NEWS from 2011

END OF YEAR SHOW - July 2011

Everyone seems to be in agreement, our End of Year Show was the best ever! Well done everyone for a fantastic day! We had some wonderful comments, here are just a few:

• "Well done for last nights show"
• " I look forward to the next show!"
• "We thoroughly enjoyed the show last night, they just get better and better!"
• "The event was great. Congratulations."
• "A wonderful showcase."
• "The choreography, singing and acting were of a very high standard and the lighting was very effective."
• "I loved the cohesion of the story throughout the performance."
• "All the children were really enjoying themselves."
• "Brilliantly performed."

Ian photographed the rehearsals on Saturday in Dorking as well as the dress rehearsal on Sunday in Horsham. All the photos are now available on our Flickr page.

BUGSY MALONE - June 2011

Congratulations to all involved in Bugsy Malone! It was a great show and we've had some lovely comments from parents and students.

Follow the link on the productions page (click on the Bugsy logo) for more photos and to download the programme. All the production photos are available on our Flickr page.

DANCE CHALLENGE - May 2011

Congratulations to Gail’s Tuesday street dance class who won the Surrey heats of the national dance competition, Dance Challenge. We will be competing on Sunday 17th July in London so if you’d like to come along and support us, get in touch with the office asap. And wish us luck!

BRING A FRIEND WEEK - May 2011

`Bring a Friend Week’ was a great success. Students were enthusiastic about the opportunity to introduce their friends to Phoenix and travelled hand-in-hand between classes. There were new faces in tap, ballet, singing and drama and teachers were impressed with the new talent on display. Treats were claimed at the end of each session by students and friends alike. We are so glad that the week was enjoyed by all!

We are going to make the 'Bring a Friend Week' a regular annual event so we'll let you know when next year's week is and you can start planning who to invite.

STUDENTS MAKE A SONG AND DANCE OUT OF EXAM SUCCESS - May 2011

Students assembled at the Dorking United Reform Church on Sunday 15th May to receive their awards in front of family and friends. Classes performed songs and dances throughout the ceremony and the atmosphere of success and celebration encouraged some unscheduled solo performances emboldened by the enthusiastic response.

We are delighted to report 100% success rate in the exams!

Please go to our facebook page for more information and photos, and to our flickr pages for printable versions of the photos.

DANCE / DRAMA EXAMS - April 2011

Congratulations to everyone who took their dance/drama exams in April. We had a 100% pass rate again and we had some excellent results so well done to everyone. The examiner was very complimentary about the standard of the students and also commented on how smart everyone looked on the day, so well done for all your hard work and thanks again to all those involved.

EASTER WORKSHOP AND DRAMA SHOWCASES - March 2011

A great time was had by all on the Easter Workshop course. Students created scenes from Oliver, The Lion King, Wicked and Grease to name but a few. They also created their own programmes, sets and display with photos they took. Thanks and congratulations to everyone who attended.

Well done too to everyone in the 2 recent drama showcases at Millais School. The Witches and the Caucasian Chalk Circle went off well so thanks to all those involved.

BILLY - JUNIOR YOUTH THEATRE PRODUCTION - March 2011

A huge “thank you” and “well done” to all those involved with the senior youth theatre production of Billy at Epsom Playhouse in March 2011.

The show was a great success with near sell-out audiences and I even had members of the public phone on a Sunday morning to congratulate us on the show. I was extremely proud of the 9 strong cast who managed to pull off 5-part harmonies with ease.

Follow the link on the productions page (click on the Billy logo) for more photos and to download the programme. All the production photos are available on our Flickr page.

TEACHER NEWS - February 2011

Some of our teachers have been very busy recently with their own professional careers and we are all very excited for Kelly who has recently appeared on both The X-Factor and Dancing On Ice.

Tamara has recently been on Serbian national radio and television explaining about her successful singing career and her teaching at Phoenix and at the London College of Music.

We are lucky to have teachers who are at the forefront of the industry and who can bring this expertise to the lessons.

Kelly has also been training hard to run in the London Marathon this year (in April) in aid of the Surrey Air Ambulance. She's looking to raise £1000 so if you‟d like to sponsor Kelly to help out this local and well-deserved cause, you can donate online at: www.justgiving.com/kelly-louise-rowden

PHŒNIX'S NEW CHARITY - February 2011

I am very pleased to announce that as part of our commitment to making a positive contributing to our global environment, we have decided to adopt a children‟s charity and to run various fund raising initiatives over the next few years to help. There are more details in our February 2011 newsletter, please click here to download a copy if you haven't already received one.

We will have more information about how Phoenix intends to support this charity in later newsletters but in the meantime, please visit the website below for more information on what they do: www.childhope.org.uk

STAFF CHANGES - February 2011

It is with great regret that we will shortly be saying goodbye to one of our drama teachers, Mandi Cox and our receptionist at Horsham, Esther Francis. They are both relocating for personal reasons and we‟d like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their hard work and dedication over the last few years. We hope you will join with us in wishing them all the best for the future.

I‟m sure that they‟ll be back to see the shows whenever they can, so hopefully we‟ll see them again soon.

Esther is leaving at Easter and will be replaced by Chris Angus. Chris is the wife of Ian Angus who photographs our shows and builds our website. Chris is a graphic designer and administrator who has also been involved with us since the very beginning as her daughter Ruth was one of our first students. She will be taking over in Horsham after Easter .

ANNIE - November 2010

Well done to all involved in the junior youth theatre production of 'Annie Junior'. It was a great show and everyone deserved the warm and enthusiastic response given by the audiences on the day. Thanks go to everyone for all their hard work in getting the show together and to the cast for really stepping up to the mark to deliver some excellent performances. Follow the link on the productions page (click on the Annie logo) for more photos and to download the programme. All the production photos are available on our Flickr pages.

Glee Workshops - October 2010

The half term Glee-themed workshops were well received by both students and parents who were treated to a small performance at the end of each workshop. Students had the chance to undertake drama, dance and singing in the day-long workshops and pull off some great renditions of well-known Glee favourites at the end of the day.

Arts Alive Festival, September 2010

Phœnix students took part in the Dorking Arts Alive Festival on Saturday 25th September in St Martin's Walk, Dorking. Here are some photos of the event, click the image to see a larger version.