Dancers take step in the right direction

Seventy students from four schools performed in a ‘Step Around Town’ dance event at Harris Academy Tottenham last week.

It was one of seven events hosted by Step into Dance, a Royal Academy of Dance programme run in partnership with Jack Petchey Foundation. The events bring together more than 400 dancers from 40 groups in seven boroughs across London.

Last week’s event featured performances by groups from local Haringey schools taking part in the dance programme, as well as Harris Academy Tottenham’s BTEC dance students making a guest appearance.

Hanna, a student from Hornsey School for Girls who took part, said: “The day was very good, I really liked all the groups’ performances and I had a lot of fun!”

Step into Dance works with mainstream and special educational needs (SEN) schools across London and Essex to enable and encourage young people to develop their passion, skills and understanding of dance – including those that may not otherwise connect with it. Reaching around 6,000 students annually, Step into Dance is a diverse and inclusive programme of weekly classes, workshops and performance opportunities.

Gerard Charles, artistic director at the Royal Academy of Dance, said: “The Step Around Town events are a fantastic opportunity for students to come together to celebrate with each other, and to experience performing for an audience. It is always inspiring to see the positive results of their work and the diversity of their performances.”