alessendre special needs dance school
DESCRIPTION
This is a brochure describing the devlopement of the dance school and the Larondina Dance Company, along with the principals involved.TRANSCRIPT
LARONDINA DANCE
COMPANY
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LARONDINA DANCE
COMPANY
Dr Ronald Heavey MB A pioneer and visionary, Dr
Ronald Heavey MBE dedicated
his life to convincing an often
sceptical world that many special
needs children, far from being an
embarrassment to be sidelined,
could be radically transformed
into citizens of confidence and
worth with good physical, mental
and language skills.
As a young man Dr Heavey's strong humanitarian principles were out-
raged when he visited a special needs school. Apathetic pupils were
locked in a room with an equally apathetic teacher. It was considered
inadvisable at that time to allow the children to run free.
Dr Heavey vowed to change this retrograde thinking. Over the years, he
succeeded in that and much, much more.
His early working life was spent as a top West End dancer, but he was
forced to quit the stage after developing asthma and angina. He turned
to teaching, obtained a doctorate, and decided to work with special
needs people.
He eventually became headmaster of Mill House School in St Helen's,
Lancashire. He now had the scope to put his visionary ideas into prac-
tice. Those with special needs, he contended, should not lead isolated
and inactive lives.
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They should be gently but firmly stretched; and the medium of
dance was the ideal way because of its marked power to enhance
mental, physical and social abilities while using methods that
were soothing and entertaining.
All aspects of the learning process would be affected, language,
numeracy, social, and even geographical skills (folk dance would
teach much about the cultures of other countries).
The end product would be an individual whose brain and body
had been stimulated in such a way that permanent and highly
beneficial change had been effected. Out went apathy. In came a
heads-up confidence born of new-found abilities.
Experts and parents alike were so impressed and moved by Dr
Heavey's signal achievements that they pressed him to dissemi-
nate his methods as widely as possible. So he formed a dance
company that travelled nationally and internationally to demon-
strate conclusively that those with special needs often had latent
but very real artistic and other abilities that could, with patience
and devotion, be uncovered.
Proficient in ballet, modem dance and tap, the company high-
lighted how its repertoire could be adapted for use with any spe-
cial needs difficulties.
The company's reputation grew to the point where the President of
the United States invited it to perform in the White House. Film
actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny de Vito had two of the
dancers appear on stage at the premiere of their film The Twins.
Dr Heavey died in 2001 but his great pioneering work continues
to be spread by his protege and named successor, Angelina
Alessendre.
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Angelina Alessendre, MBE At just three years old, Ange-
lina Alessendre started training
in classical dance at the much-
acclaimed Vaccani School in
London’s Knightsbridge,
where, for instance, various
members of the royal family
attended classes in ballet, ball-
room and Scottish dancing.
In her teens while still training,
she performed on the West End
stage, elsewhere in England and abroad. At the same time, she
studied the Martha Graham style of modern dance, but her passion
remained with classical ballet.
She gave up her professional dancing career early to concentrate
on bringing up her two children. Later, she rejoined the Vaccani
School to teach dance alongside her childhood ballet teacher.
During this ten-year period, the Royal Ballet invited Angelina to a
special needs school in London¹s Barbican centre to witness a trial
course in dance and mime for youngsters with a variety of physi-
cal disabilities.
She expected this to be a rather sombre experience but was de-
lighted to find happy, well-adjusted children in an atmosphere of
joy and optimism. All the children were eager to learn, and even
those with quite severe problems were able to participate, often
miming the part they were given.
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This experience reminded Angelina of the time when as a teen-
ager in 1959 she lived in Hungary , where her father had been
posted as a foreign correspondent. She witnessed the work of Bu-
dapest’s internationally-renowned Peto Institute. Its structured and
disciplined exercise regime transformed the lives of many chil-
dren with cerebral palsy and associated conditions.
Angelina saw plainly that the Peto offered abundant hope for its
charges by gently stretching them until they reached their highest
possible potential.
The Barbican special needs dance course together with her recol-
lection of the Peto Institute, so moved and inspired Angelina that
she was determined to start her own dance school for those with
learning difficulties.
She began to write a syllabus which would create an atmosphere
of normality and fun, an objective reinforced by a young boy she
met who had attended a variety of therapy classes. He told her:
"I'm sick of being theraped,"
a novel but telling variation on a word.
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Angelina then worked extensively in special needs schools before
starting her own classes. for children with a variety of disabilities.
Later, she saw on television two Down’s Syndrome youngsters
dancing to a number from
Phantom of the Opera. In at-
tendance was the star of the
show, Michael Crawford,
who made a moving presen-
tation to the dancers.
