About Us

LEARNING CURVES SCHOOL OF DANCE has been teaching children in the Solihull area since 1998 and offers a wide range of dance styles and opportunities for girls and boys from the age of 5 through to adults.

Instructors and Angela Rippon at the IDTA Congress London 2011

(From Left to Right – Laura Crossley, Amy Ginger, Catriona O’Brien, Katie Cooper (Principal of StarStruck), Angela Rippon, Lian Fisher (Principal of Learning Curves), Jennie Hutton, Toni Keers, Emily Ballard)

DANCE STYLES!

Our dance styles are endless!

We offer IDTA exams based on Freestyle, Street, Jazz and Lyrical work. These are core subjects in the world of dance, and means you have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills in front of professional IDTA examiners (past examiners include Anna Jones, President of the IDTA and Dawn Parker Chairman of the IDTA Freestyle Branch). Each child receives a certificate, award and grade sheet with details about their exam.

We also include elements of Ballet, Eastern, Cheerleading and Latin, in our fun classes and Performing Arts Holiday Workshops! Our fun classes work towards our annual shows at the Solihull Arts Complex, and this gives them the chance to use props such as jazz canes, pom poms, chairs, dance ribbons, and much much more! Our fun classes provide an opportunity to make new friends, earn certificates each week and win trophies and prizes in our term competitions. We offer a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and an extra trtrophy for someone who has shown exceptional commitment and improvement throughout the term!

If you’re thinking of studying dance at a higher education level, then how about giving Contemporary dance a go! JEMz Contemporary focuses on body lines and angles; contemporary dance gives meaning to movement and often tells a story or has a theme. A definite “must” for students of dance!

QUALIFICATIONS AND POLICIES

All of our classes are strictly structured in accordance with health and safety.

All of our classes adhere to the following guidelines:

There is AT LEAST one IDTA qualified instructor leading the class, who is present in the room at all times. This instructor is over 18, first aid trained, CRB checked, and has their own additional and personal dance Insurance. There may also be one or more demonstrators present to assist with dance classes. Our demonstrators are our top dancers in the school and over 15 years old.

Our instructors are all aware of health and safety and risk assessment, we have an anti bullying policy and first aid kit on site at all times.

An instructor may also have additional qualifications such as

• I.S.T.D. (Imperial Society for Teachers of Dance)
• R.S.A. (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts)
• A levels, AS levels GNVQs and university degrees in performance.
• We also make an effort to attend regular training sessions and dance seminars with the IDTA and ISTD to further our own knowledge of dance, and keep a variety of current dance awareness in our classes.

We are a member of “Foundation for community Dance” a UK-wide charity, established in 1986, to support the development of community dance.

We are also a Recognised School of the Council for Dance Education and training (CDET). Schools applying must meet all nine requirements of the RS status. Until now there has been no means of confirming that dance schools meet even the most basic standards of professional practice and students have had no indication of the quality of service they can expect. The CDET RS mark has been introduced to provide that assurance, and we are proud to hold this status.

OPPORTUNITIES WE OFFER

After School and Curriculum Classes

Here at Learning Curves we do our best to offer new and exciting opportunities to as many people as possible!

We provide a range of services for schools in the Solihull and Southam area, most prominently After School Clubs. We offer an hour of dance in your school halls. This is reserved exclusively for children of that particular school, and is centred on FUN! With exciting dance routines to perform in your school assembly, dance competitions with trophies and prizes, and weekly certificates, our After School clubs are some of the most popular around! Learning Curves and it’s Sister Company StarStruck Theatre School provide After School Clubs at the following Schools;

Knowle Primary (separate clubs for years 1 + 2, years 3 + 4 and years 5 + 6)

Peterbrook Primary School (years 1-6)

Widney Junior School (years 3-6)

George Fentham Primary School (years 3-6)

Langley Primary School (years 1-6)

Hockley Heath Primary School (years 1-6)

