Excel Performing Arts is an exciting performing arts school in St Albans and was set up in 2009 from the need to find excellent, good quality, and affordable performing arts classes. Excel classes are not only fun but taught by professionals with a wealth of performance and teaching experience. We offer high quality training in Ballet, Tap, Street Jazz Dance, Musical Theatre, Performance Technique, Drama and Singing for students from 3 years old.
Excel classes run from Mondays to Saturdays during term time and you are able to tailor your child's timetable to suit their preferences and your budget. The school has grown mainly from word of mouth recommendations and now has 250 students attending weekly Excel classes.
Excel classes run from Mondays to Saturdays during term time and you are able to tailor your child's timetable to suit their preferences and your budget. The school has grown mainly from word of mouth recommendations and now has 250 students attending weekly Excel classes.
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At Excel Performing Arts we teach classical ballet classes for students from three and a half years old to eighteen years. Ballet is the foundation for all dance styles and it is where strength, body conditioning, flexibility, core stability, musicality and dance discipline are developed.
Ballet classes are an excellent introduction to the dance world for younger students as it not only teaches them to achieve excellent posture, balance, strength, and grace, it also allows children to develop as dancers through free expressive movement, mime and using their imagination.Through ballet classes students learn to follow instructions which helps with concentration, focus and co-ordination.
Ballet classes are an excellent introduction to the dance world for younger students as it not only teaches them to achieve excellent posture, balance, strength, and grace, it also allows children to develop as dancers through free expressive movement, mime and using their imagination.Through ballet classes students learn to follow instructions which helps with concentration, focus and co-ordination.
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. The sound is made by shoes with a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. Tap is a great way to improve a dancer's rhythm and musicality and it is a lot of fun too. Where else do children get away with making noise but in a tap class?
Jazz is an upbeat, stylish, and versatile form of dance. The aim of these classes is to teach good technique throughout the warm up and to explore all sorts of different jazz/street/contemporary and lyrical dance styles. In these classes we use lots of current chart music that students are familiar with which makes it very popular amongst students.
Contemporary dance is made up of several dance genres including ballet, modern, jazz and lyrical. It is a very expressive form of dance that strives to connect the mind and the body through fluid dance movements. There are many different styles within contemporary that we take influences from and this style allows us to explore all sorts of movement such as falling with momentum and grounded or floor-based choreography.
This class is brilliant for building confidence and improving communication skills whilst learning to working in a team. We actively encourage students to use their imagination through improvisations and drama games. The drama classes will get to do scripted work as a group and as individuals, also developing ideas through improvisation and workshops which build into the student's own work.
Reviews (13)
Olga Kurakina
Mar 22, 2021
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Helen Martin
Oct 30, 2020
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Excel is really special. Both my daughters have gained so much from its classes. It is extremely professionally run but also very friendly and caring. It holds the most amazing annual show which is incredible especially the choreography, costumes and staging, but also the inclusivity is very inspiring. Excel also gives much to the community including performances at Christmas and May fairs. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Donna Lambe
Oct 15, 2020
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My daughter has been attending Excel since she was 5 years old. She now is 16 and is a very confident dancer and still loves all her classes.
Sam and Steven are fantastic teachers, both very professional, kind and caring. They manage to bring out the best in all children and help build their confidence whilst learning and having fun.
The yearly show is amazing and gives all the children the opportunity to perform on stage. It’s always a spectacular event and nothing short of a west end show. I would highly recommend Excel Performing Arts.
Sam and Steven are fantastic teachers, both very professional, kind and caring. They manage to bring out the best in all children and help build their confidence whilst learning and having fun.
The yearly show is amazing and gives all the children the opportunity to perform on stage. It’s always a spectacular event and nothing short of a west end show. I would highly recommend Excel Performing Arts.
Hazel McLaughlin
Sep 29, 2020
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My daughter has been with Excel Performing Arts since they began, some 11 years ago. She has excelled in jazz, ballet and tap during this time. The classes are well structured and push the students to excel. Over the years she has taken examinations and her results have always been of a high standard. This is solely down to the teaching and guidance of Excel. Additionally they care about their students and their wellbeing, always showing support and care and guidance.
