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Ballet school - Jenny (28th Jul 2014 - 22:54:44) I'm looking for a local ballet school. Does anyone know of any? Any recommendations? Many thanks

Re: Ballet school - Jo (29th Jul 2014 - 09:20:09) Liphook Academy Of Dance run by Rebecca Paris is fantastic! My daughter went there for many years and loved it. Here is the website: www.liphookacademyofdance.co.uk

Re: Ballet school - Allison (29th Jul 2014 - 15:24:10) Angela Cantan is a fully qualified ballet teacher - Royal Academy of Dance. Very happy to recommend her. She also runs brilliant Saturday workshops covering various types of dance which are terrific value and great fun. Number is 01428 652 360. Haslemere Performing Arts

Re: Ballet school - Fiona (29th Jul 2014 - 20:43:02) My daughter goes to Almond School of Dance who has Ballet classes in Camelsdale and Rowledge. Miss Maureen can be contacted on 01428 656402

Re: Ballet school - Lucy (29th Jul 2014 - 23:07:20) I have heard good things about Haslemere Performing Arts although not experienced it myself. I would avoid Liphook Academy of Dance however. I went there when I was younger and unfortunately got fed up with the constant shouting in class. If you are looking for other types of dance as well I would highly recommend Planet Dance and Fitness Academy at the Millennium Hall in Liphook. They do street jazz classes for all ages and is run by lovely people.

Re: Ballet school - A. Ryan (30th Jul 2014 - 09:21:50) Haslemere Performing Arts run by Angela Cantan holds classes in Liphook at the Church Centre, Liphook Church and at these locations Haslemere Methodist Church Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Haslemere Haslewey Community Centre, Haslemere Hardman Hall, Hammer St Stephen’s Church, Shottermill Fernhurst Village Hall Both my daughters dance there, and whether it is just for fun or for more serious dancing as in taking dancing exams I highly recommend them. They have just completed a dance show at The Princes Hall at Aldershot, children ranging from 3 and 4 to 18 years, and what a s show it was! Check out their website www.haparts.co.uk

Re: Ballet school - S (30th Jul 2014 - 11:38:39) I had ballet lessons with Mrs Cantan when I was very small, younger than 5. I wasn't a naughty child in the slightest (complete opposite) but one of the other kids said some thing to me, and I replied, and Mrs Cantan ordered me to sit away from the class in silence, when I hadn't done anything naughty. Afterwards she was very rude to me. Maybe she was just having a bad day, but as a small child it put me off ballet and dancing forever, I remember the event vividly. That was over 20 years ago and it has stuck with me for life. I would certainly not take my kids to her for ballet.

Re: Ballet school - Heken (30th Jul 2014 - 18:10:35) My daughter has been going to Liphook Academy of Dance since she was 5. She is now 14 and absolutely loves going there - she has a lot of fun as well as working hard to pass the ISTD exams. It is also within the village at Bohunt School which means no extra car journeys - if you live in Liphook of course!

Re: Ballet school - Janet (30th Jul 2014 - 23:09:27) It depends what you want. My impression is that Haslemere Performing Arts (Angela Cantan) is the place to go if you want to take dance classes seriously and progress through the exams, whereas Liphook Academy of Dance is more for people who want to dance just for fun, without taking the exams. Of course, you can do both at either, but I think that's the distinction between the two.

Re: Ballet school - Andrea (31st Jul 2014 - 00:24:53) I would highly recommend Liphook Academy of Dance. My daughter danced there for 13 years and absolutely loved it. Rebecca has an amazing personality and simply wants the best for her students. She does not shout at her children , so maybe Lucy you take things too personally or get things out of proportion. She is able to take her students to very high standards and the majority achieve merits and distinctions in ISTD dancing examinations. Rebecca takes time to work with her students and is able to give them one to one support, she relaxes the children within her class and is able to achieve high levels of respect due to this. The dance school holds yearly shows which are outstanding and very worth while to watch, again Lucy maybe if you attended one you would see how much fun the children have and how much they get out of it. On the other hand I would not recommend Haslemere performing arts my daughter began there to which Angela Cantan was very unkind to my daughter and used to shove her to the back of the class as she has her favourites and if she doesn't like you then you pay the price. She just doesn't think before she speaks and on many occasions when waiting for my daughter I heard her shouting at the children. With regards to other forms of dance I would also not recommend Planet Dance. My daughter also tried this dance school to which she found there was no one to one opportunities and there are no graded examinations just simply dance competitions for the fun of it. When meeting the ladies that run the dance school they were very un professional and had no pastoral care for the children.

Re: Ballet school - Lucy (31st Jul 2014 - 11:47:47) Without wanting to turn this into a slanging match (like most of the posts on here) I would just like to point out to Andrea that I have actually performed in dance shows put on by Liphook Academy of Dance so I know exactly what it was like. I stand by my comments of shouting in class because I experienced it myself for a number of years before deciding enough was enough and didn't want to dance if it wasn't enjoyable. Admittedly it was a few years back so perhaps the atmosphere has mellowed. With regards to Planet Dance, where I have danced for almost 15 years, they do I.S.T.D exams if you or your child wish to take them. They are recognised dance qualifications not just "competitions for fun". They have also put on shows at Aldershot Princes Hall with the latest one being in June of this year. The ladies and gent that run it are fantastic and the children (and adults) love being a part of Planet Dance. The OP was after a ballet school and people are obviously going to have their preferences. I have just given my opinion like everyone else but unfortunately there is always someone that wants to take things that little bit further and start getting personal, without knowing anything about the person writing the post. My advice to the OP would be for your child to try a class at each school then you can make up your own mind

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