Tap dancing has had a resurgence in recent years, with exciting film musicals like Greatest Showman and Lala Land inspiring dancers of all ages to give this unique style of dance a try. Read on to find out six benefits to learning tap dance! 1. It’s great fun! In tap you get to stomp your feet, get involved with the music, and create your own loud simple or complex rhythms […]

WAPS is lucky to have Jamie Papanicolaou joining us all the way from the UK for a series of special workshops in the July holidays What inspired you to become a triple-threat performer? When I was very young, my Nanna took me to see a performance of a show called Brigadoon. I think I knew, even at that young age, that I wanted to be like those people on the […]

Finishing year 12 feels like the end of an era – but how can you stay connected to the activities and community you love, and continue to achieve success and opportunities as a performer? A while ago, our manager and music specialist Sylvia Sippl was asked to return to her former high school to give a speech during the specialist music programme’s year 12 graduation ceremony. Given no restrictions on […]

Do you want to join a troupe or compete but find yourself frustrated or not getting the results you want? Read our top tips for some easy changes to make that will help you achieve your goals! Do you ever feel like your teachers may not be recognizing your potential? Chances are, your teachers are not deliberately holding you back (that’s the opposite of what teachers aim to do!), but […]

Whether you’ve never danced in your life, or are thinking of returning to it after a long break, you’re not alone! We regularly hear from adults who would love to try ballet, but are held back by roadblocks often of their own making. Whether you’re concerned you’ll end up in a leotard being told off by the stern ballet teacher of your childhood, or whether you’re worried that your lack […]

Our team has just returned to Perth from an exciting trip to Los Angeles – find out more in our wrap-up post! In April 2019, over 20 WA Performance School dancers of all ages jetted off to attend the Dance Excellence weeklong international event in Los Angeles, California! WAPS was honoured to be invited to attend twice in two years (high praise from organisers!), for a full week of masterclasses, […]

Want to achieve the splits, or improve your weaker splits? Read on, and join us in the studio! This is a special one off workshop for students looking to achieve and utilize their splits! In this fun workshop you will be working on left, right, and middle splits, including fun variations and new ways to use them. You will learn correct warm up technique, specialized stretches for your hamstrings and […]

The WA Performance School is proud to be an Acrobatic Arts Syllabus studio, but what exactly does that mean? Our accredited Acrobatic Arts coordinator Sarah Rutherford, along with other Acrobatic Arts certified staff Stella, Cameron and Keeley, monitors and plans the syllabus content of all of our acrobatic arts classes for kids, teens (and even adults!), ensuring content is taught consistently and safely to students. Acrobatic Arts gives students the […]

Our passionate teachers are always looking for ways to enhance their teaching practice and engage students in new and exciting ways. This term, some of our teachers participated in a variety of professional development opportunities, including giving up their weekends and school holidays!   Emily Cairns & Rachel Pattrick – Progressing Ballet Technique Miss Emily and Miss Rachel had a great time in Term 3 participating in workshops from the […]

Coming up to the end of year, and concert season, many parents and students are juggling extra holiday commitments, exams, and rehearsals on top of their usual weekly schedule – it can be a difficult time to stay organised. Many parents ask us how performing arts students can ensure that their home practice doesn’t suffer with all these extra commitments, so we’d like to share with you our own WAPS […]