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Shows | Pupil Information |
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Current News
Congratulations Ryan!
Ryan Smith has successfully auditioned for the part of Louis in "The King & I" after a long hard day on Saturday 27th February. The production will be held in September 2010 at Newcastle's Theatre Royal. Please support him. We are very proud! Ryan's previous audition success includes Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol' at the Gala Theatre Durham and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' at Sunderland Empire where he performed as one of the children and understudied the part of Jeremy.
IDTA Fun Day of Competitions - 28th February 2010
Congratulations to all competitors! The standard was excellent and we're thrilled with the results! We won 7 of the sections and had over 40 finalists! Click here to see the results from the day.
Mamma Mia
Anne arranged for Gary Watson who plays Sky in Mamma Mia (Tour) to come and do a workshop at the Academy in December, 2009. He taught Mamma Mia and Waterloo from the show to some of our energetic performers. It was a fabulous Christmas Present to have Gary come to our school. We look forward to him coming to the area again!
The X Factor
A group of our pupils were filmed watching The X-Factor in support of Joe. The feature was shown on Monday 14th December. Congratulations to all who took part. You were certainly enthusiastic!!! Click here to view the feature online.
Carols in the Park
Thank you to the "Winter Wonderlanders" and ballerinas who braved the freezing weather to perform for Carols in the Park at Herrington County Park. We've had lovely reports from your performance. You even made it into the paper! Click here to see the report.
Christmas Fun Competition
Well done to all competitors at the IDTA Ballroom Fun Competition. Click here to see results.
Tyne Tees News, Friday 30th October
6 of our pupils did a camera shoot on 'Trick or Treating' for a special Halloween Feature on ITV's Tyne Tees News which was shown on Friday 30th October.
Thank you to Brodie, Logan, Daisy, Molly, Katie, Emily and your parents for participating!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Katherine Devlin who auditioned successfully to be in Fatfield Musical Stage's Production of "Annie" .
Tickets are now on sale for all Houghton Feast Events. Please call the Academy on 0191 5840764 to book and pay over the phone or call into the Academy. Click here to view the events taking place.
N.C.D.T.A. President's Shield
Anne & Trish were presented the Northern Counties Dance Teachers Association President's Shield on Sunday 13th September, 2009 for the 8th year in a row!
Summer Show at the Gala Theatre Durham!
Congratulations to the performers of our 'Summer Show' on Tuesday, 11th August at 7 p.m. The show was a variety including excerpts from Hairspray, Grease, Riverdance and more! The show was supported by our Cabaret dancers and performed by children who have been rehearsing intensively for two weeks in our Summer School.
Streets
of Dance
Maria & Tricia represented Ballroom dancing in the Streets of Dance Festival in Durham on Saturday 1st August on behalf of the NCDTA. They performed demonstrations and gave public workshops all afternoon as well as taking part in a fun improvised dance-off at the end of the day against other styles of dance (Street/Salsa/Contemporary). They won the first round to make it to the final (judged by audience support) and in the final came 2nd though the audience were pretty much split in half! Luckily the rain held off and it was a lovely afternoon!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Ryan Smith who has gained the part of Tiny Tim in a production of A Christmas Carol at the Gala Theatre, Durham to be staged in November 2009. Congratulations also to all the pupils who have gained a place in "Boogie Nights" at the Sunderland Empire this Summer. Olivia Harkness (Ensemble), Elizabeth Carr (Ensemble), Leilah Carr (Ensemble), Emily Cussons (Junior Dancer), Bethany Gillan (Junior Dancer), Natasha Agnew (Junior Dancer), Niamh Henry (Ensemble), Sarah Waldron (Ensemble), Eleanor Gregson (Ensemble) and Hannah Wolfe (who is playing the lead role of Debs!). If we have missed anyone who gained a place in the show please let us know so we can include you on the website! Emily Cussons and Olivia Harkness also gained places in "The Wizard of Oz" at the Gala Theatre.
Thank you!
Thank you to the pupils who performed at East Rainton Primary School on Saturday 4th July! Well done!
Well done to our Advanced Cheerleaders and Irish Dancers who performed in the cold at Rainton Meadows on Saturday 6th June! The display was to help promote a re-launch of the area (near Joe's Pond). Click here to see photos.
Summer Holiday Show at the Gala Theatre, Durham
Book your place now in the Summer Holiday Show at the Gala Theatre, Durham on Tuesday 11th August 2009. Click here for more information on taking part in the show.