Angelina rang the BBC
which put her in touch with
Dr Ronald Heavey MBE, the
dancers’ teacher. He had won
world-wide renown for the
brilliance of his work. His
dance company had per-
formed across Europe and
even in the White House in
Washington.
Impressed with Angelina’s ability and dedication, Dr Heavey
made her his protégé and taught her his unique syllabus, which
she blended with a number of her own ideas to form the core of
her curriculum. The Alessendre Special Needs Dance School and
the Larondina Dance Company were born.
During the Christmas Honours Lists 2009, Angelina Alessendre
received the Medal of the British Empire (MBE) from Her Maj-
esty the Queen Elizabeth II for her invaluable contribution to-
wards people with disabilities.
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Elisabeth Blackwell Elisabeth has been the Excecutive Assistant and got involved with
the dance school and com-
pany for many years, since
her daughter Rebecca at-
tended as one of the first
pupils in the school. Elisa-
beth has contributed to the
success of the school and
company through her inde-
fatigable energy in every
aspect, from coaching and
directing the students to
helping with the costumes
and choreography, to logis-
tics dealing with the events and exhibitions both at home and
abroad.
The Parents The school and company could have not been a success without
the support and commitment provided by the parents.
The Alessendre Special Needs Dance School and its
Dance Company Larondina
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The school has been in existence for only eighteen years but its
marked achievements are such that it is now in demand interna-
tionally. With performances in Russia, Hungary, France, Ger-
many, United States, where the dance company has demonstrated
its accomplishments.
The objective: to bring teachers to London for training in the spe-
cial methods used to fulfil the school’s dual agenda:
1. To uncover the artistic talents latent in people with special
needs. 2. To develop well-adjusted and confident individuals able to lead
fulfilled lives.
The school’s artistic director, Angelina Alessendre, attributes
much of her success to her mentor, Dr Ronald Heavey MBE,
founder of the renowned St Helens’ Special Needs Dance Com-
pany which, over the years, won much international acclaim for
its brilliance. Dr Heavey, unstintingly gave his time, his immense
talent, his love and great heart to transforming the lives of Down’s
Syndrome youngsters. He has chosen Angelina as his successor to
further his pioneering work.
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Using his imaginative syllabus as a solid base, she choreographs
dance sequences to music likely to appeal and motivate. With firm
but good-humoured discipline, patience and – above all – totally
empathy, the pupils’ attention is held as they listen, remember and
gradually connect one movement with another to gain ultimate
mastery of the dance. Classes thus become profound learning ex-
periences.
Positive change – physical, intellectual and social – follows.
Dance can play a useful role in the education of any youngster.
But those with Down’s Syndrome it can be the all-important route
to complete transformation. For them it has especially significant
meanings. They relate to it, automatically and enthusiastically.
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Their movement skill improves; their intellectual development
blossoms from the mental effort needed to master the steps; and
by performing in unison with their peers they create a sense of
togetherness.
This cohesion makes them more aware of themselves and of one
another. They begin to look, listen and respond.
With these heightened intellectual and social skills plus parallel
physical improvement – better posture, balance and co-ordination
– come;
communication, concentration, co-operation and co-ordination
– all of them indispensable life skills which nurture that most vital
of qualities – Confidence.
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More information
Although most of the school's pupils are Down's Syndrome
youngsters, the innovative curriculum can be readily adapted to
embrace all learning difficulties.
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A critic from the Dancing Times, Britain's most prestigious jour-
nal devoted to classical dance, wrote that the school is achieving
"remarkable results".
Several years ago Angelina Alessendre created from among her
pupils a dance troupe, the Larondina Dance Company. It acts as a
showcase for the school's work and has won standing ovations
from audiences in many parts of the country. In London they have
danced at Her Majesty's and the Prince of Wales theatres along-
side stars from musicals playing at that time.
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As a consequence of such high-profile national exposure, a de-
mand for details of the school's work has developed internation-
ally from parents, teachers, doctors and academics.
For example, the company was invited to Moscow to demonstrate
that for many special needs youngsters their condition need be no
bar to a full and useful life. In Russia 90% of children with
Down’s Syndrome are placed in institutions at birth. More than
45% of them die before their first birthdays.
The visit was arranged by the British Moscow-based charity
Downside Up, the only centre of its kind in the Russian capital
offering early intervention for Down's Syndrome children. The
charity offers training to the medical profession, and to parents
and carers. In hospitals it works to keep children with the family.
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The company's per-
formance was very
enthusiastically re-
ceived (the stage was
pelted with flowers),
and was shown as part
of a television docu-
mentary about those
with Down’s Syn-
drome. As a result of
the excellent work of
Downside Up, the in-
stitutionalisation proc-
ess is slowly begin-
ning to change, and
we hope that our per-
formance contributed
in some way towards
this.
