Caring & Sharing
We try to get everything right. We plan and try to work out what our customers need at all times from things that
do not immediately show such as heath and safety and trained teachers to good communication and well planned events.
We plan our distribution of notices and letters to let parents and students know what is going on well ahead of events.
We are constantly trying to make the Roynon experience better for our customers and staff.
The following sections contain details of the more Serious issues that provide best practice and professionalism, making your dancing healthy, safe and rewarding.
Health and Safety
The health and safety aspects of dancing and a dance school experience is often assumed or ignored.
We hear of disasters in child activities such as sailing and school trips
but badly fitting shoes
dangerous teaching practice or lack of fire escapes and extinguishers are all hidden dangers as well.
Roynon is particularly careful to create as safe as an environment as possible for its customers and teachers.
We have made a short list of some of the things we do to ensure customer health and safety.
Some of the listed items are sited at the Southampton Dance Studios only (We hire the Swanmore venue).
Nobody is perfect. Please always let us know if we can do better or if a health and safety
risk becomes apparent. It is possible other people might not have noticed.
Professionalism in Teaching & Childcare
State School Teachers are qualified to BEd or a degree plus PGCE. You expect them to teach professionally
a curriculum suitable for your child, and to be aware and able to cope with emotional and physically needs
of your child. Should you be able to expect the same of dance lessons?
This following table is a general guide and brief summary to what you get when you send your child
or yourself to a qualified or non-qualified dancing teacher.
The table assumes you might be selecting a dance school or teacher from the
names in the yellow pages (good place to look for local teachers). The table is not an absolute
description of a particular professional qualification.
| Professional Dance Teacher | non-qualified teacher
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| Qualifications to look for in Press Advert or Prospectus | CDE, AISTD, LISTD, FISTD, ARAD, LRAD, AIDTA | None
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| Length of Dancing Experience of Teacher | At least seven years | Unknown ?
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| Depth of Dancing Experience of Teacher | To advanced level as determined by examiners from ISTD, RAD or IDTA | Unknown ?
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| Ability to Teach | Academic Study in Dance Teaching, different ages and abilities. | Unknown ?
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| Welfare and Caring | Academic Study of Lifestages. Special needs of children, teenagers, adults & boys | Unknown ?
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| Health and Safety | Academic Study in Health and Safety and Anatomy | None ?
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| Total Academic Study | 1 to 2 years full time,
or 2 to 5 years part time | None ?
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| Observation of other Professional Teachers | Yes | None ?
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| Observed Teacher Training class practice | Yes | None ?
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| Updating teaching skill | Ongoing training through professional membership of ISTD, RAD or IDTA | None ?
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| Syllabus: What you learn as a dancer | Standard Ballet, Tap techniques, Also taught in other schools.
Balanced learning for age and ability level of dancer.
Correct postures for health and safety.
| Made up dance techniques?
May be called Ballet, Tap etc.
Easiest things to teach without too much effort ?
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| Graded Ability for dancer to achieve | Optional examination structure to GCSE and A level equivalent & Professional | No plan for progression ?
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| Fun for dancer | Almost certainly Yes | Most likely Yes
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| Fulfillment with progression | More and more | Less and less
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You might say we are biased because we provide professional teacher training. We are not suggesting
you view our teachers in preference to anyone else, but we do wish to draw your attention to the range
of skills for hire in a document like the yellow pages and we hope to be able to let you draw your own
conclusions as to what you want. Its hard work studying to be a professional dance teacher - Why bother?
Please support those who try to provide the best to you by putting in the most themselves.
Do not be mislead by judging the academic prestige of an organisation and assume their staff are qualified.
Most large academic organisations take on non-qualified dance teaching staff.
Please ask the difficult questions when you make contact with a school or teacher; do not assume the levels of skills and
services are what you expect if you do not ask.
Time Table
The class timetable changes on a weekly basis according to examinations and other events.
Please please please phone us first or visit before deciding the class we offer is on a time when you can or cannot attend.
We keep our student groups together and at the same day and time of the week as much as possible,
but the class names change as the student group progresses through the grades. There is therefore a constant
cycling of class times.
A class may be in one of the following states:-
- Class about to Start: Taking on new Students - Short Waiting List.
- Class Started: Taking on new Students - Immediate Start.
- Class Full: Not appropriate for new Students to join at current date.
- Class studing for Exams: Not appropriate for new Students to join at current date.
- Class about to Change Grade: E.g. The Students have taken Grade 1 Ballet so the class is about to
change name to Grade 2 Ballet whilst staying at the same time.
