What a fabulous three weeks of the new year we have had! Everyone has adapted to the virtual classes brilliantly and we have loved creating the new lesson plans to suit this world and to continue bringing smiles to the faces of our Star Performers.

Introducing visual aids

We strongly believe in using visual aids to spark curiosity and maximise learning retention. We have aimed to bring the story of the musical alive by creating interactive PowerPoint displays for our students to meet the characters and understand the synopsis of the musical.

'Bugsy Malone' drama skills

The chosen musical for your child's class has been, 'Bugsy Malone'.

This month we have been working on the following drama skills:

• Accents – As Bugsy is set in New York, we have had fun delivering techniques to develop this accent. Developing accents in turn develops a good stage voice as the students have to work harder to produce the sounds or the words. This then strengthens clarity, projection and expression which we can then later use within singing and script work.
• The 1920s - The era of the musical has been a great opportunity for exploring dance history and specific dance styles.
• Vaudeville – The Vaudeville shows were made popular in the 1800s before ending in the 1930s, and became the place where entertainers from around the world could make it big with 10 minutes of stage brilliance. Singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, musicians, actors, comedians, dog and pony shows, and specialty acts of all kinds were welcome. Using this as our basis our students have been preparing for their own Vaudeville show by working on a piece of text from Bugsy Malone and a Charleston dance made popular in the 1920s. We have also given them an opportunity to showcase their own talent.

2021 show choreography

We have also started new choreography which is for our 2021 production of 'A Night of Musicals'. This year we will be filming the show in two parts to allow the exam work to continue throughout the calendar year. Filming of the theatre craft routine will take place in June 2021 as we work to create another DVD spectacle. The featured routine within this class will also be entered for an IDTA Musical Theatre Award which we are hoping will be in July. The students will film their exam entry as part of their timetabled lesson which will then be submitted to our allocated examiner.

'Men in Black' commercial technique

The Commercial element of the lesson has been focused on street dance skills. Each week Miss Destiny has introduced a skill of the week to develop the strength required for executing these types of movements.

We have also started a routine to 'Men in Black', which will be entered for an IDTA Commercial award as soon as we are allowed to return to the studios. This routine will be filmed within the students' timetabled lesson and then sent to our allocated examiner for marking.