Dance Participants

AS A STUDENT

AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER

AS AN ARTIST

I want to learn to dance – where can I go to take a class?

• Think about what type of class you want to do
• Do your research
• Find a class

There are many independent classes, dance schools and centres in the South East. We do not have the resources to list them here and keep them fully updated. However we can offer some useful tips for searching for a class.

1) Think about what type of class you want to do. There are lots of different dance styles available! Some places only offer certain types of dance and they generally fall into these types:

• Private dance schools - often offering a range of styles such as ballroom dancing, ballet, tap, modern, latin dance, such as salsa.
• Dance specific organisations - focussing only on ceroc, jive or tango for example.
• Independent classes - often run in different centres by independent teachers in styles such as contemporary dance, creative dance, 5 rhythms, street dance, hip hop, breakdance or bellydancing etc.

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2) Do your research - follow some of our search tips below to find out what classes are available and choose one that sounds interesting.

• Ask friends, neighbours, colleagues for recommendations and check if your local school runs a class.
• Ask the teacher what qualifications they have to teach dance - some may have experience as a professional dancer, others may have qualifications from respected institutions like the Royal Academy of Dance www.rad.org.uk or the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing www.istd.org, others may have degrees in teaching related to school such as PGCEs, or recognised qualifications such as National Vocational Qualifications.
• If the class is for children, young people or a vulnerable adult check whether the teacher is certified to work with these people - if they are they will have an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, which you can ask to see. For more information about CRB checks visit www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=281.

If the teacher does not have a CRB check this does not mean automatically that they are not able to work with children, young people or vulnerable adults. You will need to use your judgement about whether you feel the class is suitable. You could ask whether parents are allowed to watch (sometimes this is not allowed as a safeguard for people in the class) or speak to other parents who have children attending the class. If the class is for yourself you could ask to watch a class or try one session for free to see if you like it.

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Find a class - Search Tips

• Yellow Pages - look under Dance School.
• www.yell.com - online version of Yellow Pages  - look under Dance School.
• Google for dance classes and your local area e.g. 'Tunbridge Wells dance class'.
• Check listings and adverts in your local paper or magazines.
• Some bars run salsa or other latin dance styles as part of a social evening, look out for posters or flyers.
• Contact your nearest arts centre, community centre, youth centre or leisure centre to see if they run classes.
• Contact your Local Authority Arts Officer or visit your Local Authority's website (if you don't know what this is google your town name and council e.g. Portsmouth council).
• Look at the websites for local theatres to see if they have children or adults classes or workshops - if you aren't sure where your nearest theatres are, try googling the name of your town, or others nearby and theatre or visit http://www.theatresonline.com/frameset.htm.
• Look at websites: http://www.dancetutors.co.uk/LearningToDanceCategory.html
• http://www.dancemission.net/home.php

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