2021…where has the year gone?!
Here at SSD we have always got something going on, and despite the ongoing situation with Covid-19, 2021 was no exception.
As you know we offer all our pupils a number of different opportunities to develop and enhance their dancing knowledge and experience – such as taking recognised examinations in their chosen genre, performing in competition events, dancing for charity functions and shows.
The summer and autumn terms welcomed back Ballet, Tap and Modern Theatre examinations and we were delighted that all our pupils who were entered in these exams have all obtained fantastic passes; a result of their hard work during classes and extra lessons.
RAD ~ 90 of our Ballet students ranging from Grade 1 up to Intermediate took their RAD Examinations. Their hard work has helped them gain knowledge and experiences to take to the next grade as well as UCAS points towards future academic ventures! We were so very pleased with their results, well done everyone!
ISTD ~ 61 of our Modern Theatre and Jazz students were excited to welcome an examiner into our studios, once in July and again in November, the first examiner onsite since the Pandemic began in 2020! ISTD is a highly recognised and respected awarding body within the dancing world, and our teachers Sam and Louise love teaching the syllabus to our pupils and were delighted with their fantastic results.
British Arts ~ End of November, we held our last examinations of 2021 with The British Arts for our 22 Tap students of many levels and 8 Preparatory Ballet Students, who all received fabulous reports from the examiner. Our examiner, Miss Carson, is one of the top examiners and a respected longstanding member of the British Arts was very pleased to be back touring the country and examining again. We were thrilled to have Miss Carson back onsite.
On the same day we also entered three dances into a national competition run by the British Arts; “The Arts Awards”. We are delighted to confirm that all three were awarded the highest mark of Honours and have progressed to the live audience Semi-Finals in March 2022! Congratulations everyone!
Some of our Grade 5 Modern students (and our very own Louise) were excited to perform alongside The Burdock Valley Players in their 2021 show “A Treasure Island”, performing alongside the actors and dancing their own pirate scene. The show was enjoyed by many, in and around Andover and received fab reviews! Well done BVP – a fantastic show and again thank you for inviting us to join you.
February 2022 = Showtime!! We are looking forward to our next biennial charity show in February 2022, held at The Lights Andover. As always our show will be raising money for charity – this time we have chosen local charity “Kids on Track”.
#Further information on our show will be announced in due course.
Kids on Track is a small charity that provides activity camps during the school holidays for children from the Andover area. Aiming to work with these children in the years to come, offering them a mentoring programme as they become teenagers, enhancing their lives and giving practical support.
Click here for more info: Kids on Track 
On a final sad note; as you are aware we were devastated when our beloved principal Grace Hicks sadly passed away this year. Her love for teaching, dancing and life will forever be ingrained into the SSD ways and we will strive to continue her legacy for many many years to come. She will be greatly missed but forever loved. 
Thank you for all your support throughout 2021. We would like to wish all SSD family and friends the very best for 2022 – here’s hoping for a happy and healthy New Year. Stay safe and see you all soon!
Carol, Louise, Sam and Alana