SA Academy of Dance and Cheer, soon to be twice as big in a new venue.

Express & Star

Currently based in Wolverhampton they are moving to Wombourne to a venue twice the size. Sharon the boss says its down to the increasing popularity in Cheerleading.

Transcript

00:00So Sharon Anne of the Sharon Anne Dance Academy, is that right?

00:04Sharon Anne Shearing Dance Academy.

00:06That's the one. And based here in Wolverhampton.

00:08And not for too much longer though.

00:10No.

00:12This is a big site you've got here, isn't it?

00:14But you're moving on to an even bigger site, is that right?

00:16Yeah, we want to go to double the size.

00:20So we can have two of these gym floors,

00:22a large dance studio

00:24and a dedicated jumble area as well.

00:26How long have you been on this site here now?

00:28Eleven years.

00:30Did you ever think when you came here

00:32that you'd be outgrowing this site?

00:34No, because when we came here this was enormous

00:36when we moved in.

00:38But it's been very clear the past two years

00:40it's too small for us now.

00:42Is that just because the reputation of the school

00:44is dance becoming more popular with young people?

00:46What's that all about then?

00:48A bit of everything. I think the reputation's grown

00:50as we've done well in competition over the past

00:52ten years or so.

00:54Also cheerleading itself as a sport

00:56is growing exponentially in the UK.

00:58So we need the space

01:00for the new athletes that are wanting to

01:02come in and do the sport.

01:04So it's a big move for you, isn't it?

01:06I mean this floor here, it's all sprung loaded

01:08and everything for the dancers.

01:10So it's not just the case of moving in

01:12and putting a lick of paint in the new building, is it?

01:14No.

01:16When's the date that you should be up and running at the new site?

01:18We will be opening from the 1st of September.

01:20So we will have then

01:22two floors installed.

01:24The studio space built

01:26and the dedicated tumble area

01:28all built in, ready for us to open

01:30and start running classes from the 2nd of September.

01:32Great, yeah.

01:34And for those in the know, it's not too far from

01:36the Newish Sainsbury's in Wamburn, that's right, isn't it?

01:38That's right, yes. Opposite.

01:40Very close to the Waggoner Norses.

01:42Parents will be pleased to know.

01:44Pop for a drink

01:46while they drop the kids off.

01:48So have you just kind of been finding that you

01:50just can't accommodate the numbers then?

01:52There's more and more people coming saying, can we join?

01:54Yeah, we can't accommodate all the children

01:56here anymore.

01:58There's extra teams that we have to build every year

02:00when we do tri-ex, which we're currently

02:02doing at the moment.

02:04So we've actually had to make

02:06an extra two teams, so we now have 27

02:08teams in total.

02:10Across from all ages, from age 4

02:12up to adults.

02:14Each year there's more teams we have to add

02:16and obviously timetable space

02:18here is running out, so

02:20working till midnight, there's not much more we can do.

02:22So how many people, how many

02:24students do you have involved at the current

02:26site here then? Competitive

02:28students probably around 250

02:30and then possibly

02:32another 100 development classes

02:34children that attend on top of that.

02:36So what was your route

02:38into dance then Sharon?

02:40I was a dancer from the age of 3

02:42I danced ballet, modern

02:44went into freestyle

02:46but then came out and started

02:48doing the jazz, lyrical

02:50introduced cheerleading

02:5218 years ago

02:54and it's just grown from there.

02:56So I guess the numbers involved from

02:5818 years ago, it was probably a lot more niche

03:00then I'm guessing yeah? Yes, yeah.

03:02I mean 18 years ago

03:04cheerleading was still a growing sport

03:06so it's

03:08definitely helped to increase our numbers

03:10whereas dance was my background

03:12it's still a large

03:14part of the school but cheerleading has helped

03:16as well with the growth of the academy.

03:18So are you looking forward

03:20to the move or is it giving you headaches?

03:22Looking forward is a stretch

03:24yeah I am looking forward to when

03:26it's all finished and moved in.

03:28The move itself is I know

03:30going to be quite traumatic I suppose

03:32but yeah I am looking forward to it.

03:34Well we wish you all the best

03:36and onwards and upwards for the dance school. Thank you.

03:38Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended