Hip Hop Happiness in GCSE Dance

Year 10 dancers had the pleasure of welcoming guest teacher and hip hop expert, Emily Golding Ellis, back to Leighton Park on Monday 18^th June to collaboratively create a piece for ‘Let’s Dance 2026’. 

This masterclass in the style of commercial and hip hop was invaluable for our GCSE students guiding them in the appreciation of the stylistic qualities of the genre. 

Dance subject lead, Beth Butler, commented, “This experience means that students now have more of a physical understanding of the style. This means they can analyse the movement vocabulary of hip hop piece ‘Emancipation of Expressionism’ by Boy Blue Entertainment more articulately in preparation for the written paper.”

Emily enthused: “I was so impressed with their levels of concentration. They were really motivated, wanting to get the piece right. There was such a great energy to work with in this group. There are a range of styles within the piece such as wacking, popping, locking, house, breaking, vogue and they have coped really well with all the material. It is not easy to learn a piece in such a short space of time.”

The Year 10 participants were equally keen on the experience with Nanaki saying “It enabled me to come out of my comfort zone and explore new styles of dance that I haven't done before.” Alex added: “It let me have a break from the theory side of GCSE dance and I felt free.” Whilst Mikayla concluded, “I really enjoyed the workshop as it built my confidence and I felt empowered as a woman.”

The annual showcase of ‘Let’s Dance’ offers a great opportunity for our students to share their dance prowess with a delighted audience and broaden awareness of dance across the wider community. We look forward to seeing the hip hop piece from our Year 10 GCSE Dance students at 7.00pm on Thursday 18^th June.

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