East London School of Dance is an inclusive dance academy with a focus on Ballet, Tap and Modern/Contemporary. We provide a nurturing and unintimidating environment to develop an education in and encourage an appreciation of all dance forms. We believe that with a strong foundation in classical ballet training, the student is capable of learning a wide variety of dance styles with ease. The ethos of the school is one of openness and acceptance, encouraging commitment to dance and the belief that the creative arts should be accessible to everybody.
At East London School of Dance, we work to the RAD exam syllabus for Ballet www.rad.org.uk and the ISTD exam syllabi for Tap and Modern/Contemporary www.istd.org. We believe taking internationally recognised exams gives students experience in performance, concrete goals to work towards and the proof that through hard work and devotion they can achieve results to be proud of.
Principal – Helena Walpole RAD, RTS, AISTD
Helena trained at Northern Ballet School in Manchester and had further teacher training with Royal Academy of Dance Examiner, Herida May. After graduating from Northern Ballet School, Helena travelled to Bari in Southern Italy, where she taught classical ballet, modern and jazz. On returning to the UK, she founded Dance Incorporated in Chorley, Lancashire with Mary Eckersley-Fielding. In 1985, Helena moved to London and taught for the International Society for Teachers of Dance Examiner, Patricia King for 10 years. At the same time, Helena began her working relationship of 30 years with Jakki Cummings (retired ELSD Tap teacher) at Hornchurch School of Dance. In 1986, Helena founded the East London School of Dance. She has spent the last 30 years channelling her efforts into creating a dance school in the heart of the East London community, which not only offers an education in dance but also a feeling of belonging and a chance to build confidence and self esteem.