Over the past 2 years a new performing arts school has emerged as one of the most exciting and dynamic school in our area. The Lisa Jay Stage Institute opened it’s doors in the July of 2008 and has since gone from strength to strength with over 350 pupils now attending regular classes at the institute.
We caught up with principal Lisa Jay recently and asked her what she thought was the secret to the school’s success. “Right from the outset, I wanted to create an environment where every student matters and all who attend our classes are given the same opportunities” commented Lisa."I have a very professional and dedicated team of teachers and staff who help me to ensure that all of our pupils can fulfil their true potential” It was probably this ethos that led Lisa to create the Lisa Jay Stage Institute Scholarship, This award covers a full years tuition cost for one pupil of the Stage Institute and is awarded every December. Before opening the Stage Institute Lisa earned her stripes in the very competitive professional performing arts industry, earning her Equity membership and providing her with the essential experience she now enjoys passing on to the students of the stage institute.
Lisa began her career as a dancer, very quickly forming her own dance company, and moved on to direct, produce and choreograph at a professional level, all of which gave the opportunity to work with some of the very biggest names in showbiz! Lisa is now an Affiliated member of the Royal Academy of Dancing, A graduate of RAD and ISTD in Ballet/Modern and Tap and the stage institute is registered with the International Dance Teachers Association. A quick look at the Stage Institute time table gives you a glimpse of the wide variety of classes that students can take part in. There are sessions to cover the main disciplines of Ballet Tap and Modern, but also more contemporary classes such as Musical Theatre, Singing, Gymnastics, Street Dance, Ballroom, Cheer Leading, Belly Dancing, Hip Hop and even Circus Workshops. It’s clear from talking to Lisa that she lives and breaths the stage institute, she is passionate about the school and it’s pupils and is driven to ensure all who attend not only learn but thoroughly enjoy themselves. A recent round of exams at the school has shown how the pupils hard work and dedication has paid off with a 100% pass rate and some very good feedback from the examiners.
So what does the future hold for this thriving performing arts school? “We will of course continue to offer our regular classes in term time, but this summer we have a very exciting programme of workshops planned. We will then of course start working towards our next big production that will be held at the Embassy Theatre in 2011.
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