The Riley School Of Dance and Performing Arts

14/06/2026

11/06/2026

⭐️Congratulations to all 5 Riley Students. 👏👏👏
These girls will now perform at the National Finals in East Bourne. We are delighted for you all to enjoy this wonderful memorable occasion.
Anabell Tang 11yrs Greek ⭐️(Runner up)
Rose Kelly 17yrs Modern Ballet (⭐️Winner)
Senior Ballet Trio Evie Reynolds, Annalise Ibbotson, Isla Watson ⭐️( Winner)

10/06/2026

⭐️Congratulations to Reya Mae Nicholl Year 4.
Reya is now on the short waiting list for the Royal Ballet Junior Associate Program and has been offer the online classes starting in September.
Reya has a wonderful work ethic for someone so young, she loves her ballet, always showing excellent attendance in all her classes at RLY.
I’m sure you will love these Special classes with RBS. We are all very Proud of everything you’ve achieved recently. Keep working hard 👏👏👏

10/06/2026

⭐️LOOK HOW FAR YOU’VE COME ⭐️
24 students took part in the All England Middleton Semi Finals at the end of May. The Riley School performed some excellent pieces, solos, duets, trios, quartets & groups, enjoying the experience and the high standard seen on stage.

16 students will now go down to Eastbourne and represent the North of England. We are celebrating 50 years this year at the Riley School of Dance and Performing Arts and this makes it truly memorable as we’ve been attending this event for 37years with many wonderful memories of the finals.
Congratulations to Carrie, Katie, Lily, Evie, Gracie, Poppy, Annalise, Lottie Isla, Simon, Sophia, Bluebell, Finley, Annabelle, Anabell & Lilly. The Riley All England Finals Team 2026.
Enjoy every moment !! 👏👏👏

06/06/2026

⭐️A MAGICAL moment meeting baby Arlo, he is absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations to Sam, Marik, Oscar and all your beautiful family, home and abroad. This was so therapeutic to hold him. Thank you ❤️xx

04/06/2026

Brilliant post 👏👏👏

I don’t usually post about dance teaching anymore.

Most people here know me through Needle en Pointe and my tutu work, but before that, and alongside it, I’ve spent over twenty years teaching ballet. I trained through the RAD syllabus to Advanced 2 and grew up in a very traditional ballet school under my mum, who was a professional ballet dancer herself.

A conversation with her today made me think about something.

I wonder if, as a dance community, we’ve started confusing early achievement with good training.

Social media, and even our local competitions, are full of six, seven, eight, nine and ten year olds doing incredible things. Multiple pirouettes, batterie, complex allegro and advanced vocabulary that would once have been reserved for much older students.

And they are genuinely incredible.

The hours they put in and the dedication they show should never be underestimated.

But I don’t think the best training is necessarily the training that produces the most impressive young children.

I think it’s the training that lays the foundations for the strongest older dancers.

A young child can be taught to reproduce movement. They can learn the shapes, the steps and even very advanced ballet vocabulary. I’ve seen six year olds perform posé turns, pas de chat and beaten jumps beautifully.

But performing something and truly understanding it are not always the same thing.

Real technique, artistry and musicality are built over years. Children’s bodies mature. Their minds mature. Their understanding matures.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with success at a young age, and I think competitions can be a wonderful experience for children. The question, for me, is whether that success is being built on foundations that will still support the dancer years from now.
After a lifetime in dance, I’ve come to believe that the goal isn’t to create extraordinary children.

It’s to nurture extraordinary adults.

So if your child is in a school where the focus is on solid foundations, good values and longterm development, don’t lose heart when you look at social media or the local competition circuit.

Trust the process - you might be exactly where you’re meant to be 💕

30/05/2026

⭐️Last dance today. ⭐️
Well done Emily, Annabelle, Anabell and Lilly. Inter Modern Quartet.
It’s only the 2nd time performing this number on stage as this team.
Brilliant job 👏👏👏.

Thank you to Fiona and the Northern Team for giving the North the opportunity to Dance in this Semi Final. It really is appreciated. 👏👏👏

⭐️Congratulations on all your performances RLY. We are looking forward to seeing some exceptional numbers in the Finals. ❤️
It’s now time to REST RILEY TEAM 2026, Well done 👍

29/05/2026

⭐️Congratulations to our Inter Riley Team.
1st place in the Open Small Groups. Well done Annabelle, Lilly, Elizabeth, Bluebell, Finley, Anabell, Emily, Neeva, Arabella, & Kyra. 👏👏👏You did your BEST!

28/05/2026

⭐️Tip Top Thursday at the All England Semi Finals Middleton ⭐️

Congratulations to Team Riley today on some excellent performances.

Reya Mae 7yrs Musical Theatre,
Reya performed extremely well in a strong section. Fabulous potential and work ethic for someone so young.👏
Anabell T 11yrs Musical Theatre,
Anabell performed with conviction, it’s a shame the music was so low. Anabell you’ve performed every dance with real professionalism. A great week. 👏
Intermediate Classical Small Groups,
2nd Runner up RLY and going to the Finals ⭐️
Congratulations, Simon, Lottie, Sophia, Isla, Bluebell, Finley, Annabelle, Anabell, & Lilly.
You all performed extremely well today, showing real TEAM WORK and lovely quality. Well done 👏👏👏
Inter Classical Trio, Simon, Lottie & Sophia. Runner up and going to the Finals.
I’m delighted this performance went well today. You’ve worked so hard on this piece and show so much potential. 3 beautiful dances, giving so much and raising the bar.👏👏👏
Good luck tomorrow 🍀🍀🍀Let’s SMASH it !!!

27/05/2026

⭐️Wishing Finley the best of luck tonight in the Musical Theatre 12yrs. SMASH IT!! 🍀🍀🍀🍀