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 have that regular connection each week has been great for both them and for us.

Introducing visual aids

We strongly believe in using visual aids to spark curiosity and maximise learning retention. Utilising critical thinking methods provides opportunities for meaningful learning that will stay with students for the long term.

'The Wiz' drama skills

The chosen musical for your child's class has been 'The Wiz', the super soul version of the wonderful 'The Wizard of Oz'.

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

• Exploration - This is the act of pretending to be somebody else or taking on a role. Introducing these types of activities encourage the students to share ideas and take ownership of their work.
• Improvisation – This strengthens script work and will give the students confidence to adlib if they forget their lines.
• Props - These are crucial in the story-telling; they complement and motivate the character, helping the student feel more 'the part' and setting the scene.

Commercial/street dance technique

The commercial/street dance aspect of the lesson has been focused around isolations, a movement which occurs at a body joint to add accent and sharpness to choreography. We have also started new commercial choreography which will be entered for an IDTA commercial award as soon as we are allowed to return to the studio. This routine will be filmed within the students timetabled lesson and then sent to our allocated examiner for marking.

2021 show choreography

We have also started new choreography which is for our 2021 production of 'A Night of Musicals'. The students have been working on choreography to the song 'Ease on Down the Road'. We are hoping to film sections of this choreography in front of the green screen when we return to the studios. 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 routines will take place in June 2021 as we work to create another DVD spectacle.