'Reaching for the Stars' at Sunderland Empire - Friday 29th May 2009
Congratulations to all 130 performers! We have received fantastic reviews of both the performances and technical effects. Unfortunately we have no pictures as photography is not allowed within the Empire's building.
Performing Arts Exhibition
Congratulations to Maria May Thompson who has been awarded a Performing Arts Exhibition as she enters Sixth form of Durham High School.
Northern Counties Medallist of the Year 2009
Congratulations to Maria May Thompson who became Adult Medallist of the Year 2009 and Emily Cussons who became U/12 Medallist of the Year at this year's competition on Sunday 17th May 2009! Congratulations to all pupils who competed with lots of excellent results in finals and trophy wins! Results will be available soon on our results page.
Royal Albert Hall - Saturday, 2nd May 2009
Congratulations to the 47 pupils who performed at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 2nd May 2009. All performers auditioned for the show in January and it was a wonderful opportunity for the children - not something you can do every day! It was a long day for everyone but the children certainly put their best efforts in when performing "World's Got The Rhythm", choreographed by Anne, in front of over 4000 people! Click here to see pictures of the day.
Radio Advert
Listen out for our new Radio Advert on Durham FM. Click here to hear it now!
NCDTA Ballroom Championships
Congratulations to Emily Cussons and Olivia Harkness who danced superbly at the NCDTA Ballroom Championships on Sunday 15th March! They were placed 3rd in the Juvenille Latin American Championship, 3rd in the Juvenille Ballroom Championship, 5th in the Juvenille Classical Sequence Championship and 5th in the Juvenille Modern Sequence Championship!
Valentine's Fun Day of Competitions (IDTA)
Congratulations to all pupils who attended the IDTA Fun Comp. Click here to see the finalists!
Royal Albert Hall
Over 40 pupils have been successful in auditioning to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday 2nd May 2009. Ticket information will be available later for those who wish to support the children in London!
Durham FM
Durham FM recorded requests and messages in the Academy on Tuesday 13th January. These were played each day from Mon 19th - Fri 23rd Jan. Visit durhamfm.com and look at the photo galleries for pictures from our open day in January!
Open Day - Saturday 3rd January 2009
The Academy held an Open Day on Saturday 3rd January 2009. Durham FM broadcast live from the Academy! Workshops were held throughout the day from 10 - 2 p.m. and were very well attended! Audition Workshops were also held for pupils wishing to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2009. Click here if you would like to audition but missed the audition day.
Congratulations to all performers! 33 pupils danced to "Over the Rainbow" and the Finale from "Scrooge" in a special Christmas Show at Her Majesty's Theatre, London (the home of 'Phantom of the Opera'). The show was even hosted by the Phantom himself!
Royal Albert Hall AUDITIONS!
Would you like the chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2009? Performers need to be at least 8 years old by the end of May 2009 in order to audition. Please click here if would like to audition.
Adult Dance & Cabaret
Thank you to the Cabaret girls (Clair, Trish, Kim, Cheryl, Mel, Dawn, Maria, Abbie & Katie) for a very professional performance at the Adult Dance Night (Sun 14th December).
Christmas Class Displays
Congratulations to all performers through our 15 Class Displays! You tried very hard. We are sure your parents were very proud of you!
Well done!
Congratulations to Maria, Emily and Olivia who competed in an Open Ballroom Dance Festival in Blackpool in November 2008. All achieved a first place in one of their finals!
IDTA Medallist of the Year - 25th to 26th October 2008
Congratulations to Rose Curtis and Morgan Robson who competed in the National IDTA Classical Sequence Medallist of the Year competition in Blackpool. They both qualified several months ago in the area heats to compete in the national competition.
Theatre Restaurant
Congratulations to Bethany Collins who has gained a job dancing at the Theatre Restaurant in Sunderland. We wish her all the best for the future!
Please click here to view the video shown at this year's Houghton Feast Shows following our successful summer on tour!
Band Night - Tuesday 14th October 2008
100 people turned up to watch 4 local bands play on Tuesday 14th October at the Academy. Chris & Helen organised the event and it was great to see so many people supporting the bands! Two of the bands were from Year 10 & 11 ("Evolving Sight" & "B-Sides") of Houghton Kepier School and the other bands were Adult Bands "The Fibbers" and "Clysis". Congratulations to all!
