Octagon Studios Performing Arts Centre

**STUDENT SPOTLIGHT - HELENA**

We are extremely proud of our former pupil Helena, who has had a very exciting few years!

Helena started classes with The Octagon Studios at a very young and her talent was evident immediately. At the age of just 5, she won her first Classical Ballet trophy, representing The Octagon Studios. Helena continued to win numerous Ballet competitions, often competing against children older than her. At the age of 9, Helena was accepted as a Junior associate of the world renowned Royal Ballet School,London, where she attended weekly classes as well as her regular classes at The Octagon Studios. During her time as a Royal Ballet School Associate, Helena was chosen to perform in Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at The Royal Albert Hall.

At the age of 11, Helena successfully auditioned and accepted a full time place at the highly prestigious ballet school - Elmhurst, which is closely linked to Birmingham Royal Ballet.

During her time at The Octagon studios, Helena performed in many of our productions and took numerous ballet exams, always achieving Distinction's (the highest possible category)

Helena is now living and training full time at Elmhurst and is loving her time there.

We are very proud of Helena and of all that she has achieved at such a young age.

Her talent was always evident, but her hard work and determination has taken her to the next level. We are so excited for what the future holds for Helena❤️

**CINDERELLA**
Wow, what a wonderful show by our Senior school ballet pupils last week!
To say I’m proud of our dancers is an understatement. Our pupils have worked so unbelievably hard over the past few months to get this show stage ready and they sure did a fantastic job of it!
We are always incredibly proud of the high standard our pupils consistently achieve. The level of ballet technique, the performance quality and the professionalism of our performers was outstanding.
Well done to all involved ❤️

CINDERELLA IS HERE!!

After many weeks of rehearsals, we are thrilled that it’s finally performance day ❤️

We can’t wait to perform our beautiful ballet production of Cinderella to two packed out audiences, at The Maltings today.

Below is a sneaky peak of some behind the scenes photos to get you excited!!

All 70 cast members will be arriving to prepare for our first performance of the day ☺️

**CINDERELLA** - TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!
The much loved fairytale of Cinderella is brought to life in this full-length classic ballet, performed by the talented dancers of The Octagon Studios Performing Arts Centre.

Sunday 28th January 2024
THE MALTINGS, ELY
Shows at 1.30pm & 5pm

Tickets can be purchased at ticketsource.co.uk/the-octagon-studios

Tickets are selling fast so buy early to avoid disappointment!

BRAND NEW ADULT TAP CLASS - STARTING SEPTEMBER!!

Tuesdays 8 - 9pm

The Octagon Studios, Ely High Street

To book a FREE taster class, please contact us now!!

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07923 934083

BALLET EXAMS

A very well deserved well done to some of our Senior pupils that took their ballet exams yesterday.

We are incredibly proud to have pupils taking grade 6, Intermediate, Advanced and Associate exams. All of these are high level exams which take a great deal of work and dedication to achieve.

The pupils represented The Octagon perfectly, dancing beautifully and demonstrating their wonderful technique. ❤️

SUMMER SHOWCASE 23!!

WOW, what a weekend he had!!

We had over 130 of our super talented pupils performing over 3 shows at The Maltings Theatre last weekend.

It was our biggest show to date and every single cast member made us extremely proud.

We are so proud of the hugely talented pupils we have at The Octagon and of the high standards of dance technique we consistently achieve.

Everyone performed beautifully and with confidence, it really was a joy to see.

A very big well done to everyone involved!!

PUPIL SUCCESS!!

Following on from our exciting news regarding our new affiliation with The London Ballet Company, we are thrilled to share the recent achievements of one of our very talented pupils, Helena.

During the summer, Helena successfully gained a place as a Royal Ballet School Junior Associate. The Royal Ballet School is world renowned as one of the top Ballet schools, not just in this country, but the world, so to gain a place is a huge achievement!! Helena now attends the Royal Ballet school in Covent Garden, London every Saturday.

Subsequently, this also led to Helena being asked to perform with The Birmingham Royal Ballet Company at The Royal Albert Hall over the Christmas period, in their production of The Nutcracker. A truly amazing experience and accomplishment for any young dancer.

Helena is a very talented and extremely hard working pupil, we couldn't be more proud of her wonderful successes, all of which are thoroughly deserved.

Helena has been training with us since the age of 3 years, and continues too attend our mid week classes. Over the years, Helena has performed many times in both our Summer Shows and Ballet productions, as well as representing The Octagon in various Dance Festivals and competitions. She has taken a number of Ballet exams, her most recent being Grade 4, where she gained a Distinction, receiving a very high score of 90 marks.

We are very excited to see watch Helena's Ballet journey and see where her talent will take her.

