BackStage Academy

The Backstage Academy was established September 2006 by director, Miss Helen Field with the ongoing help and support from The Princes Trust.
Since September 2006 the Backstage Academy has developed into a fantastic school offering babies, children and young adult's professional tuition in drama, singing, dance and musical theatre in a fun and modern way that motivates students to learn through experiential enjoyment of the arts.

The Backstage Academy aims to give tuition in a way that:

• Improves practical performance skills in performing arts
• Give an understanding into all aspects of the arts including the technical side such as costume, lighting, sound, make-up, music production etc
• Give students a solid learning to work from which could lead into the actual performing arts profession through experience and / or qualifications
• Gives students an environment to build up their confidence and self-esteem
• Gives students a chance to learn through fun and laughter in a highly motivated and safe environment whilst building friendships through structured teamwork

The main aim at Backstage is to try to offer the local children a performing arts school which is fresh, modern and offering opportunities they would not normally get from living in a rural area.
We are enthusiastically supported by our principle sponsor Econo-med along with the South Holland District Council through Community Development and Sports Development and together we feel we can continue to offer the highest level of tuition for the lowest possible price. Our aim is to give our students a performing arts school in which they feel they can grow confidently in performance whilst also learning all the real issues surrounded by performing arts.
The Backstage Academy is a haven for performers and all Backstage staff work extremely hard to make these sessions magical by adapting teaching methods continuously to bring the best out of every student. We try very hard to make each session unique to stop repetitiveness and strive to use various resources to capture the students imagination creating motivation to learn e.g. DVD clips, music stimulus, handouts etc.

Miss Helen Field set up this session for one main reason which is 'As a child I craved for a school where I could go with my friends to have fun and learn all the new and modern aspects of performing arts I wanted to learn. I wanted to know what it felt like to stand on a West End stage with the audience just waiting to be wowed by what we were going to perform. I wanted to know how to make myself look like a character I wanted to create through make-up, hair and costume. I wanted to know what it was like to be in the recording studio and know what all the buttons and slider things do. I wanted to know how I can light a stage and I wanted to know the difference between a pirouette and jazz slide. I wanted to be taken seriously that I love to perform and want to do it for as long as possible. I wanted to be treated with respect and equality, knowing that my teachers did not have favourites and that my hard work would be recognised by everyone, even if it was just a quick well done whisper in the ear. I wanted to be surrounded by people that had the same passion I did. I lived, breathed and craved for music. Being a child in the modern world can be a cruel place, especially the cut-throat business of performing arts, but I wanted to create a place that makes a youngster feel safe and able to grow in their own way and in their own time. We can't protect our students from the world but we can try to help them find their way and support them through education and knowledge

The Backstage Academy offers fantastic and unique tuition in the most up to date formats constantly adapting the themes and teaching techniques to meet the individual learning needs of the student so that they can develop to reach their fullest potential at a pace designed specifically for them.
Backstage strives to work towards giving each student an equal chance to perform and show their work to others in a loving, encouraging environment aiming to build up their confidence gradually. Friendship and fun is always the key to bring out the best in a student and Backstage will enhance this through performance workshop.
The Backstage Academy of Performing Arts is based in the dance studio within the Peele Leisure Centre at Long Sutton designed for our every performance need within the local community. As well as our regular classes we now have the delight in offering the BTEC Performing Arts Course through the brand new South Holland Post-16 Centre at Spalding, which also offers fantastic professional facilities in performance.

Performances include two main shows a year performed at the Kings Lynn Corn Exchange and one performance at a West End theatre as part of the Young Performers Variety Show 2009. Individual BTEC performances will also take place throughout the year at various local venues.