Easter Competition 2020!

To keep the children busy over the Easter break, Miss Natasha was thrilled to launch our 1st
Easter Competition 2020!

It was a chance for the children to have fun, be creative and make their own masterpiece!
We were blown away by all the entries. So much time and effort and creativity - they really were all so amazing!

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Granny Hummingbird was the judge and had a tough time deciding as she felt everyone was a winner and wanted everybody to get a prize for their wonderful effort. She was most impressed with how much neat colouring there was!

After much deliberation, Granny Hummingbird awarded 5 winners…

The winners of the Easter Competition 2020!

CONGRATULATIONS to you all!
Easter prizes will be coming your way very soon!

Thank you to everyone for joining in and entering. Your colourful masterpieces really did bring a smile to everyone!

Miss Natasha x

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

So much fun was had on our last day of term before Christmas. The children were delightful and showed their hard work and huge progress throughout the term. We had giggles and smiles all around with no tears so Miss Natasha was super happy!

We had fun marching in the snow and galloping with Rudolf the Reindeer. I was filled with pride as the parents, families and friends watched all the dancers with joy and happiness. There were even a few younger siblings who were keen to join in!

Here are some of the photos from the wonderful day:

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One of my favourites! Don't the Pre-Primary dancers look so grown up!

Christmas treats for the Hummingbird dancers to enjoy!

I was truly spoilt by so many of the parents with goregous gifts and treats. Thank you - so kind of you all.

It's been a brilliant term with many new starters joining the Hummingbird family. We welcome you with huge open arms and I'm looking forward to lots of fun, magic and twirls together!

Once again, thank you for all the support. The Hummingbird Dancers and grown ups are simply the BEST!

Miss Natasha x

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!

Miss Natasha had a wonderful half term treat at the cinema watching the Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland back in October.

The performance was streamed live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in cinemas all over the world.  It was an amazing experience being at the cinema watching The Royal Ballet yet I felt like I was sitting in the audience at the Royal Opera House! You got to see so many close-ups on the dancers, their expressions and fantastic costumes plus the amazing patterns within the choreography from the wide shots. Even better than sitting at the stalls in the Opera House!

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was commissioned in 2011. It was choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Joby Talbot and designed by Bob Crowley.

The three act ballet is full of colour and big characters combined with beautiful music and choreography.

Fabulous Flamingos

Alice and the Cheshire Cat

Jumping Toad

Larger than life Queen of Hearts!

The ballet includes characters from the Lewis Carroll book such as the White Rabbit but some of the characters are made larger than life! The Cheshire cat is made up of an amazing puppet and the incredible caterpillar has dancers in sparkly point shoes. The Mad Hatter dances in tap shoes which not something you would always associate with classical ballet however, it brings a wonderful modern twist to the ballet. The costumes, scenery and props throughout the ballet are truly out of this world! A must see for all ages!

Alice and her Prince!

The incredible Mad Hatter!

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the beginning of the 2017/18 live cinema season with the following ballets to follow:

The Winter’s Tale – Wednesday 28th February 2018

Manon – Thursday 3rd May 2018

Swan Lake – Tuesday 12th June 2018

For more details and information on cinemas please visit here

Being able to watch incredible ballets at the cinema is a truly brilliant experience and opens up the wonderful world of ballet to everyone! If you can make any of the dates, I couldn’t recommend them enough!

Miss Natasha x

My First Ballet - Cinderella

Hummingbird had an enchanting threatre trip to see the English National Ballet's My First Ballet - Cinderella. It was the perfect 1st theatre outing for the school!

Anticipation for the show had been growing in recent weeks, so by the time Sunday 14th May came around, the children were already buzzing to see Cinderella! I was met with huge excitment and so many hugs before we had even got inside the theatre!
The show certainly did not disappoint! All the children were smiling from ear to ear throughout the performance and couldn't take their eyes of the stage - they were in awe from start to end! All the children were incredibly well behaved, sitting so calmly and quietly for both acts - as were the parents!

Miss Natasha and Lilah - excited for the show!

Miss Natasha and Rosey - smiles all around!

The children adored Cinderella and gasped when her dress transformed! She became a sparkling princess with a tiara and tutu - a firm favourite with many of the little ballerinas!

