About SSD


With an upsurge in enthusiasm for dancing that spans all age groups as a result of television shows including “Strictly Come Dancing”, we are able to bring directly into the School environment the opportunity for children to become involved in a truly fantastic sport that will become their passion. Strictly School Dancing has pioneered change away from the traditional concept and route to dance coaching by offering children from a young age the chance to learn to dance along with their classmates in a safe, secure and entirely familiar environment. This idea was created through the early part of 2007 and implemented in April 2008 after the successful launch of our business.
Our Mission Statement:

“Allow children of all abilities and social backgrounds to become involved in a fabulous sport that provides lifetime benefits”

We offer parents, guardians and schools an entirely managed service with the potential to house a child’s sporting needs within a ‘one stop shop’ location - their school. Dancing is now part of the National Schools Physical Education Curriculum and we provide dance as a part of the Physical Education program for children at various schools.


 



 
TODAY – SSD has experienced significant growth in its business since launching in April 2008 and now teaches at 17 schools in and around the Hampshire and Surrey areas. We operate 6 days per week throughout term time offering tuition slots from 08:00 right through to 19:00 and thus providing the ability to teach hundreds of students per week with our current staffing levels. SSD are able to deliver, directly into the school environment, workshops that provide all children with an opportunity to experience and appreciate Ballroom, Latin American dancing and recently introducing Street Dance and then for the school to decide if they wish their children to participate in regular and ongoing lessons thereafter.

Workshops can be provided on the basis of either a 1,2 or 3-hour session and are usually split into 30-60 minute lessons. Depending on the number of children at the school, the school is able to decide whether they wish all children to be taught or to select year groups for participation. Workshops can be repeated as often as the school desires.

SSD also provide adult tuition at its classes in Basingstoke and soon to be held in the Camberley area also. Children who are keen to accelerate their learning now attend more than one lesson per week. These sessions are held in Dance Studios in the Basingstoke area. Increasing the available tuition time for students has led to some extremely talented individuals already who before too long will be ready to embark upon their first competitions.

FUTURE - Growth in the business will naturally be based upon demand and right now the demand is very high, though growth in one geographic area alone cannot accommodate the needs of children, parents and schools Nationwide. SSD therefore requires true expansion capability along with a simplistic model and methodology that is wholly scalable & simple to roll out. We believe that we have already created this profile within our business. SSD therefore has the potential to provide real local and national employment opportunities for individuals with a creative mind and artistic, skilled dancing background. SSD has been designed for the creation of a future UK Franchised operation where potential candidates will have access to the full range of intellectual property for use in their area. SSD will be highly referenceable based upon its success and will remain flexible in its approach to working with schools & local education authorities.

SSD plan to offer its students the chance to become involved in competition at an inter-school level, providing the children with a sense of motivation, achievement and reward for their efforts and dedication to improving their own personal skills. This therefore means that each school’s participating students operate as an SSD team and not just in isolation. They will have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a competitive environment. By providing this service, students will begin to understand the extent of dedication required to excel at a competitive level, whilst working together to achieve common goals


   "These little steps can lead to a childs healthier life"



Profiles


Sarka and Neil are the Directors of Strictly School Dancing Limited and live in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Sarka started dancing at the age of 7 and joined the ‘LR Cosmetic Dance Team’ under the professional direction of Ing.Zdenek Chlopcik (pictured opposite), a current head judge for the Czech version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ known as ‘Dancing with the Stars’. Sarka has competed at the highest level in countries including; Russia, Denmark, Germany, Slovenia, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Moldova, Slovakia, Austria, Poland and Croatia. Sarka’s dedication to dance and ability have enabled her to compete on the ‘World’s stage’ entering the World Dance Championships on two occassions and ranking inside the top 20!    
Added to this, Sarka has taught dancing to both children and adults for a number of years. Sarka has been dancing for 19 years, 12 of which have been associated with competition at an amateur and professional level. Dancing at a professional level requires extensive training, having twice been crowned as the Czech National Champion, and rated as an international ‘M’ class Ballroom and Latin American dancer we had long felt the desire to use these skills to teach dance and choreography to children here in the UK and specifically within schools.

 
Previously, Neil’s professional career had spanned 20 years of which the last 15 years were exclusively in the Services Sector within IT. Neil has a strong commercial background and ran his own business in the UK. Neil has also worked for established major corporations including: NCR, Storage-tek, Sun Microsystems and IBM United Kingdom Limited. Neil's involvement in dancing started in 2005 when he met his wife Sarka and his passion for the sport has grown ever since.