THE VILLAGE SCHOOL OF DANCE CHRISTMAS SHOW 2017

Christmas show 2017!

To celebrate the growing success of The Village School of Dance since it opened in January 2008, the school will be holding its fourth biannual Christmas show this term.

Previous shows have been staged at The Village Hall, Lingfield Road, but due to the school being somewhat larger compared to 2 years ago, we are very excited to have secured the Collyer Theatre at Kings College School, Wimbledon. There will be 2 performances on Saturday 2nd December, one at 2:30pm and the other at 6:00pm.

We cannot wait to get on stage a rock Wimbledon village!

This year’s theme is…….’Around the world!’

See you there!

Okay January is over, but our New Year’s Resolutions shouldn’t fade with it!

DDMIX is a fun way to exercise while you’re dancing. It raises your energy, increases your coordination and fitness levels, makes you feel better, burns fat and reduces stress levels.

Here are 10 reasons to join us in the next class!

Aerobic exercise will help strengthen your arms, legs, buttocks and abs.

You have to coordinate more than one action with the corresponding movement. It makes your mind work in a different way and these connections will make you feel more active.

One of the benefits of DDMIX is that thanks to the music used in the sessions, you find a mix of a wide range of different dance styles such as Bollywood, Disco, Samba, Flamenco, African, Line Dancing, and much more. This way of doing exercise is more fun and helps you to learn different dance steps from around the world.

Organising your schedule and making time for this activity will help you to cope with the rest of the week. You will feel you’re doing your workout but you’re having fun at the same time.

It’s always much more easier when you do physical activity with someone who supports you. It’s the perfect opportunity to share a moment with a friend. Maybe a coffee afterwards, to catch up and laugh about that step you can’t get right?

Surrounding yourself with people who are enjoying the same as you, can create great bonds. You will improve together and it will be more satisfactory when you achieve your goals as part of the group.

Dancing produces pleasure because it makes your body release endorphins and dopamine, the neurotransmitters involved in affection and love.

Dancing helps you to combat stress. Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract you from daily worries.

Children and adults are welcome. Regardless of age or physical condition, this is a great workout for everyone.

If you’re persistent you’ll see that you learn the steps without realising it! During the first class you may feel a bit lost but it will get easier week after week and you’ll feel fabulous.

Now that you know more about this fantastic workout, feel free to contact us if you want to give it a go!

Trust me, if you try one of our sessions, you will come back for more!

See you next week!
The Village School of Dance Team

We all know how dancing makes us feel when we hear our favourite song on the radio and we can’t stop our moves.

Dancing is an exercise that helps us fight stress, anxiety and sadness. But as well as helping us on an emotional level, it also helps us to keep fit and healthy.

On top of all these benefits, it’s even better if you practise this with your children because you will make a bond and a stronger relationship with them.

Here are five benefits of this fantastic activity for your kids!

Great cardiovascular exercise

To dance is a really good way to exercise. When we dance, we move all our body and we’re exercising without realising. Because of this, it is the perfect activity to improve flexibility and keep fit. It’s an excellent way to make our children do their daily exercise.

Source of happiness

It’s an ideal exercise for letting go of tension. It helps them to relax and it helps us too if we practise with them. It also raises their self-esteem, they will feel more confident in themselves.

Helps to overcome shyness

Sometimes we worry too much when our children are not open and sociable. There are a lot of shy children and there is nothing wrong with this. But if you want to help them to overcome this, dancing is a fantastic way to start. They will meet other children doing the same activity. Being part of a group improves their communication skills.

Encourages creativity

Encouraging our children’s creativity in their early years improves their intellectual capacity. Dancing can help them focus better, because their brains are making new structures that will be very useful in their self-development.

Physical bonus

Dance has numerous physical benefits.

First, it stimulates blood circulation and the respiratory system.

It also helps to correct bad posture and gain elasticity by supporting muscular development.

It helps for the development of psychomotricity because they have to learn the steps of the dances to coordinate their movements.

In this way, it improves coordination, balance and reflexes, as well as enhances the ability to express yourself with your body language.

Now you don’t have any excuse!

Take a look at our classes and feel free to get in touch to tell us which class your children are going to join.

Or maybe a DDMIX class for you?

Anyway, we’ll be more than happy to have you with us!

See you next week!

The Village School of Dance Team

Hello, everyone!!

As promised, here we are with the second part of “Best Ballet Dancers”!

We hope you agree and enjoy learning a bit of these great professionals.

ALINA COJOCARU

Alina Cojocaru in “Gaynor Minden”

Alina Cojocaru is a Romanian ballet dancer born in 1981. She joined the Bucharest Ballet School when she was 9 years old. Among her numerous other awards are Best Female Dancer at the 2002 Critics’ Circle Awards and the 2004 and 2012 Benois de la Danse awards. Since November 2013, she is a principal dancer with the English National Ballet.

‘Alina Cojocaru’s line, her beautiful extensions and airy jumps, her wraithlike, weightless quality are all gorgeous. This is technique rendered invisible by artistry’ 
The New York Times 

CARLOS ACOSTA

Carlos Acosta in “No way home”

Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada is a Cuban ballet dancer born in 1973. He has danced with many of the leading ballet companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He also joined The Royal Ballet in 1998 and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2003.

Acosta has received many awards throughout his career, including an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2007, a Prix Benois de la Danse in 2008 and an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2014 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. He was also appointed a CBE for services to ballet in 2014.