The show was beautifully narrated by Sarah and really helped the children (and grown ups!) understand the storyline. The exquisite use of mime by all the characters was fascinating and the accompanying narration ensured the children understood the meaning of each mime. The reduced time of the performance (1 hour 20 minutes including the interval) was also perfect for the young children and ensured they were focused throughout.

Miss Natasha outside the theatre

“We love your show Miss Natasha!”

— Charlie (Pre-School dancer)

“You have lovely hair Miss Natasha!”

— Emmy (Pre School Dancer)

Lots of excitement for the show!

It was a superb outing, incredibly well produced by the English Nataional Ballet and thoroughly enjoyed by all children, parents and grandparents!

Thank you to all the parents for their kind words. I can't wait for our next outing!

Miss Natasha x

Hoppy Easter!

The Winter-Spring term has flown by! Can't believe our end of term 'Dress Up' day has come and gone already!

We had a great time on our last class of the term and I was super impressed with all the wonderful fancy dress costumes. Princesses, Pirates, Fairies, Super Heros and even our very own Hummingbird Easter Bunnies came to class, it was so much fun!

To celebrate Easter we played some jumping games, danced with colourful eggs, hopped like bunnies and leaped over chocolates - a firm favourite of the dancers!

The Pre-School dancers practised their super cute free dancing and the modern girls perfected their "strike an Easter pose!"

We all had so much fun - I can't wait to do it again next year!

 

I hope all the Hummingbird dancers and families had a wonderful Easter break and enjoy a chocolately treat (or two!)

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday 22nd April for the Summer term - it's going to be a good one!

Happy Easter!

Miss Natasha x

Wonderful start to 2017 - Hummingbird Chicks take flight!

We've had a great start to the Winter-Spring term!
Week by week our dancers are growing in confidence and strength - it’s just so wonderful to see! All the children have settled into their classes and welcome their new friends to the school.

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I'm super pleased that we have launched our gorgeous Hummingbird Chicks classes on a Saturday morning, which are wonderful lessons full of adventure and fun for children from the age of 2 1/2 years - a wonderful time to begin ballet!

Sometimes the world of preschool ballet education is a bit of mystery to parents, so I’d like to give you a better understanding of what the learning objectives are for Hummingbird Chicks and Pre-School Ballet, leading onto RAD Pre-Primary.

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Hummingbird Chick dancer

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Pre-School Ballet dancers

Our lessons here at Hummingbird have been carefully planned to ensure a good mixture of fun and learning, whilst doing all that we can to ensure the children meet their objectives and progress. Time is taken to observe each child’s physical developmental needs, but also their emotional and creative development.  Our aim is to give each young dancer a good foundation of classical technique in an environment that builds confidence and encourages self expression. Some of our students may go on to do their Royal Academy of Dance exams or want to become dancers themselves, whilst others will carry their passion for dance into their adult life and appreciate how it has enriched their lives.

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Royal Academy of Dance HQ is based just off Battersea High Street.
It is a beautiful venue enriched in ballet history - inspiring the next generation. They have 3 exam sessions at RAD HQ each year.

The foundations of ballet require a lot of repetition to gain muscle strength and co-ordination, to give you a simple idea of progression with one key step skipping, the build up from Hummingbird Chicks is a follows;

Hummingbird Chicks:
•       Balancing on one leg
•       Jumping from two feet to two feet
•       Learning to march - then introducing a hop to lead towards skipping
•       Learning to wait our turn, working with friends and holding hands in a circle

Pre-School Ballet:
•       Jumping from 1 foot to 1 foot, 1 foot to 2 feet, 2 feet to 1 foot
•       Learning and developing co-ordination of the whole body
•       Building stamina and strength for skipping
•       Learning to skip

RAD Pre-Primary
•       Learning to skip in time with music
•       Learning a combination of steps in a sequence
•       Learning key ballet steps with correct placement such as plies and rises

This development from 2 1/2 years to 6 years ensures safe and age appropriate training, which provides each dancers with a strong foundation of dance technique for them to build on over the years. At Hummingbird we pride ourselves in this quality, which makes for a happier dancer.

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It certainly makes me happy watching the children develop - their progress amazes me!

If you would like to know any more information about the progressions and our classes, please get in touch!

Miss Natasha x

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a lovely festive break and you are all looking forward to 2017. It's certainly going to be a busy year for Hummingbird Dance!

