Emily Gains Place at Prestigious Ballet Company

Emily Hall (17), a Level 3 National Extended Diploma Performing Arts (Dance) student at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has gained a place at Ballet West, a prestigious ballet company based in Scotland.  

Emily has continued her studying of dance since lockdown with support from her lecturers online and with access to online resources at their disposal. Sarah Collyer, Lecturer in Performing Arts (Dance) at SERC said, “Everyone on the dance course at SERC is delighted that Emily will be taking up a place on the BA (Hons) Ballet course with the prestigious Ballet West. Ballet West has a reputation for producing world-class professional dancers so there is a high level of competition to secure a place on this degree. We are over the moon that Emily used her training on the Level 3 Performing Arts (Dance) course to shine at audition. The teaching team are using Microsoft Teams to stay connected with our student dancers and deliver theory lectures. Our dancers are sent links to online classes and using OneDrive or WeTransfer and they send in recordings of the practical demonstrations for feedback and correction.  

“SERC is the only provider for full-time dance study in Northern Ireland. This is a lifeline for many young dancers who, otherwise, have to move to Scotland or England to study dance full-time, incurring annual expensive tuition fees and living costs.”  

Emily said, “I'm delighted to be going to Ballet West in September. I got a double Distinction Star in my BTEC National Diploma Performing Arts (Dance) which fulfilled the UCAS requirements and secured an unconditional offer for Ballet West's BA (Hons) Ballet. I have been working towards getting a place at a full-time ballet school for some time - I have been studying ballet since I was 3 years old, so this is my dream come true.  

“I am currently completing the BTEC Extended Diploma in Performing Arts (Dance) somewhat differently from what was expected due to the lockdown. SERC has made changes to delivery to ensure our classes and learning continues via online classes and tutorials. It has also meant that all students have had to be creative to ensure that our assessments can continue. I don’t usually dance about the garden but when you need space to record a performance for feedback and assessment it was the place to go.  

Emily added, “I believe that the move to online learning has been very important in helping me keep my skills and fitness up in preparation for full-time training. I’m very grateful for all the help and support from my tutors at SERC and I would highly recommend this course for anyone who is wishing to study dance at a higher level. The different styles studied brought me out of my comfort zone and have helped me become a more all-round dancer. I have loved my time at SERC and will miss all my tutors and friends next year. 

Emily has been awarded a SERC Excellence Award.  

For more information on the dance course at SERC, click here 

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