- Class about to close and / or merge with another class.
- New class not on timetable about to start: Taking on new Students
- Potential new class: Waiting List
Most classes are at stage 2, 3 or 4. Please contact us for the
exact status of the classes you require so we can try to help as best we can - we are very friendly and can
normally find a class for immediate entry. It is not necessary to have to wait until the next academic year.
Grade Examinations
First of all an important point. You do not have to take examinations. When we feel you or your child are ready to take an examination we will provide a form for you to complete. On the form is an opt in / opt out box. Please complete the form as we follow up to ensure our customers are happy.
There is no stigma attached to not wanting to take examinations. Any dance class promotion we suggest to you will be based on how well you or your child are doing.
Examinations sessions take place approximately six times a year. Roynon normally has about twenty days
of examinations held each year. This means students are not held up in dance classes waiting for an exam date or for enough other student to make up a full day. This causes students to stagnate in dance classes.
Examiners are qualified representatives from the ISTD or RAD who are external and impartial. Roynon has a near 100% success rate for examinations. Certificates are presented to successful candidates.
Your examination certificate is given to you as soon as we receive them.
Unfortunately we cannot discuss individual examination results on the phone because we respect
the privacy of all our customers.
Taking examinations is a daunting prospect for children and adults alike. Children who have taken dance examinations at an early age find it much easier. Students find the examinations process productive; giving them something to aim for and a real sense of achievement that can be enjoyed by both students and parents alike.
Examinations prepare children to cope well with adult high pressure activities they are likely to face in the real world. We believe examinations help children to take on responsibility and gain confidence that things they work hard for can be achieved.
Virginia Wilkinson
is an ISTD UK & International examiner in Ballet National Modern & Tap
who examines widely and frequently and can give personal guidance about the examinations process.
Am I good enough to pass the examination ?
If you receive an opt in/opt out consent form then we have a good expectation that the student should pass. We are not here to expose students to futile examination entries which waste your time. We honestly believe the students we enter have a very good change of getting at least a pass if not more! Doubt is an infectious disease which likes to focus on the best students.
What is the best thing to do before a dance examination ?
Relax.
What is the best thing to do during a dance examination ?
Smile.
What is the best thing to do after a dance examination ?
Smile all the more. Whatever your age you are still young and learning with the prospect of new dancing challanges in the near future when you move up to a new class.
General Questions
I want to dance for fun - is that alright ?
Thats superb. So do we. Some of our customers also do serious dance training. Thats fun also.
How do I choose a dance class that suits my ability and aspirations ?
Roynon has over 100 dance classes. We can advise or view your dancing abilities. A class to meet your abilities
(including adult
never danced before) can be suggested. Customers can take trial lessons to try before they commit.
We can then talk your experiences over and move you up or down a level should that suit you. Its difficult to choose
a class just by its name.
I've got a special disability or problem - Does that count me out ?
The nature of physical dance and our staircase will unfortunately count out some people
but we will
honestly try to make sure all are welcome. We can monitor you on a weekly basis and do our best to
ensure you fit in. We care about all our customers. Please speak to us in confidence about your needs.
I'm a overweight unfit couch potato.
Will I ever fit in with the jet set fashion super athletes ?
We live in the real world
with lots of other real people. We won't put you in an super fitness class if you are a beginner
and we won't turn our nose up to good custom from normal people.
Do I have to start in September ? Can I start at other times during the year ?
Classes can be started at any time throughout the year. You may have to wait for a few weeks because some classes
have natural start and finish times due to examinations
and some classes may be full.
What happens if a class is full ?
We do not let classes get too big. We adjust the number
of parallel classes we have according to popularity. We sometimes have lists of people waiting to join and we open
a new parallel class on a different day. We then contact the people on our list offering them and the existing class
members the new times.
Who owns Roynon ?
We are a small family business owned by Mr and Mrs David and Virginia Wilkinson.
We have a passion for what we are doing and are pleased to be able to support our staff and to pass
on our passion for dance to our students and sponsors.
How often do classes run ?
On a weekly basis
normally 40 weeks a year. There are breaks for school term times. Monday classes often escape out
of school term times to compensate from loss due to bank holidays. Occasionally we deviate from school term times
because some education authorities break at different times and we publish our dates before schools announce their dates
but we
try to correspond. We also run for a week of summer school.
Customers are advised in good time through the newsletter; through posters and by word of mouth and on
the news and events page.
When is the dance centre open ?
Normally between 10:00am and 9:00pm Monday to Saturday
but please check to avoid disappointment. We are also open
outside term times.
