Autumn Term 2012
Back to School
Welcome back to a new school year at Swiss Cottage Dance. We hope you all had a wonderful summer, and we extend a particularly warm welcome to our new students and their parents.
Administration
We regret that due to our hall rental increase this year, we are obliged to raise the individual class fee by 75p. We hope that you appreciate that we do try our best to keep our fees at an affordable rate .
We are pleased to announce that we have added a Paypal payment option to our website (www.swisscottagedance.com) which we hope you will find useful. Paypal charges Swiss Cottage Dance a transaction fee which we have added to the total fee, however if you prefer to pay by BACS (direct bank transfer) or cheque these options are still available (see invoice for details). Absolutely no cash please.
Owing to almost 40% of fees unpaid by half term, and 10% unpaid by the end of term, Swiss Cottage dance will reluctantly be changing the payment policy. Places will not be held for pupils who have not paid by /on the first day of term.
Miss Angelina and the new teaching team
After 10 years teaching at Swiss Cottage Dance on Saturdays, Miss Angelina has finally decided that the time has come to take a break from her Saturday teaching commitments. It has been a difficult decision for Miss Angelina to make; ballet teachers generally do what they do for passion rather than ‘work’ and over the years Miss Angelina has become extremely attached to ‘her’ pupils. Miss Angelina will still be running the school alongside Mr Stephen and will pop in regularly to watch classes and assess progress.
For the past year Miss Angelina and Mr Stephen have interviewed candidates and watched audition classes to find the perfect teachers for Swiss Cottage Dance. We felt that the candidates should not only be qualified but should also share our ethos on teaching ballet. We are delighted to say that we have found two teachers who meet our requirements and high standards.
Miss Amy
Miss Amy will be teaching the classes for 2 ½ year olds up to our Year 2 (Standard 1) pupils. Miss Amy is currently working for Miss Angelina at her other school, the Vacani School of Dance (Clapham). In fact Miss Amy has recently been coaching Miss Angelina’s serious Grade 4 and 5 pupils who, we are delighted to announce, ALL passed their exams with Distinction, a wonderful achievement for both Miss Amy and her pupils.
Miss Amy attended the Janet Ashton School of Dance in Lincoln for almost 15 years and progressed through the Grades to a Major level in Ballet, Tap, Modern Dance and Jazz. During her time at school Miss Amy and was given the opportunity to perform in the Lincoln Pantomime, the Lord Mayor’s Show and at a range of Dance Festivals.
Miss Amy comes from a family of teachers, which clearly had a great influence on her decision to pursue a life as a teacher. With a career of teaching in mind, at the age of 18, Miss Amy left home to accept a place on the Dance Degree course at the University of Roehampton, London. At the time Miss Angelina was teaching the first year students at the University of Roehampton; she was impressed by Miss Amy’s ambition and teaching ability and invited her to work for her at her Clapham ballet school.
In addition to her teaching commitments at the Vacani School of Dance (Clapham), Miss Amy currently teaches ballet and ‘movement and music’ to children aged 18 months and upwards in a range of prestigious nurseries in London.
Mr Stephen and I are excited to have Miss Amy join Swiss Cottage Dance and have no doubt the children will warm to her just as we have. Miss Amy has inherited some of Miss Angelina’s teaching values but she will be bringing a whole new world of imaginative ideas to her classes. Miss Amy is very approachable; if she does not look too busy with another parent at the end of the class, please do take a moment to introduce yourself – she will have many children and parents to get to know so please bear with her if she needs a quick reminder as to who you are in the first term.
Allan Mortensen
Miss Angelina and Mr Stephen feel extremely privileged that one of London’s most sought after Cecchetti teachers, Mr Allan Mortensen has agreed to accept a position as a Ballet Master to our older pupils at Swiss Cottage Dance.
Since graduating from Rambert School in 1999, Allan spent many years working as a professional contemporary dancer in Denmark. His professional dancing career is extensive; dancing in productions choreographed by former Royal Danish Ballet Principals, Eske Holm and dancer Craig Revel Horwood, and touring Europe with a selection of successful Dance/Theatre companies.
Miss Angelina and Mr Allan first met several years ago when they were both awarded scholarships to attend the Cecchetti Summer School, Chichester. Mr Allan now specialises in the teaching of the Cecchetti Classical Ballet Method. He is passionate about his art and this is conveyed through his teaching approach. His great sense of humor together with his wonderfully creativity will be a special and unique contribution to Swiss Cottage Dance.
Ballet exams
Swiss Cottage Dance will be holding Cecchetti Syllabus Ballet Examinations for selected pupils (Standard 1) in the Autumn Term. We have applied to the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing for the following date:
Sunday 2nd December
A letter confirming you child’s examination date and time will be sent to you as soon as we receive confirmation from the ISTD. If your child has been selected (you will be notified at the beginning of term) please keep both dates clear in your diary.
Exams will be taking place at the Vacani School of Dance Clapham.
Timetable changes in the Spring Term
We can confirm that the timetable this term will not be changing, however in the Spring Term , all morning classes with Miss Amy will be moving to a later time (45 minutes later). As children progress through their ballet Grades/Standards it is often necessary to adapt the timetable according to demand. Children may be required to change the time of their class once they have taken an exam or at the beginning of the school term. Although we do our best to keep change to a minimum we are restricted by hall availability.
Raquel Gaviria
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Raquel on her performance at the Olympics. Miss Raquel was selected out of several thousands to perform in the closing ceremony as one of Darcy Bussells flames. Miss Raquel, whose extensive performance experience which includes a lead role in the Snowman Production, describes her experience of dancing in the closing ceremony as “a once in a life time opportunity and the highlight of her career”.
