Dance
The course will challenge you both physically and mentally and push you to become a thinking dancer whilst developing strong creative and technical dance skills. This course promotes both professionalism and artistry and is excellent preparation for those wishing to study and train in dance at higher level. At the same time it is also accessible to anyone with a genuine interest and passion for dance.
The course is an exciting and practical two-year programme of study that is assessed via practical internal and external assessment, coursework and vocational projects. There will be trips to see a diverse range of performances, as well as the chance to work with visiting dance companies and professional choreographers. Students will have a number of performance opportunities throughout the year.
You will:
- Study a range of work by cutting edge choreographers and learn and perform repertory from these works.
- Learn how to choreograph innovative and creative work for live performance.
- Experience the world of the working dancer through a range of classes and workshops.
- Learn how to experiment with movement and develop creativity.
- Work together as a professional company in a creative environment to produce a full-length piece of work that is performed in a professional theatre space, during the summer term.
- Learn about professional practice, develop your artistic voice, skills in improvisation and gain audition insights and tools preparing you for HE and industry auditions.
- Gain valuable work experience, assisting and stage managing at Let’s Dance at The Dome, Brighton.
Course Essentials
Courses Available
BTEC Level 3 Foundation Diploma (equivalent to 1.5 A Levels)
PLUS
How The Course is Assessed
Vocational assignments
Career Pathways
HE courses in Dance, Performing Arts, Physical Theatre and Drama. Previous students have gone on to study Dance at Trinity Laban, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, London Contemporary Dance School, LIPA, Kingston University, University of East London, Falmouth, Surrey University and Chichester University. Many alumni are working professionally as performers and/or teachers and choreographers.
Transferable Skills
Creativity; teamwork; leadership skills; problem solving; independence; how to work effectively with external clients; funding & performance arts marketing.
Other Information
Due to the qualification pathway of this BTEC course, you cannot take BTEC Dance alongside BTEC Performing Arts. You must choose one or the other.
Enquiries To
Chess Dillon-Reams: cdr@varndean.ac.uk
Enrichments
Dance
Dive into the transformative world of dance and movement in this dynamic enrichment course designed for anyone with a genuine passion for self-expression through movement. Open to students from all dance backgrounds and levels, this enrichment course introduces innovative approaches to dance technique, creativity, and performance that will inspire and challenge you in new ways. Whether you’re a seasoned dancer or exploring dance for the first time, you’ll find something uniquely tailored to ignite your creativity and refine your skills.
Audition Prep
Designed for experienced dancers in their second year of post-16 training, this advanced enrichment programme prepares you to excel in applications and auditions to prestigious conservatoires and other top UK dance training courses. With a proven track record of student success at competitive institutions, our tailored approach supports you through every step of the application, audition, and interview process. Customised to align with your unique strengths and the specific requirements of your chosen institutions, this programme equips you with the confidence, skills, and tools needed to achieve your goals.
Let’s Dance
Step into the spotlight behind the scenes with this incredible opportunity to train as an Assistant Stage Manager at the prestigious Brighton Dome. Over a week, you’ll work on the UK’s largest schools and youth dance platform, gaining unparalleled hands-on experience in the fast-paced world of live performance. Develop a wealth of transferable skills, including teamwork, communication, problem-solving, organisation, leadership, and time management, all while contributing to an inspiring celebration of dance and creativity. This immersive experience not only builds confidence but also offers a unique glimpse into professional stage management, paving the way for future success in the performing arts and beyond. Don’t miss your chance to be part of something extraordinary!
Opportunities
Industry Opportunities
Varndean College’s strong reputation is continuing to grow nationally. Alongside annual opportunities to perform in a professional venue for our sell-out show Breaking Boundaries, students gain a range of industry opportunities throughout their studies and beyond. Performance opportunities 2022-2025 included: U Dance regional platform, Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe, Performers of the Future @ Brighton Corn Exchange
Visiting Artists
Throughout the course, you will have the unique opportunity to engage with a diverse array of distinguished guest artists, each bringing their own distinctive style and expertise. This immersive experience will not only refine your technical skills, provide inspiration for different methods of choreography but also offer invaluable networking opportunities, helping to broaden your artistic horizons and strengthen professional connections within the dance industry.
Trips
Students will go on at least one trip every term, each offering exposure to performances by artists and companies at the forefront of the industry offering the opportunity to deepen their understanding of internationally renowned and cutting-edge choreography in the professional world.
