The Royal Ballet School in partnership with Hampton Academy
A collaborative project between The Royal Ballet Lower School Year 10 students and Hampton Academy Years 9, 10 and 11 students has been set up as part of the Hampton Academy GCSE Dance programme this year. The project started on 19 January 2011 and will run through until May 2011. The project will work towards a joint piece of choreography with students sharing ideas and practise and learning and leading one another. The piece will be performed both at White Lodge and Hampton Academy during May 2011. As part of the project students participate in a creative workshop every Wednesday 3-5pm in the gym at Hampton Academy.
There are two days built into the project where students will get to spend a whole day in the other school learning about the differences in the education systems, meeting new people, team building and bonding activities and mixing with different children.
On Friday 21 January the dancers visited White Lodge with the following schedule:
10:00-10:30 — Meeting teachers and staff from White Lodge
10:30-11:00 — Creative session to photograph and sketch parts of the architecture of
White Lodge, to use as stimuli for dance choreography
11:00-11:30 - Visit to White Lodge museum
11:30-13:00 — Watching first 45 minutes of the year 10 girls ballet class, and
watching second 45 minutes of the boys ballet class
13:00-14:00 — Lunch with all students and staff on project together, meeting for the
first time
The visit to White Lodge was a really wonderful day for all involved and was hugely beneficial. It was a lovely way to start the project. Below are some accounts of the day from Hampton Academy students:
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“The students at White Lodge were all very welcoming and friendly. Once we started talking I realised that they were very chatty and that they were interested in us. They wanted to know things about our school and our different lives. I can´t wait to see them all again in March" Rachel Varney“When I first saw the students dancing I was really nervous about meeting them because our lives are so different. When we sat down, ate lunch with them and went to see their common rooms, I realised that they were just like us. This trip has helped me to build relationships with other people and I feel less nervous around them. I still feel scared to dance in front of them however, but I can´t wait to get on with the rest of the project now!" Rosie Harris
“Today I learnt that just because you grow up doing different things and learning different things doesn´t mean you are different. I went to White Lodge with certain expectations, perhaps that the students would be stand-offish, but they were lovely. We all got on really well. The teachers were also lovely, funny and easy to get along with. The building was simply beautiful and there was detail in everything, even the little things. It is hard to believe something so beautiful is a school. During lessons the students and teachers are very serious and focused, but out of lessons they were laughing and joking like ordinary people." Izzy Humphreys “I really enjoyed the trip to the Royal Ballet School and I have learnt a lot from it, mostly the hard work and dedication the students put into their work every day. At first watching the classes we were all in awe at the flexibility, skill and quietness of the students! The girls and boys were separated during dance class because both had to work on different disciplines. The boys could do lots of pirouettes in a row and the girls all effortlessly did the splits. They were not all superhuman however, they were normal average teenagers. Everyone was really nice and I look forward to seeing them all again when we rehearse together." Annabelle Johnson “I learnt a lot today about ballet through the years, and about how different our schools are. I thought about how hard it would be to go to school away from your family as many of them do here at White Lodge while they are boarding. Watching the lesson was amazing. They are amazing!" Beth Pike “Today was a great experience. Watching how the students learn to dance was interesting and comparing it to how we learn was a lot different. They all seem really confident and I am a little scared to dance in front of them because of what they might think. It was difficult to talk to the students at first as we had not met before, but once we got talking it was fine. They were all really friendly and now I can´t wait to see them again, to dance with them and to continue with the rest of our project." Pia Clements |
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