Let’s Dance with Year 5s!

Four of our talented Year 9 Dance students who will be beginning their GCSE Dance course next year delivered a series of Dance Workshops for Year 5s at local primary school, Christ the King, led by Dance teacher, Beth Butler.

The first workshop on Thursday 26^th May saw the group rehearse a co-ordinated routine featuring side steps, spins and hand movements as well as shifting levels of height and perspective, before splitting into smaller groups, each led by a Leighton Park dancer. Each small group focused on choreographing a separate segment to be performed as a part of the whole and practiced hard to ensure consistency, fluidity and rhythm were sychronised. Reflecting on her experience with the group, Jessy (Year 9) commented, “This was an amazing opportunity for us to find out what it was like to work with younger children and be the role model leading them. I think it made us all feel important as the children needed older students to help guide them just in case they were unsure. I think that small groups were a crucial part of the dance because the students at Christ the King were brilliant at coming up with moves that they were interested in doing. Since it was their dance, not ours, I enjoyed accepting their ideas and what they wanted to put in it. The younger children had many amazing, creative ideas that even I learned from. I found leading the students an easy task as they listened well and knew what they were doing. They were also very chatty and eager to tell me things about themselves; this I thoroughly enjoyed.”

The Christ the King students clearly enjoyed themselves! “The dances were cool!” enthused Reuben. “My favourite part of the Dance workshop was making our own dance for the show. It was really fun and I liked seeing the Year 9s.” agreed Aoibheann. “It has been an amazing opportunity.” commented Bethel; Odelia reflected, “I liked the choreography and it was different.” “They are really nice people.” concluded Maisy.

Due to exam week, Beth returned for the second workshop without her Year 9 supporters on Thursday 9^th June, to continue the rehearsals and to bring the whole piece together. Beth was delighted by the progress the Year 5 pupils had made, saying, “I am so pleased with how students have remembered the form and structure of the piece. They have achieved a lot in a short space of time. They have really risen to the challenge of creating a whole dance piece in just two sessions. I am really looking forward to seeing these students have the opportunity of performing their piece to a live audience.”

The finished routine will be the opening number for the forthcoming ‘Let’s Dance 2022’ showcase which is taking place in Main Hall on Thursday 16^th June from 7.00pm. “I feel that the primary school children opening the show is a brilliant opportunity for the Year 5s to come to Leighton Park and see our amazing facilities and the stage that they will be performing on. I think that it will be a fun, cute, upbeat start to Let’s Dance!” said Jessy, “I am very excited about the Let’s Dance show, I think that dance is an important thing at Leighton Park, and the opportunity for us to show everything that we have been working so hard to complete is amazing. I love that it is open to Year 7 to the Sixth Form to perform in and has a really wide range of styles. I think that dance is all about sharing and learning and being creative with what you are doing which is why I’m excited not only to be a part of the show but also to watch and learn about the other students in it and what they can do.”