School Profile

    The Helen Laxton School of Dance was founded in Yeovil, Somerset in 1987. The school began  with just three pupils and it just kept growing and growing!! 

    Thousands of children have learnt to dance at the school and many older pupils have gained places at the top UK Dance Schools, Colleges and Universities in the country including The Royal Ballet School, The Royal Academy of Dance, London Studio Centre, Laban Centre, Central School of Ballet, Elmhurst Ballet School, Laine Theatre Arts, The Arts Educational School, Doreen Bird, Millenium, Performers College, Stella Mann and Phil Winstons. 

    Students have performed all over the world in theatres including The West End , London . Many students have also worked on Television, in Films, in Adverts, on Cruise Ships, in Pantomimes and Summer Seasons and many past pupils are now employed as dance teachers, choreographers, dance notators and dance critics.

    The school principal, Helen Laxton L.R.A.D. A.R.A.D. R.T.S. A.I.S.T.D.(Mod) A.I.S.T.D.(Nat) is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dance in London and is a fully qualified, registered teacher with over 20 years of experience in teaching Dance. Helen is also a mentor for students studying for The Royal Academy of Dance Certificate in Ballet Teaching studies which allows pupils to qualify as a teacher of Dance on a distance learning programme.

    The school teaches Royal Academy of Dance Ballet, Imperial Society of Teachers Dance Modern Stage, Jazz, Disco, Hip Hop, Street Dance, Cheerleading, Pre school Ballet, Toddlers Dance and Groove, Tap dance and Adult Hip Hop, Jazz and Ballet.

    The school accepts girls and boys from 15 months old to adult.

Principal

Helen Laxton L.R.A.D, A.R.A.D. R.T.S. A.I.S.T.D.(MOD) A.I.S.T.D.(NAT), A.I.D.T.A.

 Helen learnt to dance at a local school in Exeter from the age of 3 and passed all of her Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Examinations completing the syllabus at Advanced 2 level. At seventeen Helen was lucky enough to be offered a place to study dance at The Royal Ballet School, The Rambert School of Dance and The Royal Academy of Dance. Helen chose to study at The Royal Academy of Dance where she gained teaching certificates in Royal Academy of Dance Ballet to Advanced level, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance Modern Stage to Advanced level, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance National Dance, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance Ballroom and Advanced Laban Notation. She also studied Jazz, Hip Hop, Street Dance, Tap and Contemporary dance as well as historical dance, child psychology, child development, history of dance, choreography and anatomy. 

 After graduating from The Royal Academy of Dance, Helen danced and choreographed professionally with a company in Austria and also worked on modeling assignments both in the UK and abroad. Whilst in Austria Helen also taught Ballet, Jazz and Tap to students from 3 years to adult.

 On returning to the U.K. Helen taught at a  Ballet school in Exeter before moving to Yeovil with her husband in 1987 when The Helen Laxton School of Dance was founded.  

 Helen has recently been made a mentor for Royal Academy of Dance's Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies. This will allow her senior pupils to continue to study dance in Somerset and to become fully qualified Ballet teachers with a worldwide recognised teaching certificate.

 The school has always had extremely high examination results in both Royal Academy of Dance Ballet and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance Modern Theatre Dance with many pupils gaining Distinction marks in each Examination session. We are the only school in the area to have large numbers of senior students completing their Grade 8 Ballet examinations and Vocational qualifications up to and including Advanced level in both Ballet and Modern Dance. Successful completion of the Intermediate examination gives eligibility to the Academy’s Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS) and to two degree programmes offered by the Academy, and validated by the University of Durham . Vocational Graded Examination qualifications including Grade 6, 7 & 8 are accredited in England , Wales and Northern Ireland by the QCA, ACCAC and CCEA respectively and can be included in candidate's Records of Achievement for Vocational Schools, Universities, and Colleges of Higher Education and employment.  

    Although many children come to dance classes purely for fun, we feel that is very important that we are able to offer our students a professional career at the end of their training with us either as dancers or as qualified teachers of Dance.

 We pride ourselves in being able to turn a child's dream and passion into a life long career.

Contact Information

Electronic mail

General Information: watkins71@btinternet.com

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