Week 8 Update and Activities

I hope everyone is well. Thank you for your messages for Mrs Burnett as she recovers from her bike accident. We are pleased to say that Mrs Burnett is back for her online lessons this week, although she is still sore and working with limited demonstration.

This week I have invited an ex student Sam Holden to host a Senior Jazz class online.This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to receive some exciting choreographic work from Sam who is a current Betty Laine scholarship student studying at Laine Theatre Arts. There is a £5 fee pp which will go towards helping him fund his student accommodation.Thank you to all those who have signed up and are able to support by attending his class on Thursday. I hope to be able to host some more with younger students as well if we have enough to take part. I will update you all on this after half term when we see how the easing of lockdown rolls out.

We love all your pictures and videos
Thank you so very much for all the pictures, videos and messages you’ve been sending through, it’s fabulous to see so many students dancing and being so creative with their work. We can’t wait to see you all back in the studio in the not too distant future. Government advice and guidance is constantly evolving but we hope that as children start back at school the studio doors will open again. What format this will be remains to be seen but rest assured risk assessments and some good old common sense will be at the heart of our decisions; the health of our students, their families and our staff will be at the centre of our on-going discussions.

Last week’s challenge – still time to submit!
We have had a number of outstanding entries following last week’s challenge to collate some choreography for our Leaver’s showcase. But there is still time to submit choreography for consideration as some students have asked for an extension. Plus, I would like time to discuss the entries with other staff members. So use the half term break to create, improve and then submit during the first week in June.
This is open to all age groups so we’d love to see everyone having a go!

This week’s activity
Memory lane is the theme for this week. Many of our students have been with us for the best part of their lives; they have survived many Tozer shows and countless exams and are still standing! Have a think about your favourite Tozer moment or memory, send in a photo or a little paragraph telling us about it. Our collage of student photo’s is coming along beautifully and these will finish it off to perfection.

Mental Health
As some of you may already know this week is Mental Health Awareness week. These last few months have highlighted the need for us to think of and care for our mental health and to get the most from life. The top 3 ways we can help with this are talking, exercise and diet. There has always been a healthy degree of chatting coming out of the Tozer changing rooms and long may this continue – friendships forged at Tozer last a lifetime. Dance lessons certainly get those heart rates pumping and so the diet is down to you. A dancer is no different from an athlete and should eat a balanced diet including plenty of fluids. For our younger students our challenge to you is to draw a delicious plate of healthy food fit for a beautiful ballerina.

Tapathon Reminder
This Sunday is the National Tapathon so polish up those tap shoes and log on to join in.
http://www.roycastle.org/events/national-tapathon-2/.

Half Term
Next week is half term so let’s hope the sun continues to shine. The students have been working tremendously hard with our lessons and their school work so all take a well-earned rest and let’s leap into June with energy and pointed toes!

Take care and look after yourselves.