He celebrated his farewell after 17 years at The Royal Ballet, dancing his last performance in November 2015 in Carmen, which he both choreographed and starred in.

NATALIA OSIPOVA

Natalia Osipova in “Kitri in Siberia”

Natalia Osipova is a Russian dancer born in 1985. She started dancing at the age of five.

Osipova has appeared as a guest artist with companies around the world. In March 2012 she became a principal of American Ballet Theatre, where she created the title role in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Firebird. Her awards include Golden Masks for her performances in In the Upper Room and La Sylphide, Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007, 2010 and 2014) and a Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).

She is currently performing as a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London and the Mikhaylovsky Theatre Ballet in St Petersburg.

NICOLAS LE RICHE

Nicolas Le Riche in “La fille mal gardée”

Nicolas Le Riche is a French ballet dancer born in 1972. He entered the Paris Opera Ballet school when he was 10 years old and joined the corps de ballet at the age of sixteen.

Le Riche was promoted to the Paris Opera Ballet’s highest rank, after his debut in the role of Albrecht in the traditional version of Giselle. He performed A Suite of Dances as guest artist at New York City Ballet’s Jerome Robbins celebration in June 2008.

Nicolas Le Riche retired from the Paris Opera Ballet following a gala performance on 9 July 2014.

HERMAN CORNEJO

Herman Cornejo in “Diana and Acteon”

Herman Cornejo is an Argentinian ballet dancer born in 1981. He has had leading roles created for him by Alexei Ratmansky and Twyla Tharp; his signature roles include Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and the leading male role in Ratmansky’s Symphony No. 9.

He won a Bessie Award in 2013, and the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2014. In 2004, Joan Acocella called Cornejo “the most technically accomplished male ballet dancer in the United States”.

He is now a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

This is all for now, it has been hard to choose only ten but we hope you enjoyed reading all the hard work of these amazing dancers!

See you next week!

The Village School of Dance Team

Hello, everyone!

On Friday some of our students are going to be doing their ballet exam.

To give them some positive vibes we’ve collected in two posts some of the best ballet professionals, so they can see what they might become one day with a lot of hard work.

It has been so difficult choosing only ten!

Enjoy!

SYLVIE GUILLEM

Sylvie Guillem in 1998 performing in “Romeo and Juliet”

Sylvie Guillem is a French ballet dancer born in 1965. She was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London.

She has also performed contemporary dance as an Associate Artist of London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Her most notable performances have included those in Giselle and in Rudolf Nureyev’s stagings of Swan Lake and Don Quixote.

In November 2014, she announced her retirement from the stage in 2015.

 MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

Mikhail Baryshnikov in “Sex and the City”

Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov nicknamed “Misha” is a dancer, choreographer, and actor born in 1948. He is often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers in history.

After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance. He joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine’s style of movement. After that, he danced with the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director.

Baryshnikov has spearheaded many of his own artistic projects and has been associated in particular with promoting modern dance. His success as a dramatic actor on stage, cinema and television has helped him become probably the most widely recognised contemporary ballet dancer.

In 1977, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his work as “Yuri Kopeikine” in the film The Turning Point. He also had a significant role in the last season of the television series Sex and the City.

TAMARA ROJO

Tamara Rojo in “La Bayadere”

Tamara Rojo is a Spanish dancer and director of English National Ballet born in 1974. She has gained international recognition for her unique technique, passion and acting skills; and for her outstanding performance both in classical and contemporary roles.

Rojo often participates on the juries of all the major international dance competitions, including Beijing, Lausanne and Benois. She is a Master of Theatrical Arts and a Bachelor of Dance and Choreography Honours Graduate from University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid.

She was made a CBE in 2016.

EDWARD WATSON

Edward Watson in “The Winter’s Tale”

Edward Watson is a British ballet dancer born in 1976. He trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into The Royal Ballet in 1994. He was promoted to Principal in 2005.

As of 2004, he is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. His repertory with the Company includes major roles in works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, and numerous role creations for choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky.

His numerous awards include the 2012 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, the 2015 Benois de la danse and Critics’ Circle Awards in 2001 and 2008. He was awarded an MBE in 2015.

ULIANA LOPATKINA

Uliana Lopatkina in “Swan Lake”

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina is a Russian ballet dancer born in 1973. She is currently employed as Prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia.

Upon graduation, Lopatkina joined the Kirov/Mariinsky Theatre Ballet in 1991, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1995.

Lopatkina stands out in classic and dramatic roles. She is a perfect example of the Russian (Kirov) school with long limbs, great strength and a classical purity of line, as well as noted musicality.

We hope you enjoyed it, we will tell you the other five dancers in our next post!

See you next week!

The Village School of Dance Team

Welcome, everyone!
We’re excited to announce that…. HABEMUS BLOG!

This is The Village School of Dance blog and we will be posting one post per week to keep you informed about the school news and much more.

We’re heading back to school and we’ve made this schedule for you all. Now, you can have a look and see what we offer for your children or which DDMIX class you are going to join next week.

DDMIX is a full body aerobic workout based on a range of different dance styles with easy to follow steps. This fun workout was created by Darcey Bussell and Nathan Clarke. It includes genres, eras and national dances from around world.

If you want to see it for yourself, contact us and give it a go with a free trial. You will love it!

We really hope you enjoy our new blog, as we’re sure you and your children will enjoy our classes.

See you soon!

The Village School of Dance Team