By Miss Douglas-White, PE & Dance Teacher 

On Monday the 6th of December seven dancers from NHEHS – Carmen H-S (Year 10), Alice R (Year 13), Amber B-M (Year 13), Harriet R (Year 12), Carmel W (Year 13), Juliet K (Year 13) and Zara S (Year 10) took part in the annual GDST Day of Dance, which this year was held at an iconic new venue, Base Dance Studios.  With Covid restrictions meaning the annual event could not happen in 2020, all 150 students from 21 schools  across the GDST were excited to meet up in person again and learn from some of the world’s top choreographers.

The students were put into cross-school groups and took part workshops where they would learn choreography and routines in different dance styles from professional choreographers.  This meant that the students were able to watch and collaborate with other dancers who might be stronger than they are, and helped them come out of their comfort zone and raise their game. The choice of workshops included Lyrical Jazz, Musical Theatre, Contemporary and Commercial. 

One of the highlights of the day according to the students was the Commercial class with many dancers and their teachers across the GDST commenting on how much they enjoyed it.  Commercial is a dance style which takes elements from many other dance disciples (such as jazz, street, modern and hip hop) and is a combination of them all. The dance style is often seen performed in music videos, live shows, and movies. 

The Commercial class was taught by Alex Schoendorf, who has worked for artists such as Jessie J, and Ellie Goulding and performed on shows such as X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and the Olympics Opening Ceremony.  With this type of resume, the class did not disappoint.  

Zara, one of our NHEHS students, was chosen to perform Alex’s choreography with other dancers from across the GDST and she made it look easy. Zara performed with such confidence and stage presence – we were all very proud of her!

The day was so much fun, and I know just how much the girls loved being part of it.  You can see some of the action here on our Sport Department’s Instagram highlights.

A huge thank you to Kira Bishop from Putney High School who organised such a magical day – we can’t wait for next year!  

For our aspiring dancers here at Notting Hill, we run the following popular Dance Clubs – on Monday lunchtimes for Year 7, Thursdays after school for Senior Dance Club and Fridays before school for Year 9 and at lunchtime for Year 8. Our students at these clubs are all working hard on their group dances for competitions which they will perform in over the next two terms.