Hello all, you may want to grab a glass of wine before sitting down and reading this! As we step into an exciting
season ahead, we want to take a moment to celebrate our incredible dancers and share what’s coming up at
WB Dance. There is so much to look forward to, and we couldn’t be prouder of our community.
Important Dates & Upcoming Events
We have a busy and exciting calendar ahead, so please make note of the following:
Start Back Term Date: Monday 12th January 2026
Classes & Exams
Ballet Exam Practice: 24th January with Penny our pianist (afternoon)
Dance Exams: 25th January – Ballet
Please ensure dancers are prepared and attending all classes leading up to exams.
We also have scheduled in tap and modern exams and a further set of ballet exams – dates still to be confirmed
by the ISTD.
Wyvern Show
Show Rehearsals: Easter Holidays
Show Tech Rehearsal: TBC @ The Wyvern
Full day rehearsal: Sunday 19th April
Full day rehearsals: Saturday 25th April & Sunday 26th April
Dress Rehearsal: Friday 1st May
WB Dance Show: Saturday 2nd May – x2 Performances
Competitions & Festivals
Swindon Festival: Sun 15th February – Saturday 21st February
Cecchetti Ballet Competition: Sunday 8th March – Wales
Backwell: 6th April – 12th April
All England Regionals: 23rd May – 31st May 2026 – Bacon Theatre, Cheltenham
All England Finals (subject to qualification): July
Dance World Cup: 8th July – 18th July
More details for each event will be shared closer to the time, so please keep an eye on emails and studio
notices.
A Year of Incredible Achievements
The past year has been nothing short of outstanding for WB Dance, and we are so proud of everything our
dancers have achieved on & off the world stage:
Dance World Cup 2025
We attended the dance world cup with a total of 20 qualified entries!
Melody Chan – World Champion (Tap Solo)
Melody Chan also received:
Best Junior Female Solo
Best Overall Solo
Groups/Trio:
Senior Small Group Lyrical – World Champions
Junior Large Global Group – 3rd in the World
Senior Acro Trio (Emma Hulin, Maya Colon & Ab Colon) – 3rd in the World
IDO World Tap Championships:
Melody Chan – 1st – Tap Solo
Melody Chan – 1st – Adult Formation, 3rd – Adult Small Group
Poppy Smallwoods – 1st – Junior Formation , 1st – Junior Small Group, 5th – Duo with Farrah
Past Exam Results: 100% pass rate, with most being Distinction! (Ballet, Modern & Tap)
VE Day: 80th Celebration – guest performers – Royal Wootton Bassett
UKYD: Bethany &Jessica made it to the Final round of UK Young Dancer 2025.
Supreme Finals: Our comp team were successful at the Supreme Heats in Swindon & Radstock and made it to
the Finals which was held in Bromley, London. We had another successful run Gaining 1st’s, 2nd’s 3rd’s & Special
Awards.
North Wilts School Cluster Show: Guest performers
Destination Dance Finals: We were So lucky to have qualified for the Finals gaining over 11 awarded places &
9 platinum awards. Also coming away with the highest scoring teen duo/trio – Jessica & Bethany. 6th highest
scoring solo of the entire competition – Jessica (contemporary solo)
Tap Attack: Melody & Poppy successfully auditioned for another year in Tap Attack training company.
Bird College: Our ex student is now currently training at Bird College in London, pursuing her career & love for
dance.
Halloween Disco: Our disco fundraiser was a huge success with over 80 students attending.
Christmas Party: The Christmas party was an amazing end to the year, thank you all so much for celebrating
with us and spreading the Christmas cheer. Big shout out to Harrison Hughes for being such a fab DJ.
WB 30th Ball: What an incredible Celebratory ball we had, held at the De Vere Hotel, Cotswolds, with over 200
of you coming to support and celebrate our achievement of 30 wonderful years. What shall we celebrate next?
