Liverpool's Expressions Theatre Dance Academy is more than just a dance school

Expressions Theatre Dance Academy is a local Liverpool dance school in Woolton, where girls from all of the nearby areas have all come together to express themselves and help the community for almost ten years.

When asked about the amazing contribution the school does for the local area, co-owner, Emily Edwards, said:

“We never take a profit from any of our shows, they are divided and sent to charities that are local and close to our hearts,”

ETDA has been helping local charities for years such as Marie Curie, The Brain Tumour charity and Little Lights, formerly known as Zoe’s Place.

She also said that:

“Everyones touched in some way to those charities and just knowing that we could’ve helped a family somewhere in Liverpool, not just one of our ETDA families, is extremely important to us as a school”

🚄

Heading to London this summer?

Save money with the Avanti West Coast Summer Sale. Book now and snap up the best fares before they're gone.

Book now and save →

The dance school also sponsored a screening at Woolton Picture House of Peter Rabbit in order to help the local cinema raise enough funding to meet its target.

“To see so many of our girls there to support us and the cinema was an amazing achievement for us.”

Supporting the local cinema was a way of helping preserve it for the future students to enjoy, as well as the rest of Woolton. Acts like this are one of the reasons that the dance community is such a staple to the local area, impacting local businesses as well as local lives.

The dance school doesn’t take any funding, and has always been independent, relying solely on the profits of show sales, ticket prices and workshops to make the money they give, as well as to provide the resources they need to keep the school as vibrant as it is and host their wide range of classes 3 times a week.

In addition to the external work to help their community, the dance academy itself has established its own heartwarming community within the walls of St. James’.

The dance group is “like a little girl gang”, and students described it as “such a nice atmosphere with no judgement”

A student at ETDA said:

“Dance doesn’t have any lines between, anyone can do it.

“Dance is all one language, from deep in the heart, testing the limits of language and communication.”

Many of the girls mentioned that they had been dancing with the same dance school since they were around three or four; truly a testament to just how close the community is. They said how dance given them such a strong “sense of sisterhood”, with one student in particular adding that she “wouldn’t have had as many opportunities with schools if it wasn’t for the friends shed made at ETDA”

One student said their dances at local primary schools aimed to:

“inspire more people to come together and dance, and to let them have a good time,”

Truly highlighting how important the aspect of togetherness is for the local dancers.

Dancing together for so long has allowed the girls to develop a truly unique connection where they all seem genuinely grateful to be a team together. It has allowed them to “bond through the rollercoaster of emotions”.

Dance has allowed people to express themselves since it became an art in the 15th century, and has helped the Liverpool girls “dance out their emotions” when they can’t form into words.

Emily Edwards, said:

“I find dance is a release so the girls can come into a safe space for expression”

The girls at ETDA have used their dance community as a judgement-free zone to explore their limits and display emotions, with performances moving them and their teachers to tears.

As well as making lifelong friendships, they also used the talent of arts to support local primary schools at fairs, and hold summer camps to help the young girls from all over Liverpool immerse themselves in the creative world of dance and theatre.

In the future, the dance school is optimistic that it can continue doing the work for the local community of Liverpool charities, and keep the dance community strong, inspiring new girls every class to push the bounds of their abilities and imagination and pour it out into dance, no matter the style.