And it's all over for another year! What a success this year's events have been!
Congratulations to our brave participants in this year's carnival parade. Click here to see pictures from the event! The judges awarded us the 1st place trophy!
Congratulations also to all our performers in the Houghton Feast Grand Variety Show! The standard of the show has been praised from so many people over the weekend! We were very honoured to have the NCDTA Examinations Secretary, Maureen Southern MBE attend our Sunday 4.30 performance along with her guests who all enjoyed the show too!
"Little Shop of Horrors" has also been praised highly following this weekend's performances! Congratulations to the cast of 11 - 15 yr olds and HUGE congratulations to the Crew for a magnificent set! The Crew worked through the night on many occasions to prepare the set for the show. It's very difficult to get technical work done during class times so the night shift normally begins at 9.30 p.m.! Click here to view pictures!
Durham FM Radio Interview
Maria and Trish were invited to the Durham FM Radio Studios on Monday, 29th September to do a live interview on air. The discussion was based around Houghton Feast and the events we are taking part in this year including the full musical 'Little Shop of Horrors' and our 'Grand Variety Show'. For information about our Houghton Feast events please click here.
NCDTA Teacher's
Shield
Anne & Trish were once again awarded the Northern Counties Dance
Teachers Association Teacher's Shield. Congratulations to all our teachers
and many thanks to the NCDTA for the award!
Congratulations to our 12 Cruise Performers 2008! We returned on Saturday 30th August after a week of glorious sunshine and 5 performances aboard the "Island Star" Cruise Ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The children were well received by the audiences and even had several fans who kept coming back to watch them again and again! Sky TV were also on board the ship filming clips so look out in case you catch our pupils/parents on the TV show. Click here to see pictures from the trip.
Congratulations to all 22 performers! We performed a 20 minute show containing six songs from the musical "Grease" in the Fantasy Land Theatre, Disney Land Paris on Thursday 14th August. The theatre was packed with people from all over the world (and of course enthusiastic parents/supporters!). All 22 performers also paraded through Disney Land cheerleading to "It's a Mardi Gras Feeling" with thousands of tourists lining the Disney streets! Click here to see more pictures from the trip.
It was also exciting to be filmed throughout the day for a new Mardi Gras promotional DVD for future trips to Disney Land. Cameras filmed the events of the day including the show, parade and supporters so hopefully we'll get to see what is used on the DVD sometime later this year! This was our 7th show in Disney Land!
A big thank you to our staff/teachers/chaperones and Carole Wright for her hard work with the costumes (beautiful new pink skirts!!!). Thanks also to those of you who supported the public Dress Rehearsal and donated to the costume fund. Your enthusiasm was much appreciated and gave the children a huge buzz before performing in Paris! The show will also be performed during our Houghton Feast Variety shows in October this year!
If you are interested in performing in Disney Land Paris next year please look out for information this coming term or speak to Anne or Trish for more information. Last year we registered in November and we usually only have a couple of weeks for people to book rooms so it all happens fast! Performers need to be over 6 years old to dance in Disney Land. (The parade is confirmed nearer to the event and sometimes there is a minimum age depending on ability of the performer).
Summer 2008
This Summer is a busy one! We have 22 children performing in Disney Land Paris on 14th August. The children will perform their own 20 minute show in the Fantasy Land Theatre in the heart of Disney Land. This year's show consists of songs from the musical "Grease". Then, during the last week of August we have another group performing on a Cruise Ship in the Mediterranean Sea! We also have a number of holiday courses this summer, each with a show at the end of the week. Click here for more information. You can also see pupils performing in "West Side Story" at the Sunderland Empire Theatre this summer.
Cheerleading for Marie Curie Race
9 of our cheerleaders - small and big - cheered for the Marie Curie race on Sunday 15th June! They were positioned at the half-way point at the coast. Click here to see some pictures!
NCDTA Ballroom Medallist Competition - 18th May 2008
Congratulations to all medallist competitors. Click here to view this year's results. We had pupils in every Medallist of the Year Final!!!!
Radio Newcastle
Listen out on Monday 12th May to the Breakfast Show. We were visited on Tuesday morning during the Parent & Child Lollipop class by Gilly from Radio Newcastle to record a piece for The Breakfast Show.
