Success Story - Tap Sensation!

We are thrilled to be able to share the exciting news that our senior boy Toby, has not only been accepted into the acclaimed Tap Attack company but has also qualified for the European round of the IDO Continent vs Continent competition.

Toby comes to us for his Ballet and Modern lessons but is also an accomplished Tap dancer, taking lessons with the inspirational Mr Melvyn Wingfield.

In March Toby auditioned for the Tap Attack Associates, but they were so impressed with his audition that they recalled him for company auditions. After a rigorous audition process he has been successful and offered a place to join the training company and the boys only group…Fantastic news Toby, this is quite some feat!

Not only this, but Toby also entered the IDO online competition with a solo that he and Mr Melvyn choreographed. Toby was successful in the UK round, coming within the top 30 top scoring dancers!! This means that he has now gone through to the European round and automatically qualifies for the GB team auditions next year!

Wow Toby, we can’t express how excited we are for you and how amazing we think this opportunity is for you. Your hard work and talent shines through and we wish you the best of luck in the Tap Attack training company and also the European competition round! Congratulations from all of us at Andrea Taylor School of Dance.

Success Story - Onwards and Upwards!

Andrea Taylor School of Dance are delighted to announce more further education success stories!

We would firstly like to congratulate Guinevere on gaining a place on a post 16 diploma programme at the acclaimed Performers College and would also like to congratulate Liberty on gaining a place on the BA(hons) Musical Theatre degree programme at ICTHEATRE in Brighton.

Both girls have jumped through hurdles to gain their places in what has been an unusual year. With online auditions and school examination uncertainty they have done extremely well to successfully audition, they can now look forward to exciting new opportunities.

We are all extremely proud of both Guin and Liberty, we know they are going on to bigger and brighter things and wish them every bit of luck for their futures. After years of dancing with us, watching them grow, surpassing expectations and becoming lovely young ladies, we will miss them both greatly.

Congratulations girls! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. xxx

Newsletter no.2

Spring 2021 Newsletter

Success Story - Budding Teacher

Mrs Andrea would like to personally congratulate Mikayla Jones (Miss Mikayla to the children) on her recent fantastic news regarding her University application.

Many may not be aware but not only has Miss Mikayla been assisting with us for the past few years, but has also been preparing for an exciting audition by means of teaching small exercises within our classes, under the watchful eye and guidance of Mrs Andrea.

Mikayla applied, auditioned and received a conditional offer of a place on the Royal Academy of Dance’s prestigious teacher training programme. She will move to Battersea in London and will train for three years to become a Ballet teacher, completing her degree in Ballet Education.

Mikayla has had to jump through lockdown hoops to gain her conditional offer, but we have every faith she will meet her conditions in the form of her A-level results and head off on her journey to London. There are lots of exciting times ahead and we wish Mikayla every ounce of luck!

We also cannot wait to welcome her back as a member of our staff upon her graduation!!

Success Story - the next step!

Andrea Taylor School of Dance would like to congratulate our pupil Toby on his recent success during auditions for dance college.

Toby has worked extremely hard over the past year to develop his skills and drive his passion in preparation for auditioning for a place at college next year following his GCSEs. After choosing Bath Dance College Toby submitted two pieces, a Ballet/Contemporary and a Tap, as well as taking part in an interview via Zoom - needless to say the process was a little different this year!

Toby’s dedication and determination paid off and he received the fantastic news of gaining an unconditional place at BDC for 2021! Not only did he achieve this, but he was also awarded the Pearl Irene Elizabeth Talent Scholarship for the potential he showed in his audition.

We are so proud of you Toby and cannot wait to see where you go from here!

The Little Princess Trust Donation

One of our dear students Zuzanna has done an amazing thing this month, she has had her beautiful and much loved long hair cut short in aid of The Little Princess Trust.

Not only has Zuzanna donated her hair to go towards a real hair wig for a child with a hair loss condition or cancer, she has also so far raised £170 for the charity!

What a heart warming thing to do for another person, we are so proud of you Zuzanna, very well done!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alina-Smialek?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=Alina-Smialek&utm_campaign=pfp-whatsapp&utm_term=def2f12bf0cd4faabed78a516f80da34

Newsletter no.1

Winter 2020 Newsletter

Success Story - Rugby Star!

Our Grade 2 student Nell has recently won a very special award. Nell’s passions include Rugby, Judo and playing the Harp, alongside her training in Ballet and she has recently won ‘Under 8’s Coaches Player of the Year’ for Rugby.

We love that our budding Ballet students have many other hobbies outside of the dance studio and congratulate Nell on her achievement (we also hope that your Ballet training may have contributed to the physicality, confidence and agility needed on the Rugby pitch!).

Well done Nell!

Success Story - Onwards and Upwards!

Congratulations to our graduate Lily, on successfully gaining a place at Chichester University.

Lily will be leaving us in September to take up her place studying Modern Theatre Performance. We think she will have the time of her life in lovely Chichester and she is moving onwards and upwards to a future career in the spotlight!

We are so proud of you Lily but will miss you terribly, we will be the first in line to buy tickets for your shows. Don’t forget to come back to say hi x

New Beginnings!

We are thrilled to announce that Mrs Andrea will be taking over sole responsibility for the ballet, tap and modern classes formerly part of The Bristol School of Performing Arts (BSPA) following John and Mel’s decision to retire.

Mrs Redgrave and Andrea set up ballet classes at BSPA a little over 7 years ago now, we started with 1 student and have slowly built the classes to what we know and love today, John and Mel providing the perfect support all the way. It only seems a natural progression for Andrea to take the classes over as her own, meaning very little will change for us, except as the Principal she will have full control to implement new ideas and future wishes for the children. 

We are in the hope of returning to classes in the Autumn term following the Covid-19 pandemic, initially this return will be back to the safety of the studios we know and love at BSPA but under the new name of Andrea Taylor School of Dance.

We will be working hard to secure future premises for our classes very nearby and we will continue to provide the opportunity to take RAD and ISTD examinations. We are also delighted that Miss Laura would like to take to this journey with us and will continue to teach tap and modern classes. And importantly we will be working extremely closely with our sister school, the new performing arts school that Amanda Board Salmon and Sam Board will head, Bristol School of Performing Arts, Dare to Dream. Our children may continue to benefit from both schools, with many exciting opportunities to look forward to. 

We look forward to giving John and Mel the big send off into their retirement that they deserve. We will miss them so so much!