Their organisation of lessons and the annual show is very professional whilst remaining accessible and a lot of fun fir students
Their organisation of lessons and the annual show is very professional whilst remaining accessible and a lot of fun fir students
Yvonne Cole
Sep 06, 2020
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Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
My daughter has been with Excel Performing Arts since she was 4 years old. She is now 12 and still dancing and enjoying every minute of it. Excel have been amazing with virtual classes through lockdown. Sam and Steven are professional and treat each student as though they are the only one! I couldn’t recommend highly enough x
My daughter has been with Excel Performing Arts since she was 4 years old. She is now 12 and still dancing and enjoying every minute of it. Excel have been amazing with virtual classes through lockdown. Sam and Steven are professional and treat each student as though they are the only one! I couldn’t recommend highly enough x
Sarah Chester
Sep 03, 2020
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Having 2 children attend for over 5 years, I would highly recommend Excel Performing Arts. They have classes for all ages and abilities and the teachers are welcoming and encouraging, whilst managing to achieve results of a high professional standard. As well as structured exams in ballet and tap there are opportunities for all to perform, especially in their annual show, which seems to get better every year. I have found that both Sam and Steven will always be there to help with anything you need and are happy to share their experience and advice from having worked in the industry. Both my children
Teri Woodward
Jun 06, 2020
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My Daughter has been a student at Excel Performing Arts for more than seven years. She takes weekly lessons in Jazz, Performance Dance, Tap, Ballet, Drama and Singing.
She has always loved attending her classes and being a pupil at Excel has definitely helped her development, keeping her fit, disciplined and focused.
Ballet and Tap classes are enhanced with the opportunity for students to gain formal qualifications by preparing for and taking exams with the IDTA
Each year Excel put on a show giving all the students an opportunity to perform on a stage, over 4 nights, showcasing their talents
She has always loved attending her classes and being a pupil at Excel has definitely helped her development, keeping her fit, disciplined and focused.
Ballet and Tap classes are enhanced with the opportunity for students to gain formal qualifications by preparing for and taking exams with the IDTA
Each year Excel put on a show giving all the students an opportunity to perform on a stage, over 4 nights, showcasing their talents
Samantha Sintes
Jun 04, 2020
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Excel is a superbly run dance and performing arts school which provides professional training in a happy and nurturing environment. Sam and Steven spend time getting to know every child and are able to bring out the best in them. The consistently high exam achievements are a testament to this and the annual Excel show is the highlight of the year! As well as dance my children love the singing lessons and musical theatre workshops and just being part of the Excel family!
Mike-Mo Narramore
Apr 17, 2016
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My daughter has been with Excel for the last 3 years and has loved every minute. I have watched a shy child grow into a confident individual with a love of dance and drama. She looks forward to going to her classes each week and can't wait for the annual Show to come round. She does tap, ballet, jazz, modern and drama and would love to do more -… but there just isn't enough days in the week! She has made so many friends. I help out back stage during the Shows and love being part of the excitement helping in a very professional Organisation. I can't recommend enough for anyone whose child
Donna Lambe
Apr 07, 2016
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My daughter has attended Excel performing Arts since she was small and started off doing ballet which I would strongly recommend. She enjoyed it so much she then went on to do Jazz, Tap and drama and singing. She is now 12 and a very confident dancer and performer. The classes are taught by professionally Qualified dance teachers who have first… hand experience of the entertainment industry appearing on Television and in West End Shows. All Classes are fun, stimulating and technically Challenging working towards recognised qualifications and a exciting show every year which is a fantastic
Katie Bruce-Green
Apr 06, 2016
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I have two children who have been with Excel for almost 6 years. During that time, I have watched them grow in confidence, particularly my son, who was quite shy when he started at aged 8. Now aged 14, he loves performing in the Drama class and this has resulted in him putting himself forward for things in secondary school that we never thought he… would do. My daughter who is aged 11 attends ballet, tap, drama and the performance class and would happily be taught by Sam and Steven every day if she could. They bring out the best in all the children and being backstage at the annual show
Hazel McLaughlin
Apr 05, 2016
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My daughter has been with Excel Performing Arts since it first started. She has progressed in tap, jazz, ballet and drama with them. Sam and Steven are wonderful teachers who have given my daughter some fantastic opportunities. They teach to a high standard, but make it fun and challenging, so the children work hard for them, but they get a real… sense of achievement. My daughter is also in the performance group which is an additional class, she loves this as the groups perform at events around the county. Every year there is a show which is amazing and all the children can take part. I
Lisa Pearson
Apr 03, 2016
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If you have a boy interested in dance, singing or drama then this is the place for you. There are lots of boys, but also it really helps that one of the teachers is male, as it gives them someone to look up to. It started with a little street dance class for my son. Now he does street, tap, singing & drama, ballet and performance (an extra class… for those more interested). Now my daughter goes to ballet, tap and street as well! They do a great show every year, which is hard work but an amazing experience for the kids. You see all the kids grow in poise and confidence as the years go
