Let’s Dance 2023!

The annual showcase for Dance at Leighton Park was once again a spectacular show with 30 pieces performed on Thursday 15^th June.

Students from across the School took part in a selection of dances which showcased the department’s strength in teaching contemporary styles. Students who have chosen to participate in the National Association of Teachers in Dance (NATD) awards through the co-curricular programme were featured alongside those selected by the School to participate as a Dance Scholar or a member of the LooP Dance Company. Those in Years 7, 8 and 9 for whom Dance is a compulsory subject were able to share the results of their lessons whilst those in Years 10 and 11 performed a number of GCSE coursework pieces. The showcase also featured our students who are beginning their A Level Dance next year; the latest qualification to be added to the Sixth Form offering.

The evening was heralded a great success by all who attended, including pupils from Farley Hill Primary School who opened the show with their Lion King Dance. The dance was choreographed with Beth Butler, our Dance teacher, and the Year 10 GCSE students who worked with Farley Hill to create and rehearse the dance. Reflecting on the event, Victoria Howard, Head of Year 5 at Farley Hill, commented, “Thank you so much for the opportunity our children had to perform last night. They loved working with you and your students and are very proud of what they achieved. I’d also like to thank your students – they were all so welcoming, polite, helpful and supportive of our Year 5s.”

Head of Drama, Peter Scoggins, enthused, “The Let’s Dance show really showed off what we offer as a school; there was a real sense of what dance is like here. The students are so responsive to the challenges in the style of contemporary dance that their teachers/choreographers present them with. The complexity of the pieces are notable, in that, we rarely see ‘packs’ of students all uniformly doing the same steps. The use of space and the interactions between dancers is complex and very varied. And of course there are lots for students to be conscious of on stage, which challenges them to be constantly aware spatially throughout the performance.”