Lots of fun was had at the St Mary's CE Junior School Christmas fair towards the end of last term. Miss Natasha met lots of lovely new faces as well as some of our wonderful dancers, Evie, Tabby and Megan.

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It was a great success and even Mr Hummingbird came along for the day! It was a busy fair with so much to do and see and had a lovely festive feel. There were so many activities for the children to do including karaoke, tombola, bouncy castle and grotto, as well as a yummy BBQ!
The weather stayed dry all day and the festive songs played loudly!

Maybe next year we will have some of the Hummingbird dancers perform?!

I was treated to some lovely gifts and cards for Christmas too, so thank you very much to all!

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My gorgeous cards!

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My very own Hummingbird necklace!

We welcome all the new students to Hummingbird School of Dance, and especially to our Hummingbird Chicks who start with their first class on Saturday 4th February.
I hope 2017 is enjoyed by all!

Miss Natasha x

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Christmas watching was DELIGHTFUL!

We all had a wonderful time at the Christmas Watching Week on Saturday 3rd December 2016.

All our dancers loved having their Mums, Dads, brothers, sisters and grandparents. Watching week can be a nervous time for the dancers but it was smiles all around! I was super proud of each and every dancer.

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Checking our toes!

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Flying to the North Pole!

The Pre-Schoolers had a magical trip to the North Pole where we met a cuddly polar bear and had lots of galloping fun with Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer! So many smiles were had by all!
Evie's Dad managed to capture some wonderful moments - thank you!

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Marching in the snow!

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Practising our 1st positions!

The fabulous modern dancers loved showing their Christmas dance to all the Mums and Dads. Their co-ordination over the term has improved so much. Well done! Here are the smiling trio:

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Well done to all the Hummingbird Dancers!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and you enjoyed your Hummingbird treats!

 

Miss Natasha x

Many thanks to Granny Hummingbird for the gorgeous hair clips and bows!

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Christmas Watching Week photos!

Uniforms are looking GREAT!

I can’t believe we are on our half term already – what a wonderful first 6 weeks.

The Hummingbird dancers are settling in to their classes really well and making great friends. In a short time, it’s been lovely to see their personalities come out and their confidence grow week on week.  I’m also quickly learning which dancer likes which colour sticker!

Tabitha and Evie looking gorgeous in their ballet dresses    

The children are looking great in their uniforms. Our Pre-School ballet dress is made by Dans-ez and is designed especially for Hummingbird School of Dance.  In fact, they are made in Kent so we are keeping it local! The dresses are made from a gorgeous pink microfiber leotard and a perfectly matching circular skirt.

The longer skirts have been designed specifically to train the classical arm line. Graceful ballet arms are so tricky so we start from an early age!

The Pre-Schoolers look delightful and enjoy twirling in their dresses!

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For our Modern class, our turquoise Dotty Frill Leotard comes from International Dance Supplies and it is also made in the UK! They look super cute and the girls love shaking their frill!

Maisie & Isla loving their new leotards

Rosey showing off her frill!

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Hummingbird School of Dance stocks a wide range of uniform items, including tights and leg warmers for when the weather gets colder. These could be a good option for Christmas presents?!

If you need any further information please look at our uniform details or do not hesitate to contact Miss Natasha on principal@hummingbirddance.co.uk

 Have a great half term!

Miss Natasha

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Hummingbird School of Dance Takes Flight!

Having moved to St Margarets in 2015, I am thrilled to have opened new classes in the area. 

After viewing local venues and schools, I saw the space at St Mary’s C of E Primary School and knew it would be the perfect place to dance! So much space, great light and a wonderful waiting room! So here we are!

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The School

Absolutely loving Hummingbird School of Dance and my little dancers.

In a short space of time the dancers have developed and learnt so much – I’m a very proud teacher.

My Pre-Schools are working hard at their “Chocolate cake” toes and helping “Millie the Mouse” has been a firm favourite!

My Modern girls are full of energy and love to leap. Their sideways gallops have greatly improved and they are always practicing together!

Not long now until all the new enrolments have their new uniforms and dancing their hearts out!

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In addition to our wonderful hall, we have a lovely spacious waiting room where children can get ready for class and enjoy a selection of books while they wait with their parents/carers.

Hummingbird is bringing dance for all to St Margarets and Twickenham and I can’t wait for what the future holds.

 

Miss Natasha