Perform Drama, Dance & Singing Classes

Perform has run at Christ Church Vision Hall every Wednesday during term time since January 2010. The current summer term runs from 15th April to 15th July — no session on Wednesday 27th May — with the 4–7s group at 4pm and the 7–12s group straight after at 5:05pm, each class an hour long. Teacher Marisa leads the sessions, Producer Rachel organises the local programme, and Area Partner Gemma visits regularly to support the team.

Every session weaves together drama, dance and singing, with a different focus each week. For the 4–7s, activities span movement and coordination games, specially composed songs and tongue-twisters, and character and storytelling work. This summer the group is setting sail on the good ship the Jammy Dodger in the Mermaids & Pirates theme. The 7–12s work on acting and improvisation — vocal projection, physicality and accents among them — alongside movement and speech work; their summer theme is The Dream, drawing on the story of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Class sizes are capped at 22 children, with two Perform staff present every week.

Perform's curriculum is built around four areas it calls the 4 Cs — Confidence, Concentration, Communication and Coordination — woven into everything the children do. Because the programme runs on a rolling basis, children can join at any point in the term. Rachel sends parents a weekly email setting out that week's focus, and each child receives a personalised feedback form written by the Perform Producer and signed by Principal Lucy Quick. Three times a year, family and friends are invited to Open Workshops and end-of-term Presentations to see what the children have been working on.