Below is information you will need for the running of the day - we apologise it has to be so tightly ran but hope you will appreciate how much we all have to get through.
Process of the days (Friday 17th, Friday 24th, Tuesday 28th October)
Students need to be physically/vocally warmed up and waiting outside the door of Studio 1 5 minutes before their start time for filming. For warm up, Studio 6/7 will be open but there must be a parent in attendance at all times for safety purposes.
We must adhere to this schedule very tightly to allow us to enter all of these pieces and to be fair to everyone entering.
Please no waiting on the landing unless you are the next piece to film to avoid noise on the videos.
Each piece will be filmed twice in its allocated slot but no more.
Parents are welcome downstairs in the lobby/changing room to help with changing please no one in Studio 1 other than the teachers and those filming.
Students can also practice/warm up in Studio 2 but please everyone be wary to allow each other fair use of the space.
These schedules are set to allow for changes so we cannot change any times now.
Costume, Hair & Make-up
Please have hair in a slick bun with 1" parting - hair should not be changed between dances unless absolutely necessary or you have a significant gap between pieces.
Forget About the Boy is scheduled last to allow for the wigs to be put on correctly.
Please make sure everyone is wearing full stage make-up - even more so than usual as the camera washes everyone out!
Please ensure correct tights/shoes are on when entering the studio, as if we need to send someone back down to change this will unfortunately eat into their slot.
Other info
Musical Theatre that needs adjusting for more dance & Ballet Repertoire that needs choosing - these have been scheduled towards the end and we will be in touch very shortly about this.
Invoices will be sent over the next week and need paying before the deadline please so we can secure the entries.
Results are released the first week of December.
If you need a letter to be excused from school and haven't already emailed in, please do so and we will get this to you early next week.
As you will see, we have needed to put some of the Small Groups on Friday 24th as we couldn't fit all of them into half term.
Best of luck to everyone for the filming - we will have a great time and it will be lovely to see all their fantastic work in the studio.
For various reasons, we have taken a break from sending groups to Dance World Cup for 5+ years.
It has been announced that DWC 2026 is taking place just over the sea in Dublin, Ireland (it usually takes place in a European city) This presents a slightly different scenario with a trip to Ireland being so close by.
Therefore this email is simply a registration of interest whether you feel you would be in a position to attend DWC as part of a group entry, along with the usual solos, duets, trios & quartets.
This is not a guarantee that groups will be entered. We cannot make any decisions regarding groups until we have a register of interest from everyone.
Our priority is the students’ training and therefore we would ask that this is also your priority. This is an expensive undertaking, and we would not like to see any student’s weekly training compromised for attendance at DWC.
Fundraising is one way to create additional funds to help with the cost of travel/accommodation. This would need to be headed up by the parents, with some guidelines from GSDTA.
Dance World Cup is a wonderful opportunity and is a very different environment from the festivals we attend here in England. DWC is held also as a convention, with workshops, an opening parade, stalls for shopping and the opportunity to explore another part of the world.
Places at the finals are awarded by video submissions from each country.
Costs to consider: Dance World Cup is a business, not a charity like All England Festivals.
Video submission entry fees:
Solos: 15 Euro per student
Duet/Trios: 6 Euro per student
Group (inc. Quartet) 3 Euro per student
Registration fee: 12 Euro per student
This is not including filming/editing/administration/upload costs which is a necessary additional as a very lengthy process. Any professional video recordings from festivals are preferred and will be at less cost as no filming/editing necessary. For all ballpark figure, for 2025 entry a film, edit, admin and upload for a solo was £34.50.
Finals entry fees – these are per piece:
Solos: 70 Euro per student
Duet/Trios: 40 Euro per student
Quartet: 27 Euro per student
Small Groups: 27 Euro per student
Large Groups: 22 Euro per student
Event Fee: (paid by all attending) 75 Euro per student
This is with no administrative costs, and the prices may change for the 2026 finals.
Also to consider:
· Team England kit, flights, accommodation, fees for props to be taken over, additional rehearsals.
· The finals take place between AED Regional and National Finals in 2026, at the end of June/beginning of July.
· The audition videos must be submitted by November 2025, hence our planning now.
· There is not a Musical Theatre section at DWC, it is Song and Dance, so some pieces may need adjusting to fit this brief better. There is also no Character section, these may be submitted into “Showstopper” dependant on piece. Classical Greek comes under “National and Folklore”
· Some time limits are also different and therefore things may need cutting
· Boys and girls are split in the majority of sections
· The age groups are very different at DWC, with date taken on 1st January, for instance if your child turns 10 in November 2025, they will be in Children’s, not Minis.
Minis: 9 years & under
Childrens: 13 years & under
Juniors: 17 years & under
Seniors: 25 years & under
From the video submissions, 1st to 5th place in each section gain a place at finals in the first round, there is then a second round of results where places 6th to 10th place may be offered a spot at finals.
We must reiterate we are by no means pressuring anyone into attending as part of a group, but we feel with the Finals being so nearby for 2026, we should register interest. Please do not email in explaining your reason for not wanting to enter, as we, as a school, completely understand either way.
If you have any questions, we will try our best to answer.