Please see our new timetables for Monday below. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Berry on 0114 246 6126.
| 4.30-5.15 | Grade 2 Ballet | Grade 3 Modern |
| 5.15-6.00 | Grade 3 Ballet | Grade 4 Modern – boys |
| 6.00-6.45 | Boys Ballet | Grade 5 Modern |
| 6.45-7.45 | Inter Ballet with Pointe | Advanced 1 Theatre Craft |
| 7.45-8.30 | Stretch Class | |
| 8.30-9.30 | Advanced 1 Ballet with Pointe | Pre-Associate Theatre Craft Part 2 |
Cinderella Pantomime Auditions – Monday 7th September 2015 6.00pm-7.00pm at St Thomas More. 
Six girls are required to make a team of juveniles for this years Christmas pantomime at Rotherham Civic Theatre. Auditionees must be strong dancers and performers as they will be required to act and sing.
The selected children must be 7 years and older and no taller than 4ft 11ins. They must be committed and available to attend all rehearsals and show performances which run from 2nd December 2015 to 10th January 2016.
The first rehearsal dates are:
Monday 5th October – 4.30-7.30
Monday 19th October – 4.30-7.30
Monday 2nd November – 4.30-7.30
(All rehearsals must be attended and further dates will be confirmed)
Performance dates for this team have not yet been confirmed but you must be available for all shows.
Anyone wishing to attend the audition must call or send a private message to Mrs Berry or Miss Rebecca.
Please find below our timetable for Saturday class. Term commences 5th September at St Thomas More Community Centre.
If you would like to begin dancing with us for the first time, please call Mrs Berry to arrange on 0114 246 6126. We will be delighted to welcome new pupils.
For any clarifications or questions, please contact Mrs Berry on the number above.
| 10.00-10.30 | Juveniles | Preparatory Theatre Craft | Primary Theatre Craft | |
| 10.30-11.00 | Preparatory Tap | Primary Tap | ||
| 11.00-11.30 | Grade 1 Ballet | Preparatory Ballet | Primary Ballet | |
| 11.30-12.00 | Grade 1 Modern | Preparatory Modern | Primary Modern | |
| 12.00-12.30 | Stretch Junior | Stretch Inter | Stretch Boys | |
| 12.30-1.15 | Grade 1 Theatre Craft | Grade 2 Theatre Craft | Grade 3 Theatre Craft | Grade 4 Theatre Craft |
| 1.15-1.30 |
Lunch |
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| 1.30-2.15 | Grade 1 Tap | Grade 2 Tap | Grade 3 Tap | Pre-Associate Theatre Craft |
| 2.15-3.15 | Grade 2 Modern | Grade 5 Tap | Advanced 1 Modern | |
| 3.15-4.15 | Inter Theatre Craft | Advanced 1 Tap | ||
Congratulations are in order for our pupils Jack Skelton and Charlotte Stones who have two sets of very different and very good news. Both of them successfully auditioned for Tap Attack, a tap performance and workshop company with the likes of West End favourite Graeme Henderson on the bill! Having attended their workshops, Charlotte and Jack were invited to audition for the performance company – and we are very proud to say they got in!
In addition to this, Jack was also nominated to dance in the IDTA Scholarships 2016 for his outstanding performance in his Grade 4 Tap exam. Charlotte on the other hand has also discovered that she has been chosen for the role of Head Girl at Stocksbridge High School in the coming year.
Well done to both of you, keep up the good work!
We’re delighted to announce that our school production:
All Good Things
Will take place next summer at the Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield. All our pupils get the chance to dance on a full-sized stage right in the city centre in front of hundreds of people every night. There will be four performances and children dancing in the show will be required in the evenings of the whole show week to attend technical and dress rehearsals. The details of these will be released nearer the time.
Please make a note of these dates in your diary:
Tuesday 12 July 2016 – Technical Rehearsal
Wednesday 13 July 2016 – Dress Rehearsal
Thursday 14 July 2016 – Evening Performance
Friday 15 July 2016 – Evening Performance
Saturday 16 July 2016 – Matinee Performance & Evening Performance
There will also be full-class rehearsals that take place at St Thomas More Community Centre on the following dates:
Thursday 30 June 2016
Saturday 2 July 2016
Details regarding tickets and costumes will be released in due course.
A pirouette down memory lane…
This year’s show theme is a special one, as it celebrates the very best of Berry. As we sashay towards our 35th birthday as a school, we continue to enjoy a long history of achievement and friendship. As the daughters of our first ever pupils learn their shuffle hops, nieces, brothers, twins, grandchildren of our community come together to make a school that is incredibly special. Expect to see old favourites and new showstoppers, danced by our pupils as only they know how, with stretched feet and a foot-long smile!
We now begin the difficult task of narrowing down a shortlist of crowd-pleasers, and we look forward to seeing you in July 2016.
Lifting off from Sheffield’s Lyceum this Christmas will be Prince Ali and now, after an extremely successful audition, nine Berry Babes will be joining him on his magic carpet.
Aladdin is this year’s Christmas pantomime, co-produced by Evolution Pantomimes and Sheffield Theatres. It will run from December 2014 – January 2016. With the most of the star cast yet to be announced, we do know that Sheffield’s favourite dame, Damian Williams, will be returning to play Aladdin’s mum, Widow Twankey.