We open and take telephone calls most of the year including outside of term time. We have an answering machine on
outside office hours. We try to keep the phone manned for as long as possible for customer enquiries. The best time
to phone is 10:00 - 12:00 and 2:00 to 4:00 monday to friday
but the phone is also manned outside these best times.
If someone is not there who can answer the specific question you ask we may ask you for your telephone number so we can
call you back with a considered answer. Our staff record calls onto forms so we do our best not to forget your call.
We consider our availability on the phone and in the Dance Centre to be key to our relationship with you
so that we may fit in with your
lifestyle
and not the other way around.
What music do you use ?
For many of our juniors the dance centre offers them exposure to an explosion of musical styles never heard by them
before. It is good that they can appreciate music for what it is.
We love classical ballet
jazz
pop
folk etc. The school has a dance
copyright licence which authorises us to legally use copyright music for the dance centre. we try to use as great a
variety of music as possible. The same student will love Brittens 'Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge' and 'It's raining men'.
We have a library of CD's
tapes and sheet music played on the piano. Students get to experience dancing to live as well as recorded music.
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Will I have to buy lots of specialist clothing ?
Roynon does not insist on different colour schemes for each dance class
although its normally a
good idea to have duplicate clothing for washing deadlines. Roynon Dancewear provides quality
standard clothing and footwear from the major quality suppliers. We are the largest purchaser for
several of these companies. The minimum needed is not onerous. You will need some form of light
clothing (such as a leotard) and Soft Ballet shoes made of canvas
satin
leather (or similar) or
Tap Shoes if you do Tap dancing. Mens/Boys clothing is also available. Lots of more optional
specialist items are available for your temptation. Please ask.
Does it matter if a dance teacher is qualified or not ?
Yes...
...but anyone can take dance lessons. They don't have to be able to teach or have been trained to look
after children
know anything about health and safety
anatomy or indeed anything about dancing.
This is being addressed by the government and all good dance teachers should in the near future have FDI or CDE
qualifications. These are not mere tokens but are serious vocational qualifications which require
a number of years study and are taught by Roynon and other approved dance centres on behalf of the ISTD.
Ultimately this is unlikely to change the market for dance lessons where anything goes.
I have never danced before but would like to progress quickly ?
There can be nothing worse than being put in a class with children half your size. We often have new students who are
teenagers and would not like to enter a class with five year olds. We can often mix an adult beginners class with some
of our non-syllabus classes and individual tuition to ensure fast progression at a pace suitable for you.
I went to a dance school a long time ago and want to start again ?
We can help you with your strengths and weaknesses and suggest the right classes for you.
I would like to become a qualified dance teacher but have never danced before ?
Theoretically possible but the learning curve is near vertical. It will take a number of years and
require lots of physical training. You need to reach Intermediate level dance before taking the FDI course
and Advanced before the CDE course.
Why don't you teach the latest dance craze ?
Try classes in Jazz. These are non-syllabus classes where we can include contemporary fashions.
Why don't you publish your class timetables on the website ?
The timetable keeps changing very rapidly. We have graded exam sessions about six times a year. We try to
ensure that all students stay together in the same time slot. This means that class times often contain the
same students but the name of the class changes as the students progress.
Someone reading the timetable might see Grade 1 Ballet at 4:20 pm on a Monday afternoon
but the students in the class really know that the class is to become Grade 2 Ballet in six weeks time.
As the class is preparing for an exam it is naturally closed to new students anyway.
We do want to publish the timetable on the web but we are still considering how to present it clearly to
make sure we keep it up to date with reality so that it is not a false friend to our customers.
Its quite easy to find class timetables for dance schools on the web that are years old.
We don't want to do that.
We keep our customers well informed about their classes through personal letters;
newsletters and class announcements and often ask our customers about the best times for them when starting new
classes. Customers are particularly sensitive to times for weekday childrens classes after school but before tea
and adult evening classes.
Do you overbook classes ?
We do not waste your time by inviting you to a new class that is overfull or cancelled. We may sometimes have
to cancel a class before it starts from lack of support and we will contact you.
Normally we will reserve your place and ask you to turn up on the day. You are welcome to
turn up before to say hello and to be shown around.
Can I just turn up and say hello ?
Yes please do. But please be patient if you turn up when one set of children turn up for a
class whilst another is coming out. It can get very busy at times but you will always be made welcome.
We will be very pleased to show you around without obligation.
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Everyone is welcome at a friendly and caring ISTD approved dance centre.
We try to maintain this website as accurately as we can but please phone first to avoid disappointment.
We are very friendly and will be pleased to help you without obligation.
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