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

BIGGAR BRANCH 

Friday Baby Stars - 10.00am until 10.30am, FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Friday Tiny Stars - 10.45am until 11.30am, FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Friday Primary 1-3 Ballet - 4.15pm until 5.00pm, FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Friday Primary 1-3 Stage - 5.10pm until 5.55pm, FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre
Saturdays Tiny Stars - 9.00am until 9.45am,  FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Saturdays Little Stars Highland - 9.55am until 10.40am,   FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Saturdays Little Stars Stage - 10.50am until 11.35am,  FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

Saturdays Little Stars Ballet - 11.45am until 12.30pm, FHSD Studio, Biggar Arts Centre

HAWICK BRANCH 

Tuesday Little Stars Ballet 4:30 - 5:00pm, Riverside Studio, 17 Commercial Road  

Thursday Little Stars Tap, Modern & Jazz 4:30 - 5:00pm, Riverside Studio, 17 Commercial Road

MELROSE & GALASHIELS BRANCH

Baby Stars 9:15-9:45am Melrose Parish Church Hall   

Tiny Stars 10:00-10:45am Melrose Parish Church Hall  

Little Stars Ballet 10:55-11:40am Melrose Parish Church Hall   

Little Stars Stage 11:50-12:35pm Melrose Parish Church Hall    

PEEBLES BRANCH

Friday Pre-School Baby Stars 9:15 - 9:45am FHSD Studios   

Friday Pre-School Tiny Stars 10:00 - 10:45am FHSD Studios  

Friday Pre-School Little Stars Acrobatic Dance  10:55 - 11:40am FHSD Studios   

Friday Pre-School Little Stars Ballet 11:50 - 12:35pm FHSD Studios    

Saturday Pre-School Tiny Stars 9:00 - 9:45am Breathe Yoga Studio   

Saturday Pre-School Little Stars Highland 9:55 - 10:40am Breathe Yoga Studio   

Saturday Pre-School Little Stars Stage 10:50 - 11:35am Breathe Yoga Studio   

Saturday Pre-School Little Stars Ballet 11:45 - 12:30pm Breathe Yoga Studio    

Sunday Pre-School Baby Stars 9:15 - 9:45am FHSD Studios   

Sunday Pre-School Tiny Stars 10:00 - 10:45am FHSD Studios   

Sunday Pre-School Little Stars Ballet 11:00 - 11:45am FHSD Studios    

All 30 minute classes cost £3.75 inclusive of VAT

All 45 minute classes cost £5.50 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 per household = 7.5% discount
• 4 classes+ 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)