Creative Calling:

We hear from a student and a parent about what they love about Centre Stage School of the Arts.

Dance, theatre and more at Centre Stage

A STUDENT’S THOUGHTS Luisa Clarke, 14, Scottish/british

I’ve been attending Centre Stage for two years now. During my time there, I’ve taken part in quite a few classes including ballet, jazz and a new class, Spotlight, where we learnt different skills in acting, dance and singing, life skills in performance and tips for auditions.

During my time at Centre Stage, I have participated in numerous performances including The Long Way Home, Oz, Snow Worries, Corporal Crumble’s Christmas Crisis and, most recently, Snow White, where I was fortunate enough to star as Snow White!

What I love the most about performing is usually the most disliked part of performing, and that is the nerves. The thrill of performing is pure excitement for me and seeing the audience smile makes me feel that what I’ve been working for was worth it. To be honest, there are times where I feel self-conscious performing in front of hundreds of people, but isn’t that sort of natural?

Teamwork, discipline, empathy, patience and perseverance are just some of the skills we are taught. While these skills are important when performing, they also help prepare us for the future even if performing doesn’t become our career.

A PARENT’S THOUGHTS Christine and Paul, Canadian; Sophia (13)

When we moved here nine years ago, we heard great things about Centre Stage. We always loved drama so we wanted Sophia to have exposure to it as well from a young age. She started a weekly creative drama class in 2012 and stayed in creative drama until she was old enough to audition for a performance course. She is now attending a performance course for teens called Theatre Workshop.

We have had a very positive experience with Centre Stage, and love the family atmosphere and safe space it offers for children to let loose and explore their creativity. Whatever mood Sophia is in, when she goes to a class, she always comes out smiling and generally happier. As a parent, that is lovely to see! We also love the opportunities she’s had to perform; she has been in the Christmas pantomime for the last four years – three of those were held at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands.

Not only does drama cultivate creative thinking, but it also helps with confidence, teamwork and presentation skills which will stay with her for life. Sophia is really comfortable speaking and presenting in front of her peers and loves performing in school plays. We attribute this to getting her in drama classes early and I hope she continues as long as she possibly can!

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