Our Lady of the Wayside Primary School (years 3-6)

Sharmans Cross Junior School (years 3-6)

Tanworth-in-Arden Primary School (years 1-6)

St George & Teresa Primary School (years 3-6)

Bentley Heath Primary School (years 2-6)

Arden School (years 7-11)

We also provide PPA classes within the school curriculum, mainly keystage 2, teaching the foundation of dance and the importance of exercise. We are available to provide workshops within your schools as part of Creative Arts weeks, P.E weeks etc. where we provide anything between 1 hour and a weeks worth of dance classes. We can focus on a particular subject to fit in with a theme, for example Flamenco, Eastern Cheerleading, Contemporary, Street, Jazz etc. Props can be included during the workshops and each participant is awarded a certificates. Previously we have been asked to help with the creation of dances for end of year shows in schools, and are able to provide our services within school hours to choreograph routines for your students.

EXTRA CURRICULAR DANCE

International Dance Teachers Association Freestyle Examinations!

Twice a year our medal class students have the option to take solo freestyle based exams in front of an IDTA examiner. Working their way through the syllabus, students perform a range of dances depending on the grade they are on, and earn certificates and trophies. With over half of the school regularly achieving top marks “Honours”, the exam days prove to be extremely successful.

Performing Arts Workshops and Show!

Bored in your school holidays? Our Performing Arts Workshops and Shows give you everything you need to keep you and everyone around you entertained in your time off! A three day workshop of dance, drama, singing and musical theatre with a show at the end, we have something for everyone! In association with our Sister Company StarStruck Theatre School, we provide a range of dance styles, from Street dance and Latin to Ballet and Contemporary.

Not to mention stage crafts such as experimental theatre, musical theatre, breathing and singing techniques and script work! With a talent show in each age category (under 8′s, 9-11′s and 12+), everyone has the choice to show us their own moves or acting! Everyone who attends is awarded a certificate and trophy, and there is the opportunity to gain more certificates and top trophies in our awards presentation during the end of week show!

To book your place on the next Performing Arts Workshop and Show download a form from the class timetables section of the website.

SHOWS, FESTIVALS AND PERFORMANCES!

Solihull Arts Complex

Every child in the School has the chance to take part in our annual show at the Solihull Arts Complex, to showcase their talents and routines they have been working on.

Here we have our annual awards ceremony which include medallist of the year in 4 age categories, the Jo Burton O’Donnell trophy (for the most talented dancer, named after our sadly missed dancer JO who died in a car accident in 2003) and the ever prestigious MISS LEARNING CURVES which is awarded to a promising up and coming role model in the school.

London Performances!

Every year we put forward the opportunity for 2 teams to dance with the prestigious Mardi Gras Promotions who organise and produce sensational shows on some of the most spectacular stages in the UK. Learning Curves has performed every year since 2003 at top London venues including Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and our favourite, the Royal Albert Hall! Both the Junior team (under 12) and Senior team (over 12) are hand picked through auditions approximately a year before the performance, and each year the teams seem to be getting bigger! We work hard all year to choreograph a routine to iconic music, which thrills and entertains the entire audience, and not just Learning Curves supporters! Costume and make up are an essential part of our Mardi Gras Performance, and what with finale routines to learn when we get there, a dress rehearsal and a photo shoot with the evenings host (in the past we have had Mark Curry, Summer Stallen (Maria from “The Sound of Music”, Hollyoaks) and Bonnie Langford!) a day at Mardi Gras is exciting for all!

Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Since 2007 Learning Curves have had the fantastic opportunity to perform with Dorridge Music School at their annual concert at The Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The opportunity for our students to perform with live music is a unique experience. Past performances have included Thriller, Abba Medley and Hairspray.

So whatever your passion, if you’d like to try something new, would like to showcase your talents, gain exams for your dancing, or just looking for a place to put all that energy to good use, Learning Curves School of Dance is the place for you, come and join us and we can give you that Platform to Perform!