Street dance expert Charlotte Young, Principal of Razzamataz West Cumbria has recently returned from her sell out class at prestigious dance event Move It.
More than 200 children attended the class at this unique dance event held at Excel London and around 24,000 dancers enjoyed the three days of performances, classes, advice and shopping that was on offer.
Charlotte’s sold out class was attended by students under the age of 16 and they were treated to an authentic Hip Hop masterclass. More than 5.5 thousand people applied, but only a handful, including Charlotte, got chosen to teach.
Part of the Razzamataz class’s appeal was participating in an authentic street dance class. Charlotte is just one of a few teachers who has passed her ADPA (Associate Diploma in Performing Arts) Urban Strides Level 4 course. This is a government recognised qualification and one of the only teacher training courses in the world covering authentic street dance styles.
The training with Urban Strides (the leading authentic street dance company which have been seen in 128 countries worldwide and the first Street Dance Crew in the world to open the Royal Variety Performance) consisted of comprehensive and in-depth Street Dance History, authentic foundation steps in the major street dance styles (ie Locking, Popping, Breakin, Hip Hop & House) and working with instructors who have worked directly with the original pioneers themselves which included Urban Strides Founder Andy Instone.
According to Urban Strides, 87% of street dance classes don’t teach authentic street dance and the teachers don’t have the knowledge and history to relay this information to the students. “Some teachers watch Youtube and assume they can teach street dance without the knowledge, technique and foundations that make it authentic street dance,” says Charlotte. “Having completed the course, I understand that there is so much more history and technique you have to understand before passing it onto your students.”
Charlotte has been the Principal of Razzamataz for over 10 years, but previous to this she was a professional performer, appearing alongside Lionel Ritchie, Shirley Bassey and across the world as far as Beijing China.
“It was a very exciting opportunity and I had a fantastic time teaching at Move It,” says Charlotte. “I have attended this event as a performer and teacher and was thrilled to be invited to represent Razzamataz this year.”
Razzamataz is now firmly established as the place to go to learn from the very best in the performing arts industry. Charlotte’s students are already making their mark on the industry with graduates gracing the West End stage and most recently performing in UK tours and on National Television.
If you want to give your child the opportunity to be involved in authentic street dance classes as well as musical theatre, singing and acting, drop us a line for a free taster day at Razzamataz West Cumbria by emailing [email protected] or speak to Charlotte on 07763 906845.
