Christmas at Haddon Hall - December 2015

Dancers from the Claire Dobinson School of Dancing made a special appearance at Haddon Hall this Christmas. Our pupils gave several short performances between 10:30 and 12:30 on Sunday 13 December in the medieval banqueting chamber. Their routine had to be specially choreographed to allow for uneven stone flagstones underfoot - but the beautiful background more than made up for it, as you can see in the photographs below.

Daisy is the new Face of Urdang - December 2015

Claire was delighted to recognise vocational student Daisy Edwards as the Urdang Academy's latest poster girl!

Daisy started dancing with the Claire Dobinson School of Dancing, before studying full time at the Hammond School. She has been studying for a 3 year diploma in Professional Dance at the Urdang Academy since September 2014.

Maddie's 'Rise' to Stardom - November 2015

If you can make it to London this November, ex-pupil Maddie Shimwell and co-stars from Chrysalis Dance London are offering an amazing journey through the world of Contemporary dance. Their latest production, 'Rise', travels from the 'Throb' of club culture, to the 'Polluted Purity' of the struggle for human rights captured by Edmund Burke's quote 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'

'Rise' will be performed at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham Green on 26 November. Click on the link or call the box office on 02083655450 for tickets.

Jay, Phoebe and Estelle join English Youth Ballet's cast for The Nutcracker - October 2015

Jay Derrick, Phoebe Bell and Estelle Brightmore are all busy training with English Youth Ballet. They will perform in The Nutcracker at Buxton Opera House on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November. This is the third time we have had dancers in their production of this ballet (as well as Giselle, Swan Lake and Coppelia) and is a huge achievement - especially as Phoebe has won one of only three scholarship places!

  

Oscar wins scholarship to the Hammond - July 2015

Huge congratulations go to Oscar Edwards this week. Oscar has won a coveted scholarship to attend The Hammond School in Chester from September 2015 - and been awarded an even more highly prized Dance and Drama Award to help with the fees.

Claire is extremely proud, as there is fierce competition for places at all the vocational dance schools. We wish Oscar the best of luck and hope that he enjoys every minute!

Daisy stars on London stage

Congratulations to Daisy Edwards, who was the chosen Jazz dancer in the Urdang Academy's Golden Gala performance at the Hackney Empire in London on July 11 2015. Daisy was one of our guest stars for En Pointe, pictured here dancing her solo to 'Cosmic Love'.

En Pointe

All the photographs have now been published from our recent full school production - 'En Pointe' at the fabulous Buxton Opera House on Monday 11 May 2015.

There are hundreds of brilliant photographs from the show and from the poster and programme, so they were launched in several stages. The performances page shows one selection each week - the Tale of Sleeping Beauty, our Favourite Films, the Guest Stars and Seniors, Totally Tap, the Christmas Classics, your Gorgeous Gradework, or the Adults and the Grand Finale. There is also a link on the performances page to view them all.

A big thank you to all our young stars, to our fabulous audience who filled every seat at Buxton Opera House with their enthusiasm, and especially to all those who bought a programme. We raised a total of £535.30 for Weston Park Children's Cancer unit, which is fantastic.

Congratulations Bethan!

Huge congratulations go to Bethan Nash, who graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2014, winning the coveted Peter O'Toole prize. After a brilliant Christmas season playing Susan in Swallows and Amazons, Bethan has been accepted by United Agents. She is now on the same books as Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet!!!

Bethan joined us as a young adult, sailing through her Grade 5 adult ballet with distinction and showing true performance quality in every move. We wish her every success and will be looking out for her on stage and screen.

Maddie Joins Chrysalis London

We are delighted to have heard from Maddie Shimwell, who graduated with Trinity National Diploma in Professional Dance in 2014, and has since joined Chrysalis London. Chrysalis are a new contemporary dance company, established in 2014, 'to capture the energy, excitement and raw hunger of brand new talent' such as Maddie's, and bring it to theatres, fashion shows and events.

Maddie studied with the Claire Dobinson School of Dancing from a very young age, and has continued to visit us in breaks from her studies at Tring Park in Hertfordshire. Visit our Graduates page to see her amazing graduation photos.

Discover Dance at the Royal Ballet School

Would you like to dance with The Royal Ballet School for a day? Their latest Outreach events include a 'Discover Dance' day in Covent Garden on 17 February for girls and boys currently in years 3, 4 and 5. Click on the image below to read further details in the newsletter they sent to Claire, or click on the link above for details and application forms for this and other forthcoming events.

Note that applications for this year's Junior Associate programme close on 20 March - click here to apply.

En Pointe

It's showtime!!! We are delighted to announce an extra special full school production to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. We will be performing 'En Pointe' at the fabulous Buxton Opera House on Monday 11 May 2015. All the pupils of the school are invited to take part and perform each style of dance that they study, together with guest appearances from some of our recent graduates, now professional dancers in the UK and worldwide. The curtain will go up at 7:30 pm on the first young stars of the evening...

Tickets are now on sale from buxtonoperahouse.org.uk, or from the Buxton Opera House box office on 0845 1272190.