The Sound of Music - Rehearsal Schedule for Parents

The Sound of Music rehearsal schedule is now available on-line - please click HERE to access the document!

Rock Challenge Dance Competition!

This year we will be entering a team into the Rock Challenge Dance Competition.

In June 2016, the school team had huge success and came 2nd in the Southern Premier Competition, competing against 12 other schools and colleges. The team also were awarded ‘excellence’ in a large number of areas including best concept, performance, choreography and set design.

We are now looking for a new team of committed and strong dancers to compete in the Premier Division for 2017. 

Auditions: Dance Studio 3.10-5.00pm

• Friday 23rd September  - Years 7 to 9

• Monday 26th September – Years 10 to 13

Rock Challenge rehearsals will take place on Mondays after school in the dance studio. This year the Year 13 BTEC Dance students will be creating the choreography and I will be helping to direct the overall piece. 

The team will showcase their piece on either Monday 27th February, Tuesday 28th February or Wednesday 1st March at The Guildhall in Portsmouth. The team will return to Portsmouth for the Premier Dance Competition on Saturday 29th April 2017.

Mrs Wearing

Head of Dance

House Dance Competition Audition Dates

It's back!

Students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 can audition to be in House Dance! The rehearsals will start in June and the show will be in October.

The audition dates are:

:: Monday 13th June for DARWIN

:: Tuesday 14th June for NIGHTINGALE

:: Wednesday 15th June for PANKHURST

:: Friday 17th June for WILBERFORCE

Each audition will be held in the dance studio from 3.10-4.30pm. You must bring your dance kit. It you would like to audition please sign up on the audition sheets which will go up on the dance notice board this week.

Mrs Wearing

Performers needed for open evening in dance!

Mrs Wearing (Head of Dance) is currently looking for dancers to perform in an open evening dance showcase on Thursday 30th June.

Students can perform their own pieces or work they have completed in school.

Students from Year 7 to Year 12 can take part, the more the merrier!

If you would like to celebrate dance and be a part of the showcase, please collect a letter from the dance office as soon as possible.

Wanted! House Dance Prefects for our next House Dance Competition!

Calling students in Year 10, if you are a keen performer, choreographer or like to help with make-up and costumes then please consider taking on the responsibility and challenge of becoming a House Dance Prefect.

Letters regarding the role are available at the Dance Office. The deadline for your application is Tuesday 3rd May. You do not need to be studying GCSE Dance to take on this role as it is an extra-curricular activity. Auditions for the teams will be late May and rehearsals will start after half term. The show will be in October 2016.

We need House Dance Prefects for each of the four houses, so get applying if interested!

Mrs Wearing

Joint Head of Dance

February Half Term - Dance Opportunities at South Hill Park, Bracknell (15min drive from Yateley School)

Click HERE to see how to get to SHP

South Hill Park, Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7PA

Box Office 01344 484123

Half term is just 5 weeks away and I wanted to let you know about a series of workshops that will be running at South Hill Park for dancers.

Some are aimed at giving dance opportunities to those young and new to a variety of dance styles, giving an opportunity to learn new skills with friends and family and some are aimed at passing on skills useful for BTEC, GCSE and A Level dance as well as developing the performance and choreography skills of those looking to start full time dance training soon.

Mon 15th Feb:  Create a Dance in a Day Choreography Technique workshop (11-16yrs approx)
Price : £12.00
A friendly session introducing choreographic devices and ideas that can be applied to any dance style. Perfect for those considering or taking GCSE/BTEC dance.

Tues 16th Feb:  Different Dance Styles (6-16yrs approx)
Price: £7.00
A chance to try out a variety of dance styles in this fun session including jazz, contemporary, street, cheer, Bollywood…. and a whole lot more.

Wed 17th Feb:  Pop Video Stars  (6-16yrs approx)
Price: £7.00
Learn the best dance moves from some of your favourite dance videos. Bring a friend and be pop stars for the day. Sign up now and you get to choose the songs too.

