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Kate Simmons Dance


MeganReid

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Recently I was browsing the web and came across a school called KS dance? KS stands for Kate Simmons and I believe she started the school. What I was wondering is if anyone knew about it's reputation, alumni, teaching standards etc?

 

Thanks!! :rolleyes:

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My dd used to go there , we thought it was a good school but the classes at pre-vocational level were large and noisy, so we moved after 12 months to a school with much smaller more intensive classes which suited her.

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I have to admit dd has turned down tring in favour of Ksdance ,she has a great graduate record and is really passionate about dance and her pupils ,It may not be as pretty as tring but my dd thought the standard was fantastic .They have fabulous guest teachers and miss simmons has a great resume .

My dd friend is in the 2nd year and was a Cecchetti scholar she has blossomed there .You can see one of her shows (west end to broadway) on you tube.

The other thing that swayed my daughter was the fact you did your DDI or DDE teaching qualification ,this is usually taken in the first year ,and in these days of few company ballet jobs she thought it would be wise to have something to fall back onto just in case .

As well as contemporary and ballet they also do spanish with mrs hurst who holds the highest accolade .

DD goes in september I will keep you posted as to how she gets on lol .

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Hi Petipacat can I ask what a DDI or DDE teaching qualification is and once you have gained it, what it is used for?

 

Sorry if its an stupid question but my Dd is only in year 9 but want a dance career so need to start looking into things now so i'm up to speed when the time comes.

Thankyou

x

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My DD has been at the school from the age of 3 and loves it there doing ballet, tap and modern. She cannot wait until she is old enough to audition and hopefully start at the upper school. The actual school may not look from the outside as particularly appealing but the standard of teaching is excellent. As far as I am aware, the upper school used to take a lot of Japanese students but over the last few years I believe a majority of the students are British.

 

The lower school and upper school perform in a show every year at the Brindley in Runcorn and I understand the the upper school also go on a small tour of schools in the area to gain experience in company life and going 'on the road'. There have been graduates who have been successful in ballet who are in companies in Wales and also Serbia but I think a lot of the students go on cruise ships and also teach.

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Sugerplumsmum,(sorry i cant work out how to do the quote thing ) DDI and DDE are diplomas in dance instruction and dance education ,once you have achieved these you are qualified as a teacher to enter pupils for exams ,I do feel that it is something good to have just incase my DD doesnt make a career in the dance world .

Pupils of Ks dance have gone on to english national ballet ,northern ballet, k-ballet ,adventures in motion pictures ,vienna festival ,phoenix dance company , cats and cruises to name a few .

I must admit I have been so impressed by the contact with the school ,they sent every bit of information that you could want ,i.e break down of the costs over the term ,then the year ,then the 3 year course ,also a list of uniform and where to get it . All those little things that as parents we want to know lol

Doesn't seem to long till september best make the most of having my dd here with me lol (I shall not moan about the cups in the bedroom !!)

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but KS Dance came up in conversation with dd's physio a while back so I wanted to do some research. I've been looking at the Classical Course and wondered about funding/DaDa/bursaries, and whether it says on the website where the Classical Course grads now work?

 

Have I missed this info on their website? Apologies if so. :-)

 

Petipacat, is your dd enjoying the course? The school does seem to have an excellent reputation.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I contacted this school a couple of weeks ago whilst doing some early research for my DD who wants to audition for Upper Schools for entry in 2015.  The very helpful administrator told me that they are in the process of making inquiries for their course to be eligible for funding via Student Finance England (i.e. the same funding as you get for degree courses). It would be great if this is in place for 2015  :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know of it as an excellent school - we see them at AED finals and they're very strong. But I wouldn't have considered it for upper school level for ballet. That's just my impression.

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My cousin went to KS Dance and really enjoyed it. Julie W are you referring to 'All England Dance'? KS dance don't compete there, Kate Simmons has been on the judging panel, the school did compete in the Molly Lake and had a number of pupils in the finals (my apologies Julie if you are referring to something different). The boy from KS dance got offered a place with the Bolshoi for Sept 2012 subject to funding which I know his parents were holding fund raising events so I'm sure they got the funding together xx

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