We'd love to welcome you to our FHSD dance family...

Term 4 classes start 26 April 2021 

BIGGAR BRANCH 

Fridays  (FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre)

9.30am     Baby Stars (30 mins)    

10.15am   Tiny Stars (45 mins)    

11.10am   Tiny Stars (45 mins)

12.05pm   Little Stars Ballet (45 mins)        

2.00pm     Tiny Stars (45 mins) 

MOFFAT BRANCH 

Thursdays (Proudfoot Institute)

2.00pm      Baby Stars/Tiny Stars (30 mins)

2.40pm      Little Stars Ballet (30 mins)

3.20pm      Little Stars Highland (30 mins)

PEEBLES BRANCH

Thursdays ( FHSD Studios)

9.15am     Tiny Stars (30 mins)

Fridays  (FHSD Studios)

9.15am      Baby Stars (30 mins)

10.00am    Little Stars Acro (45 mins)

10.55am    Little Stars Ballet (45 mins)

Saturdays (Breathe Yoga Studio)

9.00am      Tiny Stars (45 mins)

9.55am      Little Stars Highland (45 mins)

10.50am    Little Stars Stage -Tap & Modern combined (45 mins)

11.45am    Little Stars Ballet (45 mins)

Sundays  (FHSD Studios)

9.15am       Baby Stars (30 mins)

10.00am     Tiny Stars (45 mins)

11.00am     Baby Stars (30 mins)

PENICUIK BRANCH

Wednesdays (Glencorse Centre, Auchendinny)

9.30am       Baby Stars (30 mins)

10.15am     Tiny Stars (45 mins)

11.10am     Tiny Stars (45 mins)

12.10pm     Little Stars Ballet (45 mins)

All 30 minute classes cost £3.60 inclusive of VAT

All 45 minute classes cost £5.40 inclusive of VAT

If you book your child in for two or more consecutive Little Stars classes, they will be looked after between classes and you do not need to return to the studio in between each class.

Discounts Scheme

We also operate a discount scheme per household as follows;

• 3 classes attended per household = 7.5% discount
• 4 classes or more per household  = 10% discount

Dance for pre-school children has come a long way in recent years and studies are now regularly being published about the health, developmental and social benefits of dance for toddlers and pre-schoolers. But why should parents choose Dance over other activities?

Having taught dance for over 35 years I can honestly say that the classes I concentrate on the most are the toddlers and pre-schoolers! Pupils are challenging one minute then brilliant fun the next, they are totally sweet then really difficult within the same 60 seconds, their minds work at 100 miles an hour and teachers have to work really hard to keep a class on track

Some children come into classes very shy and retiring, clinging to parents’ legs and cry when their parent leaves them in this strange place with a strange lady……however nice she might be. To these parents I always say ‘disappear out the room quickly, listen at the door if you are concerned, but 9 times out of 10 your child will settle down and get on with the joy of learning dance in their new surroundings. The longer you remain, the longer they will take to settle. It may take a few weeks of trying, but they will settle and start to enjoy classes’.

I use an example very often to parents of a 16 (almost 17) year old I currently teach. She came to me aged 4, was very quiet and retiring, wouldn’t take part in her first show despite the lure of a pale blue sequined tutu……now, 12 years later she is one of my most confident performing dancers – she acts, sings, dances and needs absolutely no encouragement to take to the stage. Dance gives children that confidence. Every time they master a new skill they achieve a sense of accomplishment, the longer it takes to master then the greater the sense of achievement, this impacts on their levels of self-belief and these stepping stones are the building block of their confidence. This confidence building starts in pre-school dance classes.

Then there’s the opposite. A child that runs into the room, already confident, wants to tell you their life story without taking a breath, whilst running around in circles, raring to go. Needing to burn off energy, often followed by a parent desperately trying to keep up with them. These children give teachers a different challenge – they aren’t crying that Mum or Dad’s gone – they haven’t even noticed! A good dance teacher will employ this child’s mind and energy with learning to jump like Tigger, run like a Disney princess, dance like a fairy, or gallop like a unicorn. This child has no fear, but they need occupation, their limbs need to operate with control. Through exercises in dance classes created with story-telling and imagination, these children learn co-ordination, muscle development, balance and concentration. One such girl, walked through my door when she was 4 years old. She was a “mighty girl”, full of determination and attitude. She is now 13 and a co-ordinated, articulate, clever and witty young lady. She works hard in her dancing classes and is a pleasure to teach.

It is of course not right to generalise as all children are unique and should be treated as such. There are lots of things to learn in dance which help children as they grow up and develop and I have touched on just a few. Dance gives - confidence, self-belief, self-worth, co-ordination, concentration, muscle tone, self-control, self-discipline, expectation setting, team work, lefts and rights and counting……………but I haven’t touched on balance, spacial awareness, posture, musicality and memory, all of which are started in the pre-school years but are further developed in primary school aged children……….but that's for another day…

Fiona Henderson

Principal and Artistic Director

(first published in Peebles Life)