Staff Profiles
Chess Dillon-Reams
Chess is the Programme Leader for Dance at Varndean College and has over 10 years of industry experience. Her professional training began with the Centre for Advanced Training at Laban, where she worked with Hofesh Shechter, Lee Smikle & Henri Oguike Dance Company. After graduating from Northern School of Contemporary Dance, she trained & toured nationally with Jasmin Vardimon’s JV2. In 2014 Chess co-founded the multi-award-winning, critically-acclaimed, comedic dance-theatre company; The Hiccup Project. From 2014-2020, Chess worked as co-Artistic Director; co-creating & performing in three full-length works, including May-We-Go Round?, which won The Pebble Trust Brighton Fringe Award, The South East Dance Award & The Fringe Review Award for Outstanding Theatre. Her work was performed over 200 times, including multiple sell-out UK tours.
Throughout her years performing extensively across the UK, Chess also delivered workshops, sharing her practice with schools, colleges, community groups and varying institutions (including teaching as a guest artist at Varndean College), and developed a strong practice in the facilitation of dance & dance-theatre.
In 2024 Chess received funding from Arts Council England for her most ambitious project to date, creating her debut work as a newly independent Choreographer: M-Othering (in which she performed alongside an intergenerational cast and local community cast). M-Othering previewed at South East Dance to a sold-out audience in July 24, with more performances planned for 2025. For the past two years, Chess has also co-curated the professional dance training programme at South East Dance. She is currently being supported by OUTBOUND; an artist development programme run by South East Dance, NSCD, The Place, FABRIC, Yorkshire Dance, Dance East & Dance City.
Chess is hugely passionate about dance education & advocates for a holistic & inclusive approach within the industry, without compromising on the quality and integrity of high-quality training in varying dance styles and performance. With over 10 years of industry & dance education experience including regular commissions for Smikle Youth Dance Company (SYD), her teaching practice focuses on fostering confidence and igniting and inspiring further passion for dance. Chess is well connected within the dance industry and brings to Varndean College an acute awareness of the current and evolving demands of cutting-edge choreography & performance as well as professional opportunities for students.
Lisa Watkin-Stevens
Lisa is a highly experienced dance professional, educator, creative mentor, and facilitator with a rich history in the dance industry. She honed her skills and deepened her passion for dance at the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where she trained with renowned choreographers and dance makers, including Nigel Charnock, Lea Anderson, Steve Paxton, and Mary Prestidge.
After graduating, Lisa worked as a dancer and simultaneously began exploring her voice as a choreographer and dance filmmaker. She cultivated a distinct creative interest in improvisation as well as the integration of music, film and visuals, pushing the boundaries of traditional performance spaces by bringing dance to unconventional settings such as fashion shows, nightclubs, and other site-specific locations.
Lisa’s career expanded further when she worked for the Arts Council of England, a role that broadened her experience and perspective. Later, she trained as a teacher and was Programme Leader for Dance at Varndean College for 12 years, during which she played a pivotal role in re-shaping the dance course. Her visionary approach led to the creation of Breaking Boundaries, the college’s annual dance show, a testament to her dedication to innovative and inclusive dance education.
Lisa is deeply passionate about the power of movement as a form of expression and believes wholeheartedly in the capacity of dance to unite people and create shared meaning. Lisa champions cross-art form collaboration and strives to enhance the student experience, offering a forward-thinking and groundbreaking curriculum that she takes immense pride in. Her ongoing commitment to dance education reflects her belief in its transformative potential as an art form and its ability to inspire and connect individuals across disciplines and communities.
Alumni Success
Milly Bajpai
Milly completed the dance course at Varndean College in 2023. Throughout her time, she was encouraged and supported by Chess & Lisa; developing her creativity, technical skills and versatility. The nurturing and holistic approach of both Chess & Lisa was pivotal to all that followed.
Milly grew up in South Africa and moved to England, not knowing anyone but wanting to study dance. She can confidently say that she made something of a family at Varndean College and felt very comfortable within the close community of dancers. This community is one of the many things that makes Varndean College Dance Department so special: “learning alongside people that you share such experiences with, bonds you in an incredibly beautiful way.”
“This course prepared me for auditions as well as the intensity of full-time dance training, teaching me so much about being a dancer in the industry and readying me for this next stop physically, mentally and emotionally. It was an incredible opportunity to realise that I can step out of my comfort zone and feel a sense of pride and freedom to do so – this is only possible when you are in an environment like you are at Varndean College. I have carried this new confidence with me.”
Milly successfully auditioned for the National Youth Dance Company and multiple prestigious dance institutions, including Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) where she began studying in 2023. Milly is now in her second year at NSCD and enjoying expanding on everything she learned at Varndean College, “I am so grateful for my time at Varndean College and for the staff seeing in me what I was yet to see in myself. The course opened so many doors for me.”
Creative Arts Showcase 2024
Varndean College’s annual Creative Arts Showcase is a dynamic and vibrant celebration of the outstanding creativity and diverse talents of the year’s graduating students. It features live music, dance and drama performances, interactive gaming and film screenings, alongside exhibitions of 3D design, textiles, graphic design, art and photography.