their practice; I can always look back and discover what works well and where I can develop. The Teaching Practice in Action module gave me the confidence to question myself and critically evaluate my practice. It is so important to take the time to pick yourself apart, for both positive work and areas to develop.
Additionally, the course provided access to some incredibly valuable resources. Sometimes it is hard to know where to look for the best and most up to date resources. Now I know where to look if I need additional support after the course.

Are you likely to become a Registered Teacher with bbodance and continue with CPD through bbodance?
I became a Registered Teacher after completing Level 5, which has been a key development point for me as I can enter students for exams!
I really enjoy the bbodance CPD courses; they look at both the syllabus and the wider industry, catering for both bbodance Registered Teachers and non-bbodance teachers! They are a great way to stay connected to the organisation once graduating.

Additional comments:
I am impressed and surprised with how much I enjoyed studying for this course. Often we can go into studying thinking we will make it to the end but not truly value the process and only aim for the qualification. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning process of each module. It was great to investigate each topic and constantly challenge and question myself, I knew my teaching practice would step up if I gave this course my all.

We recently spoke to commercial dancer and lecturer Kike Granero, who has just graduated from our Level 6 Diploma in Dance Teaching! Check out his experience of the course...

Please share a short introduction about yourself
I live and work Spain and have been dancing since I was 15 years old. As well as dancing, I have many years of experience training as a chef but dance teaching is my full time job. I train and teach in commercial dance and have always danced in this style, whilst also having a year of ballet and breakdance included in my training.

What is your dance teaching context? What education sector do you teach in and what dance styles/genres do you teach?
I have always taught in private school settings, bringing commercial dance to a variety of students. I have also been a judge at national dance championships.
Currently, I am working as a Lecturer in Commercial Dance at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona. In this role, I deliver practical classes within the commercial, musical theatre and foundation programmes.

How did you hear about the bbodance teacher training courses?
I was required to have a Level 6 qualification to progress in my career, so completed my own research to find one. I was encouraged to look for UK based courses, as we lack these types of course in Spain, and discovered bbodance. The online delivery of the course was ideal because I don’t live in the UK.

Why did you choose to do the Level 6 course? How does it fit with your career development plans?
As mentioned, I need the qualification to continue within my current job role but once starting the course I began to realise how beneficial it would be to my overall teaching practice. The course helped me to change the approach to classes I teach; I have more tools to use and adjust my strategies to get students engaged. I have a new style of teaching since completing the course.

What was the application process like? Were there any challenges?
The application process was easy to understand. It may have been a little challenging for me as my English isn’t perfect but I found the process simple. Any questions I had were answered by the bbodance team, their replies are so fast!

How did you feel at the start of the course?
I hadn’t completed a course like this before so to jump straight to Level 6 was a challenge, but I enjoy challenging myself. Additionally, I didn’t have an academic baseline in English to use, I was going to have to develop this as the course went on. The course was structured very well, the modules and course content were easy to follow, meaning I could focus on my personal goals and study rather than worrying about how to access the course.
Additionally, having an online and multi-genre approach, the course was flexible so I could study and work at the same time; I could apply the course content immediately to my commercial practice.

What has been your favourite module and why?
The Teaching Practice in Action module was my favourite, it helped me to develop my lesson plans and learn new strategies and activities. I am used to just teaching choreography and technique for a whole lesson; now I have the knowledge to mix up my class content and enable students to access dance in other ways. I have seen the direct affect this has had on my students, they are responding in a totally different way to before and I am already seeing the results of my studies come to life in practical classes.

Would you recommend our Level 6 course and why?
I would recommend this course to all teachers looking to develop their practice and develop a fresh approach to their classes. I really enjoyed the practical aspects of the course and now have so many new ways to teach the same content.

What are your plans for after the course? Where is your dance journey taking you next?
In the short term, I will be continuing my work with the Institute of the Arts Barcelona. My hours and classes will increase; now that I have finished studying I have the time to put all I’ve learned into practice. I am excited to keep developing my work.
Eventually I would love to create my own dance studio and provide access to commercial dance for students in my local area. Having a qualification has opened a door to be able to do this confidently and with additional teaching skills.

