SYD Co ‘Detention’ project with Gary Clarke Company.

As we step into a new year, we wanted to pause for a moment and reflect on what has been a rich, generous, and quietly powerful time for Smikle Dance Studio.

This term reminded us that progression doesn’t always shout, sometimes it shows up through shared experiences, returned pathways, and moments of trust between people.

Kids’ Creative Dance Classes & Academies

Our young dancers are loving every moment of moving, playing, and deepening friendships in our creative dance classes and academies.

Alongside the fun, they’re developing three key creative skills:

Artistry : exploring expression, performance, and storytelling
Dance technique : building movement vocabulary and confidence
Collaboration : learning to work together, share ideas, and support each other

Every class is a space to imagine, create, and grow and it’s wonderful to see the joy and curiosity that shines through every session.

Our Adult Dance Community

We also want to take a moment to celebrate our wonderful adult dance community.

Last term saw our first Smikle Supper Club a simple, joyful chance to come together beyond the studio, share food, conversation, and laughter, and connect as people as well as dancers. It felt relaxed, generous, and very much in the spirit of what we hope Smikle continues to be.

We’re looking forward to creating more social moments and performance opportunities for our adult dancers in the year ahead spaces to move, share, and be together, both in and out of the studio.

More soon ✨

SYD | Smikle Youth Dance

Last term, SYD Company performed at The Place, London, sharing a trio choreographed by Natalie Ayton. SYD also performed and worked closely with Gary Clarke Company, on a ‘bitseize’ site specific piece and also on the creation of a new commissioned work for SYD ‘Outcry’.
For our dancers, this was a meaningful opportunity to experience professional rehearsal processes, performance contexts, perform alongside professionals and experience the generosity of working artists, a reminder that dance is as much about listening and collaboration as it is about movement.

Performing in new spaces

Artist Open House & Studio 2 art/dance collaboration

Our Junior SYD dancers took part in the Winter Artist Open House at Studio 2, sharing work in a gallery-style setting.
This was a beautiful event in collaboration with artist Xin Harper-Little and curator Elen Agasaints. Another original opportunity for our dancers to perform outside of a traditional theatre space, challenging their creativity, presence, and performance skills in new ways.

Studio 2 & Artist Open House Collaboration.

Alumni returning, pathways & professional development.

SYD Co, alum Darcy Bodle & choreographer Gary Clarke

One of the most special moments this year was welcoming SYD alumni Darcy Bodle back into the studio. As part of her developing her creative practice, we were able to support Darcy with paid work experience, working alongside Gary Clarke during our choreographic intensive week.

This felt significant on many levels:

Darcy worked with a current professional choreographer
Supporting Darcy as a new graduate stepping into the profession
She was paid for her time and skills
She connected peer-to-peer with current SYD dancers
She passed on taught material to a current SYD dancer who couldn’t attend the intensive, something we’ve not been able to offer before.

As the first Brighton-based SYD alumni to graduate and return, Darcy’s presence marked a real shift, creatively, educationally, and structurally. It echoed what SYD once built in London and opened exciting possibilities for how learning, mentoring, and progression can continue to flow through the company.

“It’s been nice to return to the Smikle Dance Studio with a different mind set, thoughts and ideas after graduating from Northen Contemporary Dance School. Getting to work with and alongside the next gen SYD Dancers and Gary Clarke and have the space to reflect in a familiar safe home on how much i’ve progressed, before I see where I go next.” Darcy

Looking ahead

As we move through the year, there’s much to look forward to:

Workshops & Intensives
We are looking forward to hosting creative workshops and events for both our adults and kids communities including this year our Easter Intensive returns and Summer School.

Auditions & next steps
Our SYD senior/leavers are currently auditioning and preparing for auditions and University interviews. Although not all our leavers decide to follow dance as a career it’s an equally focused, sometimes nerve-wracking, but important time for them all as they step into new chapters.

Origins Dance Festival
July 4 & 5, 2026
A key moment in our yearly calendar. We’ve already started working on some of the new works but now things will begin to ramp up as we start to pull everything together.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: A New Year at Smikle Dance Studio.