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Stagecoach Year Round Up: 2023

December 20, 2023
Stagecoach Year Round Up: 2023
We’re a bit sorry to say goodbye to 2023, it’s been a blast! Our students have once again wowed us with their skills and hard work. We saw them take to stages across the world and make memories for life all the way from Vancouver in Canada to Perth in Western Australia. 
 
Various Stagecoach schools took part in showcase events this year across the UK. In 2023, this included nine events on West End stages at Shaftesbury Theatre and His Majesty’s Theatre, as well as another nine events at regional venues from down by the coast in Torquay all the way up to Newcastle, plus a showcase in Mainz in Germany! Our students were absolutely incredible at every showcase event and we know there was many a proud Principal watching their students perform for their friends and family at both showcases and end-of-term performances. 
 
This year also saw not one, not two but three fantastic events at Disneyland Paris! This started off with Behind the Magic, an opportunity for older students to discover what it’s like working as a professional performer. Then we took a cohort of students to take part in Disney Dance the Dream in July. This experience sees students perform at the Videopolis as well as sing outside of the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle and dance in the pre-parade. This year, our students had such a fantastic time in this magical experience, a bout of summer rain didn’t even dampen their spirits! We finished up the year with another excited group taking part in Let’s Sing Christmas at Disneyland Paris where they got the chance to sing in a choir with Minnie and Mickey Mouse! 
 
Despite our schools taking a break from regular classes over the summer months, Disney Dance the Dream wasn’t the only unique experience our students took part in over the break. Many schools welcomed children and young people to theatrical workshops during the school holidays to continue the performing arts fun. And, that’s not to mention, our 2023 Summer Showcase production of Grease! 

Summer Showcase 2023: Grease
Over 70 students from across the globe joined the two-week Summer Showcase programme to rehearse and perform a full professional-level production of the classic musical Grease at the Beck Theatre in Hayes back in August! The cast were phenomenal and we already can’t to see our next cast take on Bring It On: The Musical in 2024!
 
We are proud of the achievements of all our students, from gaining the courage to raise their hand in class and finding the confidence to make new friends to developing their performing arts skills for a future in the industry. This year, we were so excited to begin offering Industry Experience Days in collaboration with Audition Ready to further support students who are looking to gain audition skills for their performing arts careers. This then was expanded to a full Industry Experience Week in summer and everyone involved was fantastic in their performances for agencies. Two thirds of students involved have received agency representation and offers from these experiences and we wish all of these students the very busy of luck with their professional work.  
 
This leads us into wishing a huge well done to all the students who took part in productions outside of Stagecoach this year! We saw students star in movies, TV shows, theatre productions and more and we love hearing all of their amazing stories! That’s not all our students achieved though as we also loved hearing about all the fundraising projects, further education places and competitions won (including Skye who won our Gabby’s Dollhouse colouring contest!) by our amazing student network. 

2023 pictures including students performing
 
These amazing successes extend to our wider Stagecoach family as well with former students starring in some huge roles, including Bella Ramsey’s various amazing roles including in the hit show The Last of Us. Also, Rob Madge has had huge success with their one-person show My Son’s A Queer But What Can You Do?, Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Lauren Oakley had her first celebrity partner on the show, Kit Connor starred in the second season of Heartstopper and singer Sekou was shortlisted for Rising Star at the Brit Awards to name just a few! Outside of the world of the performing arts, we saw a former student on University Challenge and even our teachers and Principals were up to some incredible things – including a couple of our Principals appearing on Countdown! 
 
2023 has been a fantastic year all around and we want to say a massive thank you to everyone in our Stagecoach community, from our students to their parents and guardians to our teachers, teaching assistants and Principals who have all made the year so special. Here’s to a fantastic 2024!