FEAD Lower School
Walking to approximately 7 years
The lower school is where we nurture our youngest members of the school, igniting a love for dance that develops into a passion as they get older. Children can begin their dance journey with us from around 18 months or when they are walking confidently, at our Dinky Dancer class. Parents, grandparents or child minders love these classes as much as our little ones do!
It’s a fun and friendly class where the children can spend special time with their grown ups encouraging their love for dance and music. They also develop basic physical skills like balance, strength, spatial awareness, fine motor and listening skills. Miss Toni, our wonderful “Dinkies” teacher, has around 20 years experience teaching dance and especially loves nurturing the little people.
Once the children are three years old they are ready to move up to our pre-school class which allows them to have some independence and to continue to flourish. The class is still based around imagination, fun, musical appreciation and all the basics of dance. The class has more structure and expectations are a little more grown up. We have plenty of staff to support our young pupils emotionally, as they transition to this independent class.
As the children progress and develop their basic dance skills, they will be ready to move onto the pre-primary class around four years old. This class introduces tap and modern for the first time. These genres are great fun and develop rhythm, style and knowledge. Getting their first pair of tap shoes is always a very exciting time for young dancers!
Between 5 and 6 years old, the children move into the primary class which is when they can start to take exams. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) offer great structured syllabus in all genres and teachers are experts in delivering this in a fun and creative way. Exams are a brilliant way to help children to feel accomplished and proud, and nothing to be afraid of. They are an exciting time and the teachers always see huge growth and progress in their students during exam time.
Acrobatic Arts and Musical Theatre classes are now optional extras that complement their dance training.
Fun Facts for Lower School
Children and their families are welcome to join us at many community events as part of Team FEAD.
Our summer picnic on the Westwood is always lovely and pupils young and old play sports together and the grown ups chill and chat.
Our fabulously fun summer school is open to all school aged pupils. They love this event and of course build strong friendships in the process.
The children from pre-school age can also participate in our bi-annual, whole school show - a true spectacle for all the family to enjoy!
From aged 5 upwards, students are invited to join us at the “Can You Dance?” conventions and take part in masterclasses with industry professionals in various different styles. These are great at boosting confidence and inspiring our pupils.
We run open classes for the whole school roughly every term, so that families can watch a typical lesson and see how their child is progressing and enjoying their training.
We also run special Mother’s and Father’s Day classes for pre-school up to grade 1, where the Mums and Dads are welcome to join in class with their child and make wonderful dance memories together - they’re lots of fun!