In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent restrictions on social interaction, the Dance City Training Academy has been working tirelessly to continue our commitment to providing high quality dance training within confines of government safety guidelines. The health and wellbeing of our students and staff is, as ever, our number one priority.

As we continue to adapt to this new environment we would like to share the measures that have been put in place on each of our strands of teaching to ensure that Training Academy students are able to access the resources they need and continue their development from the safety of their homes.

“I have been continually impressed by the positivity and creativity that our students have shown throughout this exceptional time. They have been responsive, open to new practices, and generous with their ideas and so they have continued to develop and grow over the past weeks. The Training Academy tutors have been quick to adapt to new ways of working and, as always, have gone the extra mile to support students. It is a pleasure to be working with such an incredible teaching team and such wonderful students and I feel confident that we can meet all of the upcoming challenges with the same resilience and energy, no matter what lies ahead.”

Julie Campbell

Acting Head of Education

MA Advanced Dance Performance

Tuition of the MA Advanced Dance Performance has moved to online platforms. Alternative assessments have been designed by the MA teaching team and agreed by our colleagues at the University of Sunderland.

We are continuing the course with a socially distanced curriculum and look forward to residencies with Gecko and Lost Dog companies to develop a filmed performance project for the end of the year.

Prospective students are still able to audition via video for our October 2020 intake up until 5 June. Places have been capped at thirteen to ensure that social distancing can be maintained when teaching begins if necessary. Find out more and apply here.

BA (Hons) Professional Dance

Face to face teaching halted on Tuesday 17 March and was moved online. The BA lecturers have been very open to these changes and are working hard to ensure that students are being supported through a range of materials including practical online sessions, lectures, task-based work, assessment support and tutor support. A full digital timetable has been offered from 27th April – 4th June and has been accessible to students through The University of Sunderland`s VLE (Canvas).

The BA students have responded brilliantly to all of the online training and have risen to the creative, academic, and technical challenges that they been given with commitment and professionalism.

Our next BA Open Day for our September 2021 intake has been postponed to Thursday 12 November which is available to book online. Find out more and secure your place here.

Centre for Advanced Training (CAT)

The CAT has been very busy during the lockdown period, providing online technique classes as well as a range of creative sessions. We are also beginning the process of delivering some live Zoom sessions over the weekends. Alongside online classes and sessions, students been have given a number of one-off opportunities including a Circus Skills workshop and have been provided with plenty of online resources to support them in their training at home.

Discussions are currently in place with Joss Arnott about the Dance City CAT’s participation in a socially distanced campaign which will be taking place later in July.

In light of the governments guidance we have moved our CAT audition process online and will be accepting video auditions from Monday 1 June. You can find out more and apply here.

Training Academy

In addition to academic provision, all Training Academy students are being offered ongoing counselling sessions with the Dance City Student Counsellor and unlimited pastoral support by our core teaching team to help them through this difficult time.

Regular staff team meetings are taking place for each programme to ensure we continue to provide the best service we can to our students in these unprecedented circumstances. If you have any queries or concerns about your course at the Dance City Training Academy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

You can find out all about the Dance City Training Academy and the courses we provide here.