Over 100 schools from the Step into Dance programme will perform in Spring Sharings in schools across London, and showcase their hard work in front of fellow students, family, friends and VIPs.

The performances will take place in eleven boroughs, starting in Westminster on Thursday 20 April, and finishing in Barnet on Monday 8 May.

Schools confirmed to perform at the Wandsworth Spring Sharings at Burntwood School on 21 April 2017 include:

• Garratt Park School
• Burntwood School
• Oak Lodge School (for the Deaf)
• Dunraven School
• Ricards Lodge High School
• Evelyn Grace Academy
• Cricket Green School
• Carshalton High School For Girls
• St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls
• Perseid School

All the students, aged from 11 to 18 and from both mainstream and SEN schools, receive specialist dance training in a number of styles from Step into Dance, a partnership project between the Royal Academy of Dance and The Jack Petchey Foundation.

The events are an important part of the programme, giving hundreds of students the experience of performing on stage in front of an audience. The opportunity for students to watch their peers perform has proven to be particularly beneficial for the students’ development.

Step into Dance student Mollie Stebbing commented, “The Spring Sharings are the best time of year for me, it is such fun showing other schools what we do – and also seeing what they do. It makes us all work harder and become more confident”.

It is also from these events that groups are selected to audition for Step LIVE! 2017 ; Step into Dance’s annual showcase, which takes place at Southbank Centre on Monday 17 July. Step LIVE! 2017 is an all-day festival of free youth performances, workshops, street dance battles and an evening show in the Royal Festival Hall.

Programme and Artistic Director, Sue Goodman, is looking forward to this year’s performances, “It is that time of year again when nature seems to wake up from her sleep and everything bursts into life! The same happens with our dances and teachers as they prepare for our annual Spring Sharings. The explosion of creativity and eruption of energy is unstoppable!”

For a full list of the Step into Dance Spring Sharings, visit the Step into Dance website.
All events start at 7pm (finish time: approx. 8.30pm)
Suggested donation: £4 adults; £1 students; under 10s free.

Article supplied by Florent Gonthier