Weymouth

Enthusiastic students from a franchise theatre school got the incredible opportunity to dance with Darcey Bussell and try her new dance fitness workout.

The youngsters all attend Razzamataz Tonbridge, which is part of a national network of theatre schools across the UK. The lucky ‘Darcey Dozen’ were selected to attend the dance class with their dance teacher.

Darcey Bussell is widely acclaimed as one of the great British ballerinas, starting her professional career at Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet then moving to the Royal Ballet where she became a Principal dancer. Today, she is perhaps best known for her role as a judge of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

“I’m incredibly proud of our students who attended the Darcey class,” says Eve Aston, Principal of Razzamtaz Tonbridge. “The group were impeccably behaved and polite, thanking the organisers and the staff for the opportunity, who in turn said how lovely they all were and were welcome back at any time.”

During the class, the students experienced DDMIX (Diverse Dance Mix) taken by Darcey. DDMIX is a series of fun, dance fitness routines devised by Darcey and choreographer Nathan. The series of classes have been created to have themes of different decades or countries of the world. During the class, Darcey taught a routine and danced it with the class to make it great fun for the participants.

The students had a wonderful time as Ray Patel, father of Sasha who attended the class explains: “I think today was one of Sasha’s best days, as Eve gave her the opportunity to dance with Darcey Bussell. We have not heard anything else today from her other than the different things that she did, and how proud she was to represent the school, and what a wonderful fun time she had.”

Razzamataz Tonbridge is part of a network of almost 50 schools and creates ‘triple threat performers’ meaning students leave being skilled in dance, drama and singing. During their time at Razzamataz, they will cover lots of different genres from classic West End musical theatre through to acting for camera, street dance and pop singing. There are lots of opportunities to perform both locally and on the West End stage and the school is proud to continually bring professionals into the school to work with students.

The fun classes are for all children whatever their background or ability and there is a strong focus on keeping fit and active, having fun and making friends. Classes start at age two and go on to 18 and there are lots of opportunities to perform giving children the opportunity to grow in confidence.

Franchisees in each school come from a range of backgrounds including new parents who want a career to fit flexibly around their families, former teachers and young performers.

To find out if franchising is the right option, Razzamataz holds regular Discovery Den days across the UK where potential franchisees get a chance to meet the head office team, find out more about franchising in general and discover what it is like to run a part-time theatre school.

To find out more, contact Head of Franchisee Recruitment Suzie McCafferty. There are also exciting opportunities to take over existing schools. Contact Suzie now to benefit from our offer of up to £6,000 saving! Email: suzie@razzamataz.co.uk or call Suzie on 07793 054 233.

For parents looking for a welcoming theatre school environment for their children, visit the website to book a free taster session. http://www.razzamataz.co.uk/schools/regions/

A theatre school based in Sutton Coldfield are paying for a child to attend school in Uganda, after finding out just how little money it costs for them to access schooling but just how few can afford it.

Nick Furlong and Gemma Hextall are the Principals of Razzamataz Sutton Coldfield and reached out to the Nkuringo Schools Project, who work with the Singing Gorilla Music Schools Project. The organisation works with many children who are peasants or orphans who are trapped in the cycle of poverty, being unable to afford education.

“Another barrier is that the nearest school is too far away and the children would have to board, which again would make this even more financially impossible,” says Gemma. “Something we take for granted here, just to be able to go to school, is impossible for many children in Uganda.”

The successful part-time theatre school is paying for one child to go to school at the Nkuringo Community Vocational Secondary School. To additional support Ronald Byamukama, they will also be providing money for a bed for him to sleep in at the school to board, all his food and his school uniform. This will be paid each year to enable him to continue his education until graduation.

Ronald is 14 and has recently completed his Primary Seven exams with a 2nd grade from Suma primary school. He has three brothers and three sisters and he is the fifth born. His father was Aloyizius Byamukama but unfortunately died. His mother, Clemencia Tumuhirwe, is still alive and is a peasant who does small farming to provide for the children.

“One of the things we love about being Principals of Razzamataz is being part of young people’s lives and helping to shape their future,” says Nick. “The chance to provide Ronald with an education so he can perhaps change his destiny is a real privilege and one that we can share with our students.”

As part of the sponsorship, Razzamataz can send letters and photos to Ronald and will periodically receive pictures and e-mails back through the school to see his progress. “There is also the opportunity to go out to Uganda to visit the school with the project, which we hope to do at some point,” adds Nick.