Thu 18th Feb:  Family Dance (4-16yrs approx)
Price: £13.00 for 2 siblings/child and parent / £7.00 for any additional sibling/parent
A unique chance to dance with ‘big sis’ or ‘little bro’ and learn a great street dance routine together to perform to family and friends. A great bonding session for sisters and brothers from toddlers to teens. If you don’t have a sibling... dance with Mum or Dad!

Fri 19th Feb:  Berkshire County Dance Company Youth Open Doors session (11-18yrs approx)
Price: £9.00
Berkshire County Dance Company Youth (BCDCY) open their doors to young dancers interested in auditioning for the company or following a career in dance. Take company class, learn some repertoire taught by the dancers and watch them rehearsing their latest creation with professional choreographers.

All spaces must be booked in advance and cannot be paid for on the day.  These sessions will be fully booked due to limited spaces so please make sure to pass this info on to your parents as soon as you can.

Flyers will be on the school notice board in the next week or two.

Mrs Wearing
Joint Head of Dance

Wanted! Stage Crew for Rock Challenge 2016

New Dance Classes at St Swithun's Parish Centre, Yateley

^^ New dance classes for 2016^^

LT Dance is providing brand new dance classes for January 2016 at St Swithun's Parish Centre in Yateley! Classes are available for children and young people aged 4 to 18 years old. There are no exams, no pressure, just fun!

The first class is FREE!

For more information please call 07905 960693 or email laura@ltdance.net 

Why not have a look of their Facebook Page too?

There are also some posters up in the dance department (on the notice board just by the lift).

Youth Singers Competition 2016

Calling all dancers! (open to all ages)

The Dance Department will be holding lunchtime auditions for any student who wishes to perform their own work as part of the House Dance Show in November. This can be something that they have learnt at dance school or choreographed by themselves.

Auditions are taking place on Tuesday 13th October, at lunch time, in the Dance Studio. Kit must be worn or the costume you would like to wear for the show. Students must bring their music labelled on a CD. The dance must be finished and must be between 1.5 and 3 minutes long.

We are looking for a range of dance style, soloists, duets and small groups.

If you have any questions please pop along to the dance studio/office and speak to a teacher.

Rock Challenge Auditions!

Rock Challenge Competition 2016

^^Last years winning performance 'The Scheme'^^

What is the Rock Challenge? 

Click HERE to see last years winning performance!

Rock Challenge is a performing arts event involving students in primary and secondary schools and colleges around the globe.  It is an opportunity to celebrate young people being their best without the use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, respecting and protecting their bodies.  Yateley School has been competing in the Rock Challenge Dance Competition for ten years. Last year the team achieved winning their regional heat, winning their Southern Open Final competition and then scored enough points to go to the National Finals in June. Obviously, we were very proud when our school were crowned National Champions! This year the school will now compete in the Premier Division (no pressure then!).

Audition date:

The audition for Rock Challenge will take place on Saturday 17th October from 11.15am until 2.15pm. Students who wish to perform in Rock Challenge must sign up on the audition sheet next to the House Dance information. We will then allocate a time that your child will need to attend their audition. The audition will take place in the dance studio and we expect all students to be dressed in suitable dance clothing (no midriffs, shorts, baggy clothes, jewellery etc.). 

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals for Rock Challenge will be on Thursdays (3.10-4.30/4.45pm) in the Dance Studio. Rehearsals for the team will start on Thursday 19th November (after House Dance finishes!). Nearer to the competition and showcase dates we will hold some Sunday rehearsals that we expect all students to attend. We will confirm these dates as soon as possible.

Important dates:

We will be showcasing our piece at Portsmouth Guildhall during the week commencing Monday 14 March 2016. At this event, the team will not be competing, but will be showcasing their piece as a premier team in an open regional heat and have the opportunity of being awarded certificates of excellence in the different categories.

The date of the Premier Dance competition is Saturday 25th June 2016 at the Portsmouth Guildhall.

Cost:

Each year we ask students for a participation fee to take part of the Rock Challenge. This money goes towards participating at the events, helps fund travel expenses, costumes, set and props. We also encourage all team members to help fundraise throughout the year, starting with a Christmas Raffle!