Can you describe some of the main skills you’ve learned from the course?
The main skill I have learned is how to deliver classes that teach dance without having to just teach a piece of choreography. I now know how to look for aims within each class and feed information to students through varied activities. Some students don’t have a full understanding of key physical aspects of dance, such as dynamics; I now have the tools to facilitate the embodiment of certain movements. They can access the movement in an activity and apply this to choreographed pieces, constantly developing their dance technique. I am redeveloping how they access dance.

I also have an appreciation of how the different classes I teach can aid one another. I enjoy teaching Musical Theatre and Acting warm up sessions; I had not thought of applying these activities to my commercial classes, but now I have the knowledge of how to do this effectively. Warm ups don’t need to be dance related to benefit a dancer. It’s great to see the students surprised with the variety of classes and watch them enjoy a new approach to dance.

Are you likely to become a Registered Teacher with bbodance and continue with CPD through bbodance?
In the future I may become a Registered Teacher with bbodance but I am excited to develop my current work for now. However, taking part in CPD is a very important part of any teacher’s development. We all need to constantly challenge ourselves and be surprised about what we can learn.

On May 21^st 2023 adult dancers from Blue Moose Dance Company took their first Ballet Examination, completing the bbodance Grade 1 Classical Ballet Performance Award. bbodance Registered Teacher Sharman Robinson guided the group through this journey; we spoke to Sharman about the process and her experience teaching the group.

“The journey began in September 2022 when I covered my daughter’s maternity leave for Blue Moose Dance Company, a community hub based in and around rural areas of Preston. I began working with five dancers aged from 50 years to late 80s! The interest in dance came later in life for some. During the classes the dancers became more and more focused; I began to feed the bbodance syllabus into my classes and it soon became obvious the dancers wanted to learn more. The prospect of an exam was on the horizon, so we decided to chase that goal! As part of the examination, we had to create a short dance piece to be performed as a solo by each dancer. We used inspiration from Swan Lake to create the piece and the enjoyment from the dancers was evident.
When the examination date arrived, the dancers entered with slight nerves but came out of the session on a high! This excitement remained for my next classes with them. The experience of teaching and preparing for this assessment has been incredible. Dancing with bbodance is the way for everyone.”

The group of 5 dancers consisted of Jean Ann Naylor, Judith Jones, Dr Fanny Leech, Pamela Warbrick and Ande Fraggle Michael. They were all successful in their exams, passing with Merit and Distinction grades! We asked them to share thoughts about their examination experience.

“Thank you so much for the experience of being able to dance and take the ballet examination. The experience was truly wonderful. I have been a singer for nearly all my life but, after a foot accident, to get up on to a stage to sing (a stick was not an option) was a nightmare! Even getting on the stage to collect my doctorate was frightening. On Sunday I joyfully performed a solo dance without any worries. How marvellous was that! Thank you again for inspiring us to dance and to take tests to help us to dance even better.”

“Preparing for Grade 1 Examination in our Adult Ballet Class, after several years of ballet classes for fun, has been a most illuminating experience for me. With Sharman Robinson as our teacher our class became very focused and I have been inducted into the discipline of ballet. It leaves me wanting more......and more.....and more......”

“A workout for the ageing body and memory, plus fun and lovely music for the soul. What a gift from a fantastic teacher. Thank you.”

“My mobility and confidence has improved, with my physiotherapist declaring a miracle had happened!”

Congratulations to Sharman and the adult dancers for their fantastic work and achievements.

The team at bbodance are inspired and delighted to be able to share success stories such as these and encourage adults of any age to continue to participate in dance. The organisation has recently launched a brand new membership offer for adult dancers: the Next Stage Adult Dance Membership. This membership is suitable for all dancers aged 18+, no matter what the next stage of their dance journey is. We hope to encourage adults to continue their dance journey, restart a childhood hobby or try something new and, in turn, learn more about themselves and their capabilities.

To register for the Next Stage Adult Dance Membership, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.