Did you know that the performing arts can play a key role in your child’s development? Many children love singing, dancing, and playing make believe from a very young age, and under expert tuition and guidance these fun activities can help children develop into well-rounded individuals.
Founded by Birds of a Feather and Broadchurch actress Pauline Quirke and her producer husband Steve Sheen, The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts strives to teach its pupils a comprehensive range of skills, which are useful for everyday life, not just a career in the performing arts.
At PQA we believe that our three core modules of Comedy & Drama, Film & Television and Musical Theatre offer our pupils the very best mix of both performance based and technical training as well as providing children with skills for life.
The PQA motto, Be Yourself, Be Amazing, underpins our ethos that every child can develop their self-belief and confidence through skills learnt from participating in performing arts.
Self-confidence is developed in a safe and fun environment which allows children to improvise and experiment, in a group setting with children of similar ages.
Learning good communication skills helps children to cultivate positive relationships with their families, teachers, and other professionals, and of course with their friends. During performing arts classes children work collaboratively and learn how to take directions, put across their own ideas, and listen to others. Seventy percent of our communication is non-verbal, and acting techniques develop this key skill.
When acting out different situations children find themselves in new worlds, which helps them to think differently and with empathy. Not all roles are centre-stage, and working in groups or behind the scenes gives children a whole new perspective in understanding how to work as a team, with every person contributing to a creative project in their own unique way.
Performing arts is a fun, physical activity. Not all children are ‘sporty’ or enjoy competing. Dancing acting and singing encourage movement. Try acting while standing still!
At PQA Academies all of this happens through fast-paced drama games, text and scene analysis. Children are given the freedom to explore who they are and how they feel about a given situation without the fear of being judged by others, under the guidance of expert Principals and teachers.
Following enrolment in performing arts classes children and young people have been seen to react more effectively to everyday situations. Children grow to be well respected among their peers; become effective leaders and the confidence instilled in them makes them more comfortable in their academic abilities, pursuits and achievements. While this may seem a long way off for primary school children, skills learnt in the early years can ultimately help children to succeed throughout their education and beyond.
Even if a child decides they no longer wish to pursue the performing arts, we can confidently say that they will hugely benefit from the experiences they gain and the friendships they make- and that these will undoubtedly be memories and friendships to last a lifetime.
As Pauline recalls, “some of my happiest memories as a child were attending Anna Scher’s Theatre School in Islington. I remember that I had a choice of Country Dancing or Drama, and all these years later I’m still so glad I chose Drama!” pqacademy.com.
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