Other roles:

Within the dance competition we will also be looking for a large number of students to be part of our stage crew, to help move set and props when the performance is shown on stage. These students must have good team working skills, be reliable and patient! Stage crew members will be expected to attend certain rehearsals. If your child is interested in being part of the stage crew they need to let their dance teacher know and I will be in touch.

If you have any further queries, please contact the dance department on dance@yateley.hants.sch.uk

Mrs Wearing

Joint Head of Dance and Teacher in charge of Rock Challenge

House Dance Audition - Update!

House Dance Auditions (3.10-4.30pm in the Dance Studio) - sign up and support your house!

Students must wear your dance kit.

Tuesday 8th September - Wilberforce

Wednesday 9th September - Nightingale

Thursday 10th September - Darwin

Friday 11th September - Pankhurst

Students must sign their name on the audition list next to the lift outside the dance studio!

House Dance rehearsals will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays afterschool (specific nights for each House has not yet been confirmed)

The competition nights are Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th November, in the Drama Studio 7.30pm.

Mrs Wearing/Joint Head of Dance

House Dance is back!

Audition dates have been set and 'sign up sheets' are now up for the new four houses. All auditions will be held in the Dance Studio from 3.10-4.30pm.

Tuesday 8 September WILBERFORCE

Wednesday 9 September NIGHTINGALE

Thursday 10 September DARWIN

Friday 11 September PANKHURST

The theme for this year is 'Twisted Fairy Tales'.

Dance Department

Go and see the BBC Young Dancer of the Year Final!

Have you been watching the 'BBC Young Dancer of the Year'? Currently you can watch it on Fridays at 8pm on BBC4 and see the dancers work their way through the selection process. You can see the winner of the contemporary heat below!
Last weekend saw the Hip-Hop rounds which was amazing too - certainly check it out on iPlayer.
We are fortunate enough to have some tickets to the grand final of the show, which is on Saturday 9th May at Sadlers Wells Theatre. For just £28.50 you will be collected by coach at 4.00pm from school and brought back, after the show, returning by approximately 11.00pm.
This is such a rare and exciting opportunity (plus, the show will be on TV too!)
If you are interested just go and see Mrs Wearing or ask Mrs McWilliam in the admin office for a letter.

Yateley Community Theatre

A new little project is under way here at Yateley School and that project is to try and raise awareness of our drama studio and theatre space. You may or may not know that the theatre space (drama studio one) is used regularly at weekends to host various events including films, puppet shows and workshops. In order to help increase the amount of people who visit us we decided to give ourselves a name and we are now known as 'Yateley Community Theatre'.

Last Saturday was our first event using our new name! We showed a free family film to get things started, The Lego Movie was a popular choice and many people came to see it, armed with a variety of snacks and treats too.

Our next event is an amazing puppet show that has been touring the UK. Professional puppeteers 'Pickled Image' will be taking over the space with their show 'Fireside Tales with Grandad' on Saturday 14th March from 1-2pm. Tickets are just £6.50 each.

To see our full brochure just click HERE  - why not 'Like' our Facebook Page too and keep up to date with our shows and events!

OLIVER Rehearsal Schedule - Updated

Just a quick note to let you all know that you can now see an updated Oliver rehearsal schedule HERE or by clicking on the 'Performers' tab! Please be aware that there may be last minute changes that do not get put on here so keep an eye on the board in drama and speak to Miss Tottman if you need to.

Joss Arnott Workshop

Joss Arnott Dance Company visited the dance department recently to take our BTEC Dance students through a vigorous technique workshop and choreography session. These workshops are a valuable  insight into the type of career that could be pursued in dance as well as a fantastic opportunity to ask questions to a professional dancer.

Boys Dance Workshop - Part 2

If you read our arts blog on a regular basis you will certainly be familiar with the boys dance group. It all started here, when they started work with all-male dance group Fuzzy Logic. Since then the group has performed in local primary schools with a dance piece about commuting and twice at South Hill Park, with the last performance based on the theme of superheroes. 

The boys are now working along-side Dean Sodden (pictured below) from '4 Motion Dance Theatre' and are learning more physical, athletic moves with their partners. The ideas they gain from the workshop with Dean will go towards the choreography for their final piece, to be showcased in the New Year.