A day of auditions saw over 260 hopefuls dance their hearts out in order to join the children’s chorus. We are so proud of all our pupils who auditioned and did their best, and would like to congratulate Eva Cadet, Maddie Dunn, Maisie Ganley, Lucy Holcroft, Eleanor Jackson, Megan Moore, Megan Thorpe, Renee Warren and Aliyah Xaba who will be treading the boards of the Lyceum this Christmas.
Well done to all who auditioned and we can’t wait to watch our Berry Babes in December!
Many happy returns to Isabelle Sykes who turns 18 today! Isabelle started dancing class when she was just three years old but holds the record for youngest performance – when she appeared as the Tellytubby sun aged 13 months in a Century in Dance!
Since then Isabelle has taken part in numerous pantomimes, dance festivals and shows including playing the lead role of Annie at Sheffield City Hall! She has voiced Josephine in the BBC Radio 4 drama, On It, which won a prestigious Sony Radio Academy Award in 2012. In addition to assisting classes on Saturday mornings, Issy has won the school’s 30/30 award, which celebrates a pupil who has achieved to the best of their abilities and contributed to the overall life of the school. In recent years Isabelle has played the lead of Cathy Seldon in Tapton School’s production of Singin’ in the Rain, has won a place with the Youth Music Theatre company and has achieved an outstanding 90 marks in her Intermediate Tap exam. 
Isabelle will finish her A Levels next summer which is good news for us because we’ve got her for a whole more year! Issy also recently celebrated an extremely well-deserved win of the Senior Bursary competition at the Two Counties Dance Festival with a performance of her popular Taylor The Latte Boy. Pop the champers Isabelle, and happy birthday! 
Congratulations are in order for our pupil Eve Wilson who turns 18 today!
Eve was just three when she started dancing with Mrs Berry and Miss Gemma was her first teacher. In her first show she did Baby Face and in her second show she loved being in Sailor Tap.
She’s always loved coming to dancing class and her mum Lisa tells us that it’s given so much over the last 15 years. She has made so many great friends and it has given her the confidence, self-belief and tenacity that will be with her for life. 
Eve is hoping to go to Newcastle in September to study Psychology with Business. Hopefully she will continue to dance there (and not just in the night clubs)!
We wish Eve all the best and only ask that she comes back to see us when she’s away broadening her mind at university! Happy birthday to a girl who is beautiful inside and out!
Amanda studied performing arts at the prestigious Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London and began her career touring the country as principal actress with a children’s theatre company. After that she toured with Michelle Breeze as singer/dancer in her variety show and then left for the high seas to work for Celebrity Cruises and then the Italia Prima on a world cruise as a dancer/singer.
Amanda’s first West End credit was in Starlight Express in the principal role of Ashley at the Apollo Theatre.
Her next role was in the original cast of Closer to Heaven, written by the Pet Shop Boys at the Arts Theatre where she also understudied the lead.
She then appeared in the original cast of Jus like that at the Garrick Theatre with Jerome Flynn.
Amanda’s other career highlights include:
– Work on various musical shows and charity galas at the Palace Theatre, the Millennium Stadium and Royal Albert Hall
– Performed in a special production of The Lion King produced for a birthday party for the Scandinavian royal family
– Featured in numerous adverts for Archers, Datec.com, Vodafone, Iceland and Abba Just Dance
– A featured Zombie in the film 28 Weeks Later
– Danced for Robbie Williams on Top of the Pops and for the video of his tour
– Danced and skated for Madonna on her Sorry music video
– Performed on various television shows including The Word, Pebble Mill and Graham Norton
Amanda also formed and runs Muse Artists, a succesful events company providing entertainment for prestigious events like film premieres, perfume launches and huge events at the National History Museum, Hampton Court, the Wallis Collection, Madame Tussauds, and supplied the entertainment for England’s biggest corporate Christmas party company.
Now she runs her own school, All Stars Academy, and she has recently helped coach skaters for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, in which she will also be performing.
She does all this while also looking after her two children!
I started dancing at Sharon Berry School from the age of two. During my 16 years there, I made some truly amazing memories. The people I met there are friends for life, we used to have so much fun in class!
When I got older, I was able to help on Saturday mornings with the younger pupils. I used to love pretending to be fairies and butterflies with the baby class!
Competitions were the best part of the year, and Doncaster Civic was my favourite. I used to love getting up so early and having to put full show hair and makeup on. (And I was normally allowed a McDonald’s breakfast on the way – bonus!)
When I was 18 I moved down to Essex to study at Performers College for my National Diploma. I enjoyed three great years there and met some lovely people. During my time at college I was lucky enough to have some amazing opportunities like dancing at the FA Cup Opening Ceremony at Wembley Stadium and performing in a tribute to the tiller girls at the London Palladium.
Since graduating in 2014, I am now part of a showgirl company called Showgirl Entertainments with whom I have performed in different venues all over the UK. In September 2014, I also worked in Scotland with Circus Vegas as a showgirl. I then went on to perform in Dick Whittington pantomime in Birdwell as part of the ensemble over Christmas 2014.
I am currently soaking up the sun in Malta, working as Dance Captain in a hotel show team.
Berry Academy of Dance 