MEA UAE Business Awards 2017

62 MEA MARKETS / UAE BUSINESS AWARDS 2017 , UA170001 Diverse Choreography Performing Arts School is an innovative, dance and theatre school offering training opportunities for the complete beginner right through to young performers heading toward a professional performing career. We spoke to Co-Founder LisaMarshall to find out more. Performing Arts School of the Year 2017 Diverse Choreography was established in Dubai, in 2008 by husband and wife team, Scott and Lisa Marshall, and is the only dance and theatre school in the Middle East who provide excellence in performance arts training. Lisa outlines the firm’s focus on client service and how it works to ensure that every student receives the training they need to succeed. “At Diverse Choreography, we believe that there is a love of performing arts in everyone. The key is to establish which class or course of training is suited to each individual student. To ensure that any new children joining our school enrol in a class that is perfect for them, we offer free trials in all classes. This enables parents to give their child a taster of as many classes as they choose, before committing to a full term of training. It is of the upmost importance that all of our clients feel as though they are being welcomed into a family orientated community at the studios, and it all begins with the initial experience. “To maintain the high standards we set ourselves, we are constantly looking for more innovative ideas to further our students training. To continue to search for more opportunities to bring to the UAE to further expand on the burgeoning dance/theatre community here, bringing what is available internationally to performers to the Middle East region is our ongoing focus. We continue to strive to bring leaders in our field here to the UAE, so that they too can share their expertise with not only our students, but the entire dance/theatre population in Dubai. Eventually if we continue to do so, our aim is that Dubai can boast the same size and level of dance community, that other parts of the world such as UK, The States are privileged to enjoy. We will continue to hire only specialists to teach full time for our school, to ensure the training given by Diverse is comparable to no other in the area, thus keeping us at the forefront of performing arts in the UAE, as we have been now for the last eight years.” Moving forward, Diverse Choreography has a number of exciting plans which will help strengthen its strong position within the market, as Lisa proudly concludes. “Ultimately, we are always looking to expand our after school program, bringing this into additional schools around Dubai, so that we are even more accessible to the wider community. We do also have long term plans to open up in Abu Dhabi, but this will be our long term projection. In order for us to maintain the strength of our program/reputation, we would need to be able to open the full facility in AD as well. This would require further funding, which would need to be our long term project. “This May, we will be bringing a major West End children’s theatre, casting director (Jo Hawes) and choreographer from the UK to host workshops at the studios for students on our agency, who may in turn gain future theatre work through her casting agency in the UK. We are delighted to say, that this is an opportunity reserved only for Diverse students. As part of her visit our students got the chance to audition for Les Miserables the musical for the lead child roles at the Dubai Opera House for Cameron Mackintosh via video link. They took the children’s cast from London in the end but the diverse kids are privileged to be the only school in Dubai to get that opportunity. “Additionally, in April, a world famous choreographer from the States, Matt Steffanina, is a massive YouTube sensation, will visit our school, to host workshops at our studios. These workshops will be open to the public, not only to our students. Allowing his invaluable training and expertise to educate/train the entire dance community in the UAE, further developing the dance industry for the professionals (and students alike) in the area. We will be the first performing arts school in the UAE to do bring such high profile workshops to the region.” Company: Diverse Choreography Performing Arts School Contact: Lisa Marshall Email: [email protected] Address: Building, The Curve Building (Entrance A), 4th Street, Dubai, UAE Phone: 00971 4 330 7338