Can anyone recommend a dance school on South Coast (Hampshire)/ how do I go about picking?

[NeverTwerkNaked]

Dd (almost 4) dances already (ballet and tap) and does Theatre school on Saturdays. She lives to perform. She basically ordered me to sign her up to these lessons! She's just done a show and her face just lit up when she got on stage. It doesn't come from me! I'm bookish and I'd do anything to avoid being centre of attention.
She's currently just going to the nearest dance school, picked on logistics.
No idea if she necessarily has talent (too young to tell? And I am no expert!) but she certainly has an astonishing passion for it. She's learnt the choreography for all the dances in the show, not just her own.
On that basis I want to make sure she's in a good school, as she works so hard at it I don't want to let her down by picking one purely on convenience any more. But I feel a bit clueless how to pick!
any tips are welcome

argh I did a great long reply and it lost it! oh well basically i said whereabouts are you? and I can recommend one in Drayton if that helps. feel free to PM me

We're Between Portsmouth and Southampton , not sure where Drayton is?! Not trying to push her, just don't want to let her down by picking the wrong school when she works so hard at it

Go to a dance festival/competition near you and judge them for yourself

She's still very young - if the current school is convenient and suits you, she enjoys the classes and likes the teacher, then there is nothing to be gained from moving her at the moment. Her teacher will be able to talk to you about whether she has a natural talent for it, but realistically it's far too soon to tell.
Just let her have fun for now - the time to think about possibly moving her somewhere that might offer better training is a good few years off yet.

would have no idea how to judge them though? This world is new to me!

Totally get that it's too soon to tell taxi ; I guess it's just she's at a v new school with no real way of judging it, v young teacher etc. No idea if they are being well taught etc. Not trying to say I think my daughter has talent, I wouldn't be able to spot that, but she definitely has passion!

well if it is a new school then I would perhaps just give it time and see how she gets on. new teachers are often very enthusiastic. Does the school just do ballet and tap or will there be other things available in the future when she is older? what board do they do? RAD ballet has character dance in it which I think my girls would love but they do ISTD which doesn't. There are differences but if the teacher is good and the child enjoys the one they do then it isn't important which one it is if that makes sense.

Drayton is the other side of Portsmouth so no good to you. Looking at festivals is one way to get an idea but not all schools do festivals and usually the children who do are taught a lot of their work in private lessons which they will pay for on top of normal ones so whilst it indicates they can be taught to a high level it doesn't really indicate what the average child at the school would be doing (although I personally really like watching festivals and so do my daughters so perhaps in the future you can go and watch some anyway as she might really enjoy them - my daughters are doing the Gosport festival in October half term).

How to judge if they are good or not? I would look for

are the children happy going into class? do parents seem to get on with the teacher? is there a good level of discipline? (not bullying but I think dance is a discipline and therefore children have to have standards in class for behaviour, dress, hair etc but different people like different things) also if exam results are decent. obviously that depends to some degree on the children but a good teacher should have decent results from the majority of their pupils.

Well, ways to tell whether it is a good dance school... among others:

The teaching qualifications of the dance teacher, where they themselves trained, and what professional experience they have (teaching and/or performing).

The examining body the school is using - some are much more well-known than others and have a far more rigorous teacher training system & rules/regulations.

The number and level of classes offered and the facilities. Also, whether classes for the youngest pupils are taught by fully-qualified teachers, or by older teenage students/trainee teachers. This happens with depressing frequency, and they don't always have the experience or technical knowledge to train youngsters.

The exam results of the students, and what successes do they have in things such as auditions and being accepted for further training, particularly the standard attained by more senior students.

And whether students progress according to ability rather than strictly by age group/cohort.

Also whether there is an enthusiastic, positive, motivational ethos permeating the school - this is an elusive quality to pin down!

Since your dd's school is new then it wouldn't be all that easy to tell I suppose, but you can certainly check out the examining body and the teacher's qualifications & experience, and whether there is a positive atmosphere.

You will get a feel for the schools. Are the kids happy, stressed, anxious, excited and how are the teachers responding to that. Do they dance well with eachother. Are the teachers supportive even if they fail. You'll see some that work better for the older children some that work better for the younger children. You might just see one and think that feels right for my kid.

So best to just take her to a trial class at the ones that look good on paper and then see how she reacts maybe? I don't think the school she is at does exams etc?

I definitely don't want her to end up in a school so serious it kills her love of dance, that's a definite fear! But she works really hard at it, practising away at home all the time

Yeah, and definitely ask about exams. They are great for marking achievements and gives a great sense of accomplishment. However you don't want a pushy school that just tries to get them through the grades as quickly as possible. At the school I went to when I was little they would not put you in for an exam unless they knew without question you would pass. Not once in the 11 years I was there did a child fail an exam. Even though they weren't pushy I ended up at 16 with grades that are equivalent to A levels. Also ask about what other shows and events they do. My favourite was always doing pantomime and there where loads of shows, events, carnivals etc throughout the year. If she loves performing you don't want a school that only gets involved in any shows once in a blue moon.

That's a good point about the shows, it's the performing she really loves for. That's what drives her (and I really mean it drives her, she just auditioned for her theatre school'sshow and didn't even flinch at the fact she was knee high to a lot of the others! I was all ready to take her home but she didn't look back...)

Your school sounds great Sky

nonickname you are so right, she would love watching the shows! Will look up the Gosport one