LAPA

Leeds Academy of Contemporary Dance (LACD) @ LAPA

Leeds Academy of Contemporary Dance (LACD) was opened in October 2022 for elite contemporary dancers who have demonstrated passion and sheer talent in their dance lessons. This programme is fully funded by Trinity Academy Leeds and LAPA and is at the forefront of contemporary dance to ensure students advance their dance training by focusing on technique, choreography, and performance to support their dance career. Leeds Academy of Contemporary Dance are currently working towards various performance opportunities such as Christmas by Candlelight, Fresh and the Great Big Dance Off, where they will represent Trinity Academy Leeds and Yorkshire. 

TALent @ LAPA (Dance)

TALent is an urban dance company focusing on both performance opportunities and artistry development. Weekly training consists of studying different urban styles such as break, tutting and freezing whilst maintaining a foundation of street dance. Our first performance of the new academic year is at our Christmas by Candlelight showcase. This piece creates an exciting collaboration with Tchaikovsky’s acclaimed ballet The Nutcracker and more modern music, in turn fusing ballet and street dance together.

We are currently preparing to showcase Tower Block Bound. This is a highly thought-provoking urban dance discovering the local area’s previous stigma and how this can be broken and challenged to create pride and power. This will be our 2022 competition piece which will be entered into the Yorkshire regionals at The Great Big Dance Off. We will also be participating in Fresh, an annual showcase of high-quality youth dance from across Yorkshire.

Theatre @ LAPA (Drama)

Established in 2021, Theatre @ LAPA prides itself on preparing students for the Theatre industry. The training we provide for students gives them a variety of opportunities to thrive in many different elements of the theatre world such as acting, technical design, stage management, directing and costume design, to name but a few. The programme both sparks curiosity within students and ignites a life-long passion for the theatre. Students are provided unique opportunities to meet with industry professionals and are taken to see a variety of shows throughout the year. Our weekly sessions focus on developing key skills for each student’s chosen specialism and then applying them to their own performances and shows that we facilitate yearly. This specially curated programme has been designed to support a student’s growing passion as well as give them the opportunities and contacts for professional growth within the industry, both inside and outside of school.

Orchestra @ LAPA (Music)

Orchestra @ LAPA was established in September 2022 in partnership with In Harmony Opera North. The programme is designed to give students the opportunity to learn an instrument from scratch free of charge and become part of a musical ensemble which will both challenge and invigorate their musical curiosity. Weekly classes are split into a session of small group tuition with an expert tutor of either violin, viola, cello, trumpet or French horn and a group session which aims to develop students’ musicianship and composition skills. The programme aims to develop students’ musical experience throughout the year culminating in a number of performances as their passion and skill grows.

Choir and Close Harmony @ LAPA (Music)

At LAPA we are in the process of building a very exciting vocal programme which will take the form of two separate strands – Choir @ LAPA and Close Harmony @ LAPA. Our Close Harmony group is already up and running and consists of a small group of auditioned singers who receive additional training to take on the challenges of a capella singing. This group are due to carry out their first performance of the year at our Christmas by Candlelight showcase with a stunning performance of Carol of the Bells and will continue to train in the new year with the aim of exploring a whole range of four-part harmony arrangements by a range of artists.

In January we intend to audition our next stage of vocalists in preparation for the setting up of Choir @ LAPA. This is designed to be our competition choir at LAPA, training students to be industry ready with challenging vocal arrangements of modern, popular music by innovators such as Alicia Keys, Stormzy and Beyonce. Performers will also be trained on their musicianship skills to prepare them for the challenges of singing competitively.