Competitions:
West of England – Bristol
Wiltshire – Swindon
Bristol Dance Eisteddfod – Bristol
Destination Dance Finals – Coventry
Destination Dance Heat – Wyvern
Supreme Dance Heat – Swindon
Supreme Dance Finals – London, Bromley
Triple Threat – Birmingham
DWC – Spain
IDO Tap Championships – Prague
Aspire – Bristol
AAD Awards Day – Winter Gardens – Blackpool
Longwell Green – Bristol
RWBA Arts Festival – Wootton Bassett
DWC 2026 – Dublin – Filming
At the competitions so far, we have gained a tremendous number of medals, also qualifying for All England
Regionals. If you would like to join our competition team, please speak to any of the teachers regarding this!
These results are a true reflection of the dancers’ hard work, passion, and commitment, as well as the
dedication of our teaching team. Congratulations to everyone involved — we are incredibly proud of you all!
Fundraising:
As a school we are wanting to fundraise for all the upcoming events our students are attending so that we can
keep costs to a minimum. If you would like to be a part of our fundraising committee, please get in touch. Also,
could you please sign up to the Easy Fundraising App, as this is an easy way to raise funds for our school when
you shop online. Most of the large companies use this app, super easy to do. We are hoping to do the following
events for fundraising: – – – – – – –
Bingo
Easter Wreath Making
Prize Giving
Easter Kids Craft Days
Colour Fun Run
Photoshoot with Emma Hulin
Hair & Makeup tutorials (accompanied by wine)
Uniform:
As you already know Squad wear is our uniform supplier. We now have a new range that has been added to the
website. There are lots of stunning items to choose from. Please note, once you are able to purchase uniform,
we are kindly asking for students who attend any exam lessons (i.e. ballet modern & tap) MUST wear a leotard &
tights or socks with the correct footwear (ballet shoes, bare feet & tap shoes). Ballet & Tap shoes must be
purchased either from Pointe Perfection in Swindon or if you chose to order online, please make sure you check
with us first before buying as these have to be specific. However, for commercial & contemporary we allow
joggers, hoodies, tee-shirts etc. For Jazz, Tech, Radar & Acro we advise shorts, crop tops, leotards, leggings
(tight clothing – for safety).
Squad Website – squaddancewear.com/pages/my-schools
Password – WBDance13
Chaperones:
We are also looking for chaperones for our Show at the Wyvern, ideally, we would like one chaperone per room.
This is also a requirement for many of the festivals including All England now. To get your Volunteer Chaperone
Licence you must go through the local council where you live (for most this will be Wiltshire, but for some –
Swindon). Any costs associated with this, will be paid by the dance school.
Sponsors for DWC 2026:
This year we currently successfully auditioned with 22 Routines for the Dance World Cup finals which is being
held in Dublin, Ireland in July. We are looking for sponsors to help us get there. As you can understand
representing Team England against the world comes at a cost and we want to make the students dreams
become reality. Please can you contact any and all companies/businesses who you think will be up for
sponsoring our incredible team of dancers. Their company logo will be printed on to our Team England Jackets
which will be publicised around the event in Dublin which has over 9,500 competitors.
Show Title:
We are wanting to hear everyone’s ideas for the show title this year. Last years was “Behind the Curtain”. Get
thinking
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the gifts for Christmas, we are truly overwhelmed by all the love.
We are super grateful, our hearts feel so full! Thank you to our dancers and families for your continued support,
positivity, and trust. WB Dance wouldn’t be the same without our amazing community, and we are so excited
for what lies ahead. If you know of anyone who is looking to join our dance school please forward our details for
them to get in touch!
Here’s to another year of hard work, growth, and unforgettable moments, let’s keep dancing! We hope you all
have a Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!
With love,
The WB Dance Team
And just one further note – when parking at St Barts Church Hall could everyone please not park in the yellow
hatched area at the front of the hall as this is to keep it free for those driving to their houses at the back of the
hall. Thanks.