A Carlisle dance studio is aiming to build a game-changing new floor after a hugely successful showcase brought in nearly £3,000.
Northern Heights Dance School was set up in Carlisle in September 2022 by Sophie Horseman, who had previously run sessions in Botcherby Community Centre, and it has grown to be hugely popular in its first year-and-a-half in the border city.
On Saturday, February 10, Northern Heights held their second annual showcase event, selling around 450 tickets and bringing in nearly £3000 in revenue, which will go towards building a new studio floor.
Sophie suggested to the News & Star that the new floor, which is aiming to be finished by Easter, will be a game-changer for their students.
She said: "We've got about 140 students now and over 20 classes a week. As it's getting busier, that has been a demand for getting a new floor. This was our second showcase event but it was a lot bigger this year. We sold more tickets, we had a lot more people in the show.
"It was a showcase of all the students, with lots of different styles and musicals, such as Matilda and Singin' in the Rain. It's fantastic to get nearly £3,000. We sold about 450 tickets, which was great, and our raffle brought in more than £500 alone, which was really good."
Northern Heights also employ Demi, Megan and Abby, all of whom are trained in professional dance.
Between them, they teach a wide range of dance classes including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and burlesque.
The new floor is expected to be finished in time for the Easter holidays, and Sophie suggests that it could revolutionise students' experience at Northern Heights.
She added: "It's going to be a total game-changer. The floor we've got at the moment is bumpy, it's creaky, it's old. It's suited for purpose but not ideal, and the new floor will allow us to do more classes such as tap. We will have better facilities available for all our students."
Northern Heights is currently enrolling new students and anyone interested should send enquiries to northernheightscarlisle@aol.com
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