Clara Voirol Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Hi, We're a French family moving to Exeter. My 7 yo ( homeschooled) son have been attending a ballet class for two years. We'll miss his demanding ballet school, nationally awarded, and producing beautiful shows. I'm looking for the same type of school in a very large area around Exeter ( an hour to an hour and a half drive). Thank for your suggestions. Sophie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Hello @Clara Voirol and welcome to the Forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baby steps Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Bristol Russian Ballet school have a very good reputation and is within your driving distance, it's straight up the motorway . I hope you find something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattementBatty Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I'm not sure exactly where it is but Ballare have a good reputation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I too would recommend Bristol Russian Ballet School. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate_N Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 At 7 years old, there is time! In Exeter itself, have a look at: Exeter Academy of Dance (Sander Bloemmaert guest taught there pre-COVID) DanSci Dance Studio (who host monthly Associates for Ballet Boost, I think) and run a lot of different types of dance, as well as ballet, with a great community spirit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allwrong Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Totnes School of Dance is excellent. Very friendly and supportive but also ambitious. Plenty of RBS and other associates and steady stream of dancers going on to vocational school (ballet included), despite the small size. Very personal attention: every individual is important and taken seriously, whether purely recreational or more ambitious, and teachers regard their job as preparing the children for life as well as for ballet. Very committed staff, constantly looking out for new opportunities to challenge the dancers and broaden their outlook. Bristol Russian Ballet is also excellent, ambitious and very caring. A very high standard. Both schools are a hefty commute from Exeter, though. Exeter Academy of Dance is run by a lovely teacher, who is very experienced (trained at RBS and taught associates). Kate N is right about some high-profile visiting teachers/ dancers teaching in the studios, but that is a separate set-up for older dancers in vocational training, run largely by invitation by the husband of the school owner. All three establishments have been extremely generous and supportive to DD. Feel free to DM me for any more details, Sophie. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clara Voirol Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 Thank you so much everybody for your answers, it is very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancer20 Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 5 hours ago, Clara Voirol said: Thank you so much everybody for your answers, it is very helpful! Euridge School of Dancing in the centre of Exeter is fantastic. They offer RAD grades plus free vocational classes. The Principal has a son who she trained so she is very good with boys and he is involved with teaching too. Private 1:1 lessons are available too. Pupils from the school have successfully auditioned for top associate schemes such as Royal JA’s, MA’s and SA’s, Elmhurst Young and Extended Dancers, English National Ballet and Ballet Boost. They have an annual show and lots of the students regularly compete in festivals and progress through to Regional and International AED competitions. They also offer all genres of dance and Musical Theatre. Highly recommend ⭐️🩰 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMothDancer Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Hello! welcome to the south west! As someone based in Exeter everywhere looks close until you have to actually drive it - and traffic is fairly awful both within and getting out of the city! Happy to hear your son loves his dancing. Euridge and Exeter Academy have good reputations in terms of pupil successes within Exeter... DanSci have lovely studios, principal was Northern Ballet trained and is lovely, school focuses on safe practice and friendly atmosphere - I go as an adult dancer. Wide range of classes and private lessons. The Ballet Boost classes are held here Woodbury Dance is a small studio founded by the Hong Kong ballet founder, they are ballet focused - just outside Exeter. Traditional ballet shows and RAD exams. Totnes School and Buckingham Dance have good reputations in South Devon - more like an hour's drive. The A38 can be incredibly busy at peak times. If you're in the north part of the city, Trull in Taunton could be an accessible option - 45 minutes to an hour up the M5 motorway. For the serious minded, associate programs - RBS run in Totnes and Bath; London Studio Centre in Hereford (about 2.5 hours drive); Ballet Boost in Exeter. Bristol Russian Ballet is going to be a trek for regular classes but pretty sure they do programs in the Easter and summer breaks. Devon Dance Centre in Totnes are a Cecchetti school and seem to hold regular workshops with visiting dancers. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMothDancer Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Most studios will offer free trial class(es) so worth having a visit to a few and getting a feel of the teaching, culture and other students. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clara Voirol Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 2 hours ago, BlueMothDancer said: Hello! welcome to the south west! As someone based in Exeter everywhere looks close until you have to actually drive it - and traffic is fairly awful both within and getting out of the city! Happy to hear your son loves his dancing. Euridge and Exeter Academy have good reputations in terms of pupil successes within Exeter... DanSci have lovely studios, principal was Northern Ballet trained and is lovely, school focuses on safe practice and friendly atmosphere - I go as an adult dancer. Wide range of classes and private lessons. The Ballet Boost classes are held here Woodbury Dance is a small studio founded by the Hong Kong ballet founder, they are ballet focused - just outside Exeter. Traditional ballet shows and RAD exams. Totnes School and Buckingham Dance have good reputations in South Devon - more like an hour's drive. The A38 can be incredibly busy at peak times. If you're in the north part of the city, Trull in Taunton could be an accessible option - 45 minutes to an hour up the M5 motorway. For the serious minded, associate programs - RBS run in Totnes and Bath; London Studio Centre in Hereford (about 2.5 hours drive); Ballet Boost in Exeter. Bristol Russian Ballet is going to be a trek for regular classes but pretty sure they do programs in the Easter and summer breaks. Devon Dance Centre in Totnes are a Cecchetti school and seem to hold regular workshops with visiting dancers. Thank you very much, it's helpful. I'm m considering lessons on Saturday morning, would you know if their is traffic at the time to get out of Exeter ( I'm gonna live in at Thomas ) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate_N Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I do love the atmosphere at DanSci, but it's probably not for serious ballet study once a child gets to the pre-pro stage (at about 11 or 12). However, at 7 years old, your DS has some time yet! DanSci does a lot of work to get boys dancing - their street dance, and acrobatics/circus classes might be fun for him, and he can do ballet elsewhere. At 7, he won't need to do more than 3 ballet classes a week. DanSci run taster classes and summer sessions where you can try out new things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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