Exeter College students dance their way into top Conservatoires

The recent pandemic has shown that a whole generation of students can adapt and excel, even in extreme circumstances. 

For vocational subjects, it has perhaps been an even bigger challenge. Yet dance students at Exeter College have taken this as an opportunity to not only hone their dance technique but to learn new skills such as filming and editing. This has enabled them to virtually audition for some of the country’s most prestigious University and Conservatoire Dance courses. 

Current students have been given a range of conditional and unconditional offers at institutions such as Bird College, Trinity Laban, Addict Academy, Wilkes Academy, London Studio Centre, London Contemporary Dance School and UEL, Middlesex, Falmouth, Chichester, De Montfort, Greater Brighton Metropolitan and Kingston Universities. 

“We are incredibly proud of our dance students who have been so disciplined and driven whilst in lockdown, working hard to continue with their creative and technical development.”

Catherine Lee – Programme Leader for Dance

Sam Spurling, a student studying on the UAL (University of the Arts London) Extended Diploma in Performing and Production Arts (Dance) will be progressing to Falmouth University to study Dance and Choreography and hopes to move into Choreography and Film Production. She talked to us about being back at College after studying at home for so long.

 “It’s really nice. I love jumping and just going from one end of the room to the other, you can do that here and really feel like you’re flying. We just get on so well as a group and we have a laugh and have fun and it’s so good to be back together again.”

Programme Leader for Dance, Catherine Lee said: “We are incredibly proud of our dance students who have been so disciplined and driven whilst in lockdown, working hard to continue with their creative and technical development.  

“As lecturers we continued to challenge them by introducing them to filming dance on location, as well as how current dance professionals are surviving in a global pandemic. We were delighted with how they embraced this medium, producing some high-quality pieces of work and attending live stream workshops by dance artists and choreographers they had discovered through their research.” 

Emma Wyke, Programme Leader in Dance added: “Our students fully immersed themselves in the dance industry and how it has been affected by the pandemic. This awareness has undoubtedly helped prepare and equip them for their own futures in the creative arts, at a time when the survival of the arts in education and as an industry, is at a turning point.” 

These students will be joining other Exeter College alumni who are working for National Dance Companies, Theatres and Agencies across the UK and in Europe. 

If you are interested in studying dance with us, then register for our next virtual open event on Tuesday 20th April. 

Search our School Leavers course pages to find out more about the Dance courses on offer. 

Read more about the Dance Studio on the facilities pages