Well done Helena!!

We’ve kept quiet about this up until now but we’re very proud to announce that we are now an official affiliate school of The London Ballet Company!!

We are one of very few schools to be awarded this opportunity, which was gained after The London Ballet Compnay director watched one of our classes and was hugely impressed by the talent of our pupils and the standard of teaching.

This is VERY exciting and will bring many opportunities for our students.
The first team up we have is a workshop at the end of February where the company will come to visit us here in Ely to deliver 2 x workshops for Juniors and Seniors.
Don't miss this amazing opportunity!
More details will follow shortly……

The London Ballet Company

**SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022**

We are thrilled to be taking bookings for our ever popular dance, musical theatre and Acro & Aerial Hoop summer schools.

We have a variety of Summer Schools ranging in age from 4 - 18 years and in a range of styles. For more experienced dancers, don't miss out on the chance to perform in Ely Cathedral with our Dance Divine Summer School, working with teachers and choreographers from the performing arts industry!

Don't miss out on your chance to join us!

Non-members very welcome!

For more info or to book your place, please email [email protected] or call 07923 934083.

** SUMMER SHOWCASE TICKETS - ON SALE NOW!! **

We are extremely excited that our Summer Showcase tickets are on sale now and are selling fast.

Featuring over 100 of our pupils, ranging from 3 years - 16 years, our annual showcase performance is a wonderful opportunity to see our very talented pupils on stage. With an array of dance styles, including Tap, Ballet, Jazz and Acro amongst others, its sure to be a fun filled show that you will enjoy from strat to finish!

Click on the link below to book your tickets now!

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/The-Octagon-Studios

THE NUTCRACKER

Wow, is all I can say!!

It's been a week since our production of The Nutcracker and what a production it was.

To say I am proud is an understatement. There was so much talent on show and every single cast member danced and performed so beautifully. The Nutcracker truly is a wonderful and magical ballet ❤️

A huge well one to each and every cast member!!

THE NUTCRACKER

**TICKETS ON SALE NOW**

Share in the magic and the beauty of the most festive ballet, The Nutcracker.
Join Clara as she embarks on a magical adventure with her enchanted Nutcracker Prince doll at her side. Growing Christmas trees, dancing snowflakes and the Sugar Plum Fairy are just some of the highlights in this wonderful ballet that all the family will delight in.
Performed by the talented pupils of The Octagon Studios at Ely's premier theatre venue, The Maltings on Sunday November 28th, 3pm & 6.30pm

For tickets call 07923 934083 or email [email protected].
Ticket also available at select times, from our Dance Shop located on Ely High Street (for more info on shop times please email)

Octagon Studios Performing Arts Centre The Octagon Studios - Ely's Performing Arts Centre

Happy World Ballet Day Everyone!!!

Octagon Studios Performing Arts Centre The Octagon Studios - Ely's Performing Arts Centre

GCSE DANCE
NEW COURSE STARTING SEPTEMBER!!

We are very proud to have achieved A*/A by 100% of our GCSE Dance pupils over the last 4 years.

We offer excellent teaching and small class sizes, all from our fully mirrored dance studios on Ely High Street.

Performing opportunities available for all GCSE Dance pupils

We accept pupils in year 8 and above (previous Dance experience is essential)

If you are interested in joining our new course starting in September, please email [email protected] or call 07923 934083 for more info

Octagon Studios Performing Arts Centre The Octagon Studios - Ely's Performing Arts Centre

GCSE DANCE RESULTS!!

Wow, what fantastic results for our GCS Dance pupils, achieving 3 x 9s, 1 x 8 and 2 x 7s (6 x A*/A grade).....amazing!!

They have worked extremely hard over the last two years and thoroughly deserve the exceptional results. We are very proud of every single one of them.....well done 🤩🤩🤩

TODAY WE FINALLY GET TO RETURN TO THE STUDIO!!!

After 4 months of remote teaching we absolutely can not wait to get back to the studio. In the last 4 months we are very proud to have taught nearly 250 classes via Zoom and have even held Ballet assessments via Zoom. But nothing can beat teaching face to face (socially distanced of course :-)) We are so excited to welcome all our pupils back and to also be welcoming new pupils too.

See you in the studio 😊

If you are an existing pupil and haven't already signed up for this half term or are a new pupil wanting to come along for a free taster class, please email [email protected] for more info.

LA BOUTIQUE FANTASQUE....A YEAR AGO TODAY!!

I can't quite believe our beautiful production of La Boutique Fantasque was a year ago today. What a crazy year it has been since then!!
We can't wait to get back to the studio on the 12th April 🥳🥳 ....not long to wait now ❤