About Us

“It’s what I always wanted to do, to show the laughter, the fun and the joy of dance.” Martha Graham.

We are proud to be the only specialist contemporary dance school in our area and to be the first school in Hastings and East Sussex to offer Rambert Grades! At HSCD our aim is to encourage and inspire a new generation of dancer. Dancers who are not a clone of their class mates, but creative independent thinkers, ready to expand boundaries.

Students who enrol with us train in a safe and friendly environment, with teachers who go above and beyond to ensure students are nurtured and achieve their fullest potential. Our school has always been based three main pillars.

  • Encouragement

  • Positivity

  • Mental wellbeing & Support

Academic structure & additional fees

Our school is divided into two halves.

Senior School: Students aged 12-19

Junior school: Students aged 4-11

Training at HSCD, means that students will spend half the academic year working on technique/exams and the other half working on annual show performances. Both the Senior and Junior school have their own separate performances.

Performance dates/fees

Senior School: Every February Half term

Junior school show: June/July

During show term, a show fee will be applied for students to take part in our shows. This fee is not for school profit. The show fee includes a show t-shirt for students to keep and an individual costume hire. Tickets for performances are between £8-£14.

Exam fees

If students wish to take exams in contemporary dance, then a one off payment is required per grade. This amount is set by Rambert Grades (our chosen syllabus) and goes directly to the organisation.

Competitions

We are a non-competitive school!

We are proud not to enter local dance competitions. We believe that you don’t need to compete against others to become a great dancer. Instead, we focus on developing confident, creative and technically strong dancers as individuals.

Our students regularly go on to gain places at some of the UK’s leading universities and conservatoires for dance, without ever needing to compete in local dance competitions. As Bob Fosse said “If you think you can do better, then do better. Don’t compete with anyone; just yourself.”