Level 2 Contemporary and Commercial Dance

If you love the spotlight and dream of seeing your name in lights, this course is for you! This imaginative and expressive course will nurture your creativity, enhance your performance skills, and teach you about a whole host of performance genres. You will be able to put your talents to the test in our incredible theatre and specialist dance studios, before taking to the stage and showing off your skills. Bring on the applause!

This creative course allows you to develop the practical skills and the underpinning knowledge required to be successful as a dancer/dance artist. Taking part in a variety of practical, structured workshops, you will develop your dance skills across a variety of genres and work collaboratively to rehearse and present a wide range of performing arts productions throughout the year.

The course is vocationally driven, therefore will develop the underpinning skills required for industry. These will include practical/performance skills, audition techniques, marketing materials, professional etiquette, communication skills, and performance collaboration approaches.

In this fast-paced creative industry you’ll have the world at your feet! Whether you want to secure the starring role in the most popular West End show or want to help others realise their potential through teaching, you’re sure to find a way to unleash your talent.

This energetic and exciting course is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career as a dancer, choreographer, or a dance teacher in community and educational settings. Previous students have gone on to run their own dance schools, teach dance in schools and colleges, or become dancers on television, in theatre or on cruise ships. This course is ideal if you wish to further develop your creative, performance and technical skills in order to progress on to university or employment within the performing arts industry.

The course focuses on developing practical and performance skills rather than preparing you for an exam, and all theory will underpin the live projects and performances you are undertaking. Each successful applicant will become a member of the college’s resident dance company ‘Company Boom’, where students will learn the processes of being a member of a professional dance company.

The course is designed to develop technique and performance skills in commercial and contemporary dance styles including ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary.

The course is vocationally driven and will therefore not include exams. Assessment will take place through project-based work where the emphasis is on you developing your skills and performing.

The University of the Arts (UAL) qualification requires you to gain knowledge of contextual studies and research techniques as well as develop rehearsal skills, perform, and reflect on your personal development and skills. You will take part in at least four performances a year, including a Christmas pantomime, a choreography competition, dances as a member of Company Boom, and a final musical theatre performance. You will also be given the opportunity to develop production skills in lighting, make-up, costume, and set design.

After successfully completing this course, you will have the skills and knowledge needed to progress on to employment or further education. You may wish to continue your studies at Warrington & Vale Royal College to complete your Level 3 Diploma in Contemporary & Commercial Dance and take your skills to the next level.

Warrington & Vale Royal College is dedicated to enhancing your employability skills and knowledge of your chosen industry. Throughout your course you will take part in guest lecture workshops with employers as well as undertaking live performance projects for local community groups and employers. You will work with a variety of external agencies in order to strengthen your knowledge and experiences, including Culture Warrington, Warrington Museum, Community Objectives, and various professional theatre projects.

The expert tutors on this course have numerous industry contacts, which means you will have access to valuable work experience placements and benefit from meeting industry professionals.

You will be allocated a progress coach who will provide you with support to help you succeed on your study programme and progress on to your chosen career or progression path. We have a team of staff dedicated to providing learning support if required, as well as a Welfare Team that is on hand to offer guidance, support and help when needed. Additionally, eligible students can access a wide range of finance and funding support to help them during their time at college.

Click here for learning support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/learning-support

Click here for finance support: https://wvr.ac.uk/college-life/financial-support

Throughout your course you will be taught by highly skilled staff with both acting and dance specialisms. The tutors in this department have excellent industry connections and are still practicing within the industry, giving you a real-life insight into the performing arts sector, and allowing you to benefit from their experience and expertise.

You will study in a range of excellent performing arts facilities including a well-equipped theatre with sprung floor, staging, lighting, and sound, along with specialist dance studios with sprung floors and floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The course focuses on developing, rehearsing, and performing a wide range of showcases throughout the year, both within college and at external venues.

On this course you will also have the opportunity to take part in enriching local and national trips to acting studios, theatre performances in the West End, and live music performances.

The performing arts department are very proud to be working alongside University of Arts London, who will be the awarding body for this qualification.

If you have a GCSE grade 3 or lower in English and/or maths and wish to study at level 2, you will have to resit English and/or maths as part of your level 2 qualification.

Dance students are required to purchase their own costumes for shows and must wear black clothing for lessons (t-shirt, leggings/jogging bottoms, hoody, jumper).

You are also required to have appropriate dancewear including a black leotard/biketard, pink or black ballet shoes, pink or black tights, and black character shoes. You will also be required to provide your own basic equipment such as notebooks, folders, and pens.