Razzamataz Sutton Coldfield is part of a network of almost 50 schools and creates ‘triple threat performers’ meaning students leave being skilled in dance, drama and singing. During their time at Razzamataz, they will cover lots of different genres from classic West End musical theatre through to acting for camera, street dance and pop singing. There are lots of opportunities to perform both locally and on the West End stage and the school is proud to continually bring professionals into the school to work with students.

The fun classes are for all children whatever their background or ability and there is a strong focus on keeping fit and active, having fun and making friends. Classes start at age two and go on to 18 and there are lots of opportunities to perform giving children the opportunity to grow in confidence.

Franchisees in each school come from a range of backgrounds including new parents who want a career to fit flexibly around their families, former teachers and young performers.

To find out if franchising is the right option, Razzamataz holds regular Discovery Den days across the UK where potential franchisees get a chance to meet the head office team, find out more about franchising in general and discover what it is like to run a part-time theatre school.

To find out more, contact Head of Franchisee Recruitment Suzie McCafferty. There are exciting opportunities to take over existing schools also. Contact Suzie now to benefit from our offer of up to £6,000 saving! Email: suzie@razzamataz.co.uk or call Suzie on 07793 054 233

For parents looking for a welcoming theatre school environment for their children, click here to visit the website to book a free taster session.

A franchise national theatre school is backing ITV’s This Morning’s newly launched Be Kind Campaign. The idea is to be able to offer key advice and an anti-bullying message following recent powerful interviews focused on bullying and the experienced faced by children and their families.

An important part of the Razzamataz ethos is to instill confidence into each child to help them face life challenges and give them a real sense of purpose. The upbeat atmosphere this creates has resulted in some positive feedback from parents including: “Brooke is having a really super time at Razzamataz Leeds. Not only does she enjoy learning in a fun environment, I can really see the changes and improvements in Brooke’s confidence and overall development as a self-assured young lady.”
Students are also noticing how the performing arts classes are building them up as individuals too as Anna Harris, a student at Razzamataz Sutton Coldfield explains: “Thank you for the great experience and helping us improve our confidence and social life.”

During the Razzamataz sessions, the students often role play various scenes and scenarios that examine different emotions and the motivations for why people act in a certain way. The Be Kind Campaign will help to reinforce this and look at ways to better improve communication between young people.

“I’m 100% behind this campaign. I hope we can save young lives and show the bullies how catastrophic one tweet, one snapchat or one text can be,” explains Phillip Schofield.
There are almost 50 Razzamataz schools across the UK and each one will be looking at ways in which to encourage their students to be kind. Already, Jessica Chandler-Smith, Principal at Razzamataz Brentwood has opened her own community project for children with anxiety, bullying and stress issues. Feedback so far has been overwhelming with one mum explaining: “I just wanted to say thank you so much for tonight. Beth was a little worried about coming but I know she wanted to try. When we got in the car she said how lovely everyone was and how relaxed she felt and that you all understood her. I cannot tell you what a difference you made to my daughter tonight and I am so grateful to everyone who gave up their time to set this group up.”

The Be Kind Campaign also looks at ways in which children can be encouraged to speak up if they are being bullied and also how other children can help. “We’ve had more than 18 years’ experience in working with young people,” says Denise Hutton-Gosney, Founder and MD of Razzamataz. “We know that for many children, Razzamataz is the one place where they can really be themselves and they use the performing arts to help work through any worries they may have. We are delighted to be backing the Be Kind Campaign and would like to use our years of experience to help lend our voice to this important cause.”

Razzamataz supports its franchisees with many national events, resources and inspiring guest workshops with industry experts. Razzamataz franchisees come from all walks of life and various backgrounds. What brings them all together is their love for performing arts and working with children and young people.

To find out if franchising is the right option, Razzamataz holds regular Discovery Den days across the UK where potential franchisees get a chance to meet the head office team, find out more about franchising in general and discover what it is like to run a part-time theatre school.

To find out more, contact Head of Franchisee Recruitment Suzie McCafferty. There are exciting opportunities to take over existing schools also. Contact Suzie now to benefit from our offer of up to £6,000 saving! Email: suzie@razzamataz.co.uk or call Suzie on 07793 054 233.
For parents looking for a welcoming theatre school environment for their children, please click here to book a free taster session.