Britain's Got Talent
Look out for 6 year old Emma Lowden who auditioned for "Britain's Got Talent" at Glasgow. The Glasgow auditions are being shown on Saturday 10th May 2008 on ITV.
Cheerleading, April 2008
Anne was interviewed by the Sunderland Echo for a feature on Cheerleading which was published Tuesday 29th April. Click here for a link to an online shorter version of the article.
Here are some of the photographs the photographer took of pupils.
'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'
Congratulations to Bethany Gillan and Ryan Smith who auditioned successfully to be in the professional production at the Sunderland Empire Theatre! They are both playing Children with Ryan understudying the principal role of Jeremy! Congratulations also to Jade Holliday's dog "Zack" who auditioned successfully to play one of the dogs in the production! Bethany & Ryan are playing in opposite shows so you are guaranteed to see one of them when you go to see the show! Zack's schedule is to be confirmed!
Anne arranged for Grace Warner, the current Dance Captain of 'Chitty' to come and do two workshops on Sunday 27th April. The Juniors learnt part of the adult dancers roles in 'Toot Sweets' from the production (they even used some of the real 'Toot Sweet's from the production!) and also learnt 'Truly Scrumptious' and were given excellent advice on how to sing the song for the show. The Seniors learnt part of the very challenging 'Samba' routine from the show. Grace treated them as if they were her dancers in the show and gave very precise information on how to perform the moves in the right style and with the right precision. She also gave them advice on auditioning for the show. The children all looked like they were having a wonderful time and worked very hard!
'Giselle' - English Youth Ballet
Well done to our 10 beautiful ballerinas! The production in Billingham on Friday & Saturday 25th & 26th April was lovely and we are very proud of how hard you all worked!
'Reaching for the Stars' - Sunderland Empire, 2nd March, 2008
Congratulations to all Performers and Staff on a very successful 10th 'Reaching for the Stars' show at the Sunderland Empire. It was a lovely day and all ran smoothly! Well done!
Durham FM
Listen out on Durham FM 102.8/106.8 for our new Radio Advert. The children's voices are all our pupils who auditioned at the Academy and recorded the clips a few months ago.
Please visit our Houghton Feast page by clicking here for information and pictures of events at this year's festival. We were also honoured to have this year's Queen of Eventide visit our performance of 'Dick Whittington & His Cat'.
Congratulations!
On Sunday 16th September, Anne & Trish were awarded the 'Teacher's Shield' from the Northern Counties Dance Teachers Association for the 6th year running! Thank you to all our teachers for working so hard and to the NCDTA for the honourable award!
Well done to the 26 performers who dazzled the crowds at Disney Land Paris! Our performers performed a 20 minute show in the Fantasy Land Theatre (the same stage as Winnie the Pooh!!!) to a selection of songs from 'Fame' on Friday 10th August. The performers then paraded on Saturday 11th August through Disney Land on the main parade route cheering to thousands of Disney tourists on the way! We were honoured to lead the parade with Maria & Bethany carrying the banner at the front.
We'd also like to thank all the spectators who came along to our Public Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday 7th August. Thank you for your kind donations to the Academy Costume Fund. We've now raised enough money to cover the Sadlers Wells Costumes so now it is on to the Disney Costumes! Donations of any kind are always welcome as the Academy runs an ongoing fund which goes towards any costumes/props needed for any show including all class displays. The money raised at the Christmas Class displays bought a full set of new ballet tutus which were utilised at the 'Reaching for the Stars' show in July and also during the 'Summer School' Holiday course.
Radio Newcastle
Russell Ward from Radio Newcastle 95.4FM visited the Academy on Wednesday 25th July to interview Trish and some of our adult pupils taking classes in Street and Ballet. He even tried a few moves himself! It went to air at 5.45 p.m. Trish was also interviewed live on The Breakfast Show by Mike Parr at 6.50 a.m. on Thursday 26th July for those of you who got up early enough to listen to it! Mike also tried out a street move taught over the phone!
Performing Arts Scholarships
Congratulations to Bethany Ridley who has received a Performing Arts Scholarship to join Durham High School for Girls in Year 7 and Maria May Thompson who has received a Performing Arts Scholarship Award as she enters Year 10 of Durham High School.
'Reaching for the Stars' - Monday 16th July 2007
Congratulations to all pupils who performed in the show! Click here to view thumbnails of pictures taken during the performance. Orders will be taken through the Academy. There is also a selection of draft copies printed in a booklet available to view at Reception.
