Where dancers come to sparkle and grow
Is your child passionate about dance, or are you an adult looking to learn a new skill? At the Anna Forbes Academy of Dance, we welcome everyone! As a Royal Academy of Dance registered school, we offer ballet classes in South East London from our beautiful venue in Penge. Our programs range from ‘Twirling Tots’ (for children as young as 18 months) to adult beginner classes, ensuring there’s something for every age and ability.
Our Principal
The principal, Anna Forbes PDTD RAD RTS, trained at The Royal Ballet School and is a former professional ballerina and musical theatre performer. She had the honour of dancing with the English National Ballet, and later, London’s West End in Phantom of the Opera, where she performed the role of ‘Meg Giry’ for 3 years. She has also been in the production CATS where she played ‘The White Cat’ (Victoria). Dance has been her number one passion in life for as long as she can remember. Having taught for a number of years, since opening her own school in 2019, Miss Anna has been passionate about transferring her knowledge and love of dance to future generations.
Our Current Classes
We offer a range of classes designed to nurture dancers of various ages and skill levels. Whether your child is a beginner perfecting their tippy-toes or a more experienced dancer looking to refine their technique, our classes offer the perfect environment to grow.
Twirling Tots and Pre-School
Our Twirling Tots classes are for children aged 18 months to around 2.5 years depending on the individual child. These classes are both engaging and fun but structured in a way to slowly introduce the magical world of ballet. Our Pre-School ballet follows a similar structure but we slowly begin to introduce simple ballet exercises whilst remaining imaginative.
RAD Classes
Our RAD classes follow the internationally recognized RAD syllabus, designed to engage and motivate students of all ages. While exams are optional, we encourage them as a rewarding goal for students to work toward, fostering a sense of achievement. Pre-Primary classes start at age 4, with students progressing to Primary level around age 5.5 to 6.
Wee West End Musicals
Aimed at any child who loves to dance, sing and act! Each week our Wee West End Musical students will be guided through a story telling class focusing on a different West End Musical, with a huge emphasis on fun and building confidence along the way!
What Our Parents Say
We love hearing what our children and parents think of our school and wonderful teachers. Get an insight into their experiences by reading some of our kind testimonials below.
Miss Anna completely inspired my daughter and brought her from being a shy 5 year old to a confident young ballet dancer. She attended each lesson with a huge grin on her face and always came out with a larger grin. She loved Miss Anna and learnt so much from her. We miss her and could not recommend her highly enough as a ballet teacher. She is not only a talented dancer but also has an aptitude for teaching and empathy with young children.
Parent of an RAD pupil
My 3 year old son adores Miss Anna and her dance class with her is the highlight of his week. The classes are perfectly pitched for his age group and the children are absolutely captivated for the entire duration of the lesson. Miss Anna’s energy and enthusiasm is wonderfully contagious and it is remarkable to see all the children completely – and happily – absorbed in their lesson.
Parent of pre-school ballet pupil
Anna is very professional and equally great at teaching dance. She is wonderful with children and they genuinely love her classes and adore her as a teacher. My daughter has been taught by Anna since she could walk and, now 3 years old, she looks forward to each lesson with excitement and anticipation. This is more than just a ballet class but also so many other valuable qualities are involved such as listening, drama, creativity, singing and coordination.
Parent of pre-school ballet pupil
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