Currently based in Wolverhampton they are moving to Wombourne to a venue twice the size. Sharon the boss says its down to the increasing popularity in Cheerleading.
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00:00So Sharon Anne of the Sharon Anne Dance Academy, is that right?
00:04Sharon Anne Shearing Dance Academy.
00:06That's the one. And based here in Wolverhampton.
00:08And not for too much longer though.
00:10No.
00:12This is a big site you've got here, isn't it?
00:14But you're moving on to an even bigger site, is that right?
00:16Yeah, we want to go to double the size.
00:20So we can have two of these gym floors,
00:22a large dance studio
00:24and a dedicated jumble area as well.
00:26How long have you been on this site here now?
00:28Eleven years.
00:30Did you ever think when you came here
00:32that you'd be outgrowing this site?
00:34No, because when we came here this was enormous
00:36when we moved in.
00:38But it's been very clear the past two years
00:40it's too small for us now.
00:42Is that just because the reputation of the school
00:44is dance becoming more popular with young people?
00:46What's that all about then?
00:48A bit of everything. I think the reputation's grown
00:50as we've done well in competition over the past
00:52ten years or so.
00:54Also cheerleading itself as a sport
00:56is growing exponentially in the UK.
00:58So we need the space
01:00for the new athletes that are wanting to
01:02come in and do the sport.
01:04So it's a big move for you, isn't it?
01:06I mean this floor here, it's all sprung loaded
01:08and everything for the dancers.
01:10So it's not just the case of moving in
01:12and putting a lick of paint in the new building, is it?
01:14No.
01:16When's the date that you should be up and running at the new site?
01:18We will be opening from the 1st of September.
01:20So we will have then
01:22two floors installed.
01:24The studio space built
01:26and the dedicated tumble area
01:28all built in, ready for us to open
01:30and start running classes from the 2nd of September.
01:32Great, yeah.
01:34And for those in the know, it's not too far from
01:36the Newish Sainsbury's in Wamburn, that's right, isn't it?
01:38That's right, yes. Opposite.
01:40Very close to the Waggoner Norses.
01:42Parents will be pleased to know.
01:44Pop for a drink
01:46while they drop the kids off.
01:48So have you just kind of been finding that you
01:50just can't accommodate the numbers then?
01:52There's more and more people coming saying, can we join?
01:54Yeah, we can't accommodate all the children
01:56here anymore.
01:58There's extra teams that we have to build every year
02:00when we do tri-ex, which we're currently
02:02doing at the moment.
02:04So we've actually had to make
02:06an extra two teams, so we now have 27
02:08teams in total.
02:10Across from all ages, from age 4
02:12up to adults.
02:14Each year there's more teams we have to add
02:16and obviously timetable space
02:18here is running out, so
02:20working till midnight, there's not much more we can do.
02:22So how many people, how many
02:24students do you have involved at the current
02:26site here then? Competitive
02:28students probably around 250
02:30and then possibly
02:32another 100 development classes
02:34children that attend on top of that.
02:36So what was your route
02:38into dance then Sharon?
02:40I was a dancer from the age of 3
02:42I danced ballet, modern
02:44went into freestyle
02:46but then came out and started
02:48doing the jazz, lyrical
02:50introduced cheerleading
02:5218 years ago
02:54and it's just grown from there.
02:56So I guess the numbers involved from
02:5818 years ago, it was probably a lot more niche
03:00then I'm guessing yeah? Yes, yeah.
03:02I mean 18 years ago
03:04cheerleading was still a growing sport
03:06so it's
03:08definitely helped to increase our numbers
03:10whereas dance was my background
03:12it's still a large
03:14part of the school but cheerleading has helped
03:16as well with the growth of the academy.
03:18So are you looking forward
03:20to the move or is it giving you headaches?
03:22Looking forward is a stretch
03:24yeah I am looking forward to when
03:26it's all finished and moved in.
03:28The move itself is I know
03:30going to be quite traumatic I suppose
03:32but yeah I am looking forward to it.
03:34Well we wish you all the best
03:36and onwards and upwards for the dance school. Thank you.
03:38Thank you.