'We Will Rock You' at Sunderland Empire Theatre
Congratulations to all the pupils who successfully auditioned for the show! The musical which was written around the music of 'Queen' will be performed this summer. Successful pupils include Maria May Thompson, Bethany Wright and Olivia Harkness who will be Junior Dancers and Jessica Gibbons, Holly Hutchinson, Alison Mackel, Daniel Lapham & Heather Mclachlan in the Ensemble.
'Fame' at Gala Theatre, Durham
Congratulations to all successful pupils in the musical 'Fame' which will also be performed this summer. These pupils include Karl Laidler (Male dancer) and Elizabeth Carr & Bethany Ridley (Ensemble).
Summer Fayre - Newbottle Primary School
Thank you to Olivia Harkness, Emily Cussons, Natasha Agnew and Bethany Ridley for producing an excellent performance for Newbottle Primary School's Summer Fair on Friday 29th June!
Dancing Outside 'Sainsbury's' - Sunday 10th June, 2007
Well done to all the pupils who performed outside 'Sainsbury's' at the Arnison Centre, Durham on Sunday 10th June. The pupils performed a selection of Ballroom, Disco, Cheerleading and Irish Dancing for the hundreds of shoppers who came in and out of the store. The performance was on behalf of the Durham Rotary Club who have donated £100 to the Academy Costume Fund! So well done to all! Click here for pictures.
'I Love Oz' - Tuesday 5th June 2007
'Congratulotions' to all performers on a 'thrillifying' performance! You again made us very proud by the effort and emotion you put into the performances! Click here to see pictures of performers and snapshots from the 'Ozdust Ball' held on Thursday 21st June, 2007.
Summer Ball with Vincent & Flavia from 'Strictly Come Dancing'
We took 70 people to a ball held at the Rainton Arena, Houghton-le-Spring on Sunday 3rd June, 2007. The venue was packed with dancers of all ages and it was wonderful to see our pupils (children and adults) up dancing all night! The evening was topped off with a wonderful cabaret by Vincent & Flavia. View some of the photographs our guests took here.
NCDTA Ballroom Medallist of the Year Competition - 20th May 2007
Congratulations to all our competitors! We won 7 'Medallist of the Year' titles and had excellent results in all other sections! See all of the results here.
Fitness DVD
Congratulations to all the pupils who have been successful in auditioning for a new Children's Fitness DVD out of over 500 children! We are particularly proud that as a whole the Academy pupils who auditioned were praised for their very high standards! It is being filmed soon and will be available in shops nationwide.
Sadler's Wells 2007
We took 70 performers to London at Easter to perform routines on the West End Stage. The event was highly successful and we congratulate all who took part! See the routines performed again at our 'Reaching for the Stars' show on 16th July 2007 at the Gala Theatre, Durham.
Past Success
Pupils continuously have success in auditions for shows outside the Academy. Here is a selection of some of our past success.
'Miss Saigon'
5 year old Yasmin was successful in auditioning and playing the part of Tam in the professional production of 'Miss Saigon' when it visited Sunderland Empire. Her only regret was that she couldn't go with the show and follow the adult performers to their next tour destination!
Panto Babes
Our pupils have represented us well over the years in the local Professional Pantomimes - the most recent being Maria May Thompson for 2 years in a row at the Sunderland Empire in 'Cinderella' and 'Snow White' (the former starring Darren Day) and Anne-Marie Bailey as a Senior Dancer at Durham Gala Theatre's 'Cinderella'
Musicals
Pupils have recently appeared in Amateur Productions of 'Fiddler on the Roof' (including Elizabeth Carr who had a Principal part) at Darlington Civic Theatre, '42nd Street' and 'Little Shop of Horrors' at the Gala Theatre, Durham. 'The King & I' and 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' at the Sunderland Empire.
Ballet
When the English National Youth Ballet visited our area we were proud of several of our pupils who performed in 'Sleeping Beauty' alongside professional ballerinas at the Darlington Civic Theatre.
Professional Cabaret Dancers
As well as children we have a professional cabaret troupe who perform regularly at Academy functions and for a variety of local ventures. Some recent events include backing 'Mark Allen' (Chart Hit 'Straight Back At Ya'), performing for 70's nights and Cheerleading for Promotional Events. Please email for information on hiring the dancers for your event.
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Shows | Pupil Information |
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