Footlights in Stretford

Lostock College, Barton Road, ( entrance next to pharmacy) Manchester M32 9RL

Contact	Jo Fisher
	0161 684 2354
	07956 4237895

Esatblished 2005 Book a free trial today

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Unique theatre school training in Acting, Singing & Dance - 4 specialist tutors - 3 hours of learning - A lifetime of transferable skills

Term dates: Saturday 21st April - Saturday 21st July 2012 ( show date 30th June) Closed 5th May & 2nd June.

Well done everyone!!! LAMDA results will be with you by 18th June 2012

'Forever Wicked' show- Saturday 30th June 2pm & 7pm

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Introduction

During your Childs time at Footlights, our tutors will mentor them to increase confidence by sharing their professional experiences as well as honing performance techniques. We know you will want to find the right balance between ensuring your child gets a good performing arts education, has fun and keeps up with their academic studies, which is why your childs skills of Acting, Singing and Dancing will compliment their academic studies plus, at Footlights your child will benefit from the opportunity to take internationally recognised examinations through LAMDA.

Footlights delivers quality performance arts training and aims to ensure that each child gets the most out of their experience by building upon essential life skills and instilling confidence whilst having lots of fun and meeting new friends. There is also the option for students to audition for professional work in film, theatre and modeling via The Footlights Casting Agency. Book a free trial today and come down and see for yourself.

Footlights in Lostock is ran by Jo Fisher. Jo began working with children over 10 years ago when she was appproached to direct a huge childrens' play with the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Terrified at the prospect of directing over 200 children, Jo threw herself into the project and decided to treat the children as actors, feed them energy and passion for the stage and 'see what happens'. Her dynamic approach worked and the play was a success, with sell out audiences and huge acclaim from education professionals as well as artists. Shortly after this she woirked as an actress performing in schools up and down the country and soon realised that her passion for theatre had taken a turn for the better and she was equally as passionate to teach and direct children. Having worked at every well known childrens' stage school for over 3 years to gain experience and insight, Jo created 'Footlights', a place where children are treated as professionals, and given the space to be creatively expressive, nurtured, respected and share in the wonderful world of theatre and arts.

Jo's staff are recruited on expertise and experience, are all trained and hold current enhanced CRB's. Most of our team work in the performing arts industry and come to us highly recommended. The directors of all the Footlights schools have regular meetings to plan, prepare and update on childrens' needs and ways of learning to help us promote inclusivity and 'every child matters' policy. They also discuss shows, exams, opportunities and evaluate progress and action plan for improvements to the service we offer.

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Class Times

Saturday mornings

4 - 6yr olds - 1.15 - 2.45pm Tinys

7 - 18yr olds - 9.45 - 1pm Main School

Main school

Children aged between 7 -18yr are split into 3 age groups -

Footlights 1 (7-9yr olds)

Footlights 2 (10 -12 yr olds)

Footlights 3 (13-18yr olds)

The main school children will join in a group warm up from 9.45am – 10am then at 10am will be split into their age groups (as above) and rotate between 3 tutors in all 3 disciplines of dance, drama and singing.

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Drama

The Drama tutor, Jo, will use his experiences and great skills to introduce your child to drama. Jo will also support your child through LAMDA exams. In Drama the children also get the opportunity to discover improvisation, comedy, scriptwriting, mime, verse, tv and film acting and theatre scripts, helping them to become confident well rounded young actors.

Dance

Rebecca specialises in different aspects of dance incorporating ballet, jazz, and yoga as part of her lesson planning. Dance can be used in so many different ways we feel that dance not only teaches skills but can also be used as a form of expression. Dance can be empowering, creative and above all fun! Dance brings people together but can also be a fantastic form of exercise. It encompasses cardio vascular practices as well as increasing coordination, balance, flexibility and strength. Also there are so many forms of dance to explore and identify making it inclusive of all cultures, times and bodies.

Singing

Iain will work with all aspects of the voice and even the shyest children will be singing by the end of the session. Iain will focus on both solo singing and group singing and always encourages everybody to sing in front of each other as it helps to build confidence. The children have the opportunity to learn different musical styles within pop and musical theatre. It doesn’t stop there; Iain will also cover music theory and musical staging in his lessons. Breathing technique and how to support the sound correctly is also in the curriculum. Finally (and more importantly) the children have fun and have a great time singing.

Tiny's (3- 6 yr olds)

1.15pm - 2.45pm

Your wonderful, expressive 3 - 6 year olds are introduced to theatre and performing in a safe, fun, energy-driven yet structured way of learning. Each week the Tiny's are taught in all three disciplines - dance, drama and singing - in bite size chunks of 20 - 25 minutes each. They have a little break in the middle to have a snack and a drink, which the children seem to enjoy as much as the classes! Its their chance to express themselves with each other, identify with their peers and have a good old chit chat (they're like little old men and ladies nattering given half the chance). However, under the close supervision of Rebecca they are encouraged to be individual and express them freely in a supportive forum. The tutors spend quality time getting to know the children and plan their sessions according to abilities, learning styles and what that particular group seem to enjoy. Confident in their teaching, the tutors at Footlights aim to let the children perform as often as possible, usually all sharing equal roles to promote teamwork and a sense of camaraderie from a young age. The Tiny’s are always part of the main school shows at Christmas and during the Summer, so you will regularly see your child perform.

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History

We started in Stretford in very humble beginnings at Stretford Grammar school in 2004. We soon built up an excellent reputation and moved to better facilities and more room to Lostock Arts College. We are currently in our 5th Year at Lostock Arts College, with a roll of over 70 children. We try not to turn anyone away, however places are limited so we urge you to get in touch as soon as possible. We have had massive successes over the past 4 years producing some fantastic performances at festivals, theatres, as well as charity events and many of our students have also appeared on screen too. The right honourable Beverley Hughes (recent Minister for Children) commended us in the House of Commons for our work with special needs children.

Achievements

We have had so many great experiences over the past years, with many of our children appearing on tv , some have even appeared in film! Last year 2011 really saw our kids at Stretford grow from strength to strength perfoming an 8 day marathon for over 550 local children in one week! These kids really are a cut above your average and we welcome everybody to join! Our successes are many and we do strive to keep everyone updated in our latest new section, however the best way to get a full view on the school is to subscribe to our FREE newsletter. In July 2009 about 200 of our children and young people performed at the renowned 'Lowry Theatre' where they raised £750 for a local cancer charity. We also achieved 100% pass rate in our first year entering the prestigious LAMDA examinations, where one of our groups Footlights 1 (aged 6-8yr olds) all received Distinctions in musical theatre.