The school's financial resources, however, impose strict limits on
development. With appropriate funding much more could be
achieved. Angelina would therefore be immensely grateful for any
ideas on possible sources of finance. If, for example, schools were
to devote just one hour a week to teaching the Heavey/Alessendre
method, valuable progress would be made.
Those teaching our basic dance syllabus need not necessarily be
dance teachers, but they must be people with a passion for doing
the work. And, of course, it costs money to train them. The dance
troupe's many talents were highlighted by the Dancing Times'
critic, who wrote in a two-page article titled "Meeting the Chal-
lenge":
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'The class I watched began with a short barre of plies, tendus. releves, port de bras and toe taps to the front and side, and moved on to stretches
and simple turns at the centre, and then to rehearsal of several of these
sequences. All worked hard for the full hour, accepting her command
good-naturedly and correcting their position as she suggested.
"One boy surprised me by turning two perfect cartwheels and then turn-
ing his head in satisfaction right on the musical beat. But 1 was also sur-prised by the variety of steps the students had mastered, the elegant line
the girls achieved in arabesque, and the genuine affection displayed by
each pair of partners."
Once the session ends, the school hall becomes a kind of club where
like-minded students gather to talk and laugh about matters of common
interest. This in no way runs counter to current thinking that integration
within the mainstream community is the best way forward for Down's
Syndrome people. Most of the school's pupils are well integrated at
school and in the community.
There is a place and time for integration. As important as it is for special
needs pupils to spend time in a mixed environment, for both social and
educational purposes, it can be counter-productive as a general routine,
because it will put too much pressure on the special needs pupils while
hindering the progress of the others. This can also cause a feeling of
inadequacy in those not equipped to keep up with the pace that other
pupils can, and may cause these pupils a loss of interest as a result. But
Angelina's experience has been that pupils gain enormously from know-
ing they have one place they can use socially (and they love to socialise)
where everyone is on the same footing. Long-lasting friendships are
made by those facing similar challenges. Parents, too, are able to mix
and empathise with one another.
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Articles and comments...
There have been many articles regarding the work of the School
and the Dance Company
Wandsworth Guardian describes our efforts to get the Larondina
dance Company to Russia in their article Overcoming life's hur-
dles.
Downside Up supported our trip to Russia by hosting a nice arti-
cle about the Larondina Dance Company in their Fundraising
Events page.
The Moscow Times gave a special report by Annabel McGilvray
on the changing attitudes to Down Syndrome, and with special
mention of the Larondina Dance Company visit to Moscow
Barbara Newman of Dancing Times gives a very interesting ac-
count of the school and in particular about the Director Angelina
Alessendre in her article Meeting the Challenge. This article was
written in March 2001 just before the Gala Performance at the
Prince of Wales Theatre.
We discovered an interesting article in This is Lancashire dated 25
September 1997 under the by line Final curtain set to fall, paying
tribute to Dr. Ron Heavey and to St Helens International Special
Needs Dance Company, in what was their last performance after
10 years. The newspaper also published a moving tribute to Ron
by his family after his death, titled Ron saw magic of dance
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Can you help funding?
Although some of the running costs and expenses are funded by
tuition-fees for the Alessendre Special Needs Dance School and
by earnings through performances by the Larondina Dance Com-
pany, they are, by no means, adequate for the survival, and effec-
tive running of either of them.
We need to cover and we welcome donations from any private or
corporate source to help us achieve:
To train both those who already have dance training as well as
those who have no formal training. Experience shows that 2 full
days is required to give the early training to dance teachers.
Those without experience obviously require more.
To subsidise dance classes for those who cannot afford to pay
the fees (on benefits, single parents etc) and to help with pay-
ment for the hire of the hall. It is also worth underlining the so-
cial aspect of parents being able to meet during the Saturday
classes. To purchase and maintain costumes, music and equipment nec-
essary for the classes and shows.
To subsidise the production of educational and promotional
DVDs.
Anyone wishing to obtain full information on our income and ex-
penditure together with complete promotional literature should
contact its Director Angelina Alessendre.
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Comments and suggestions about the Website
Should you have any difficulties or suggestions regarding this
website we would be grateful to hear from you
Please send comments to this address e-mail at webmas-
Dance Classes Available
Some information on other people who will be taking classes else-
where in the country:
Teacher Location Contact
Bernadine Soul Didcot, Oxford 01235510710
Fiona Sewell Rugby, Warwickshire 07985760758
Lindon Bennett Special
Needs School Hounslow, Middlesex 0208898 0429
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Contact Address
Angelina Alessendre
Director Alesendre Special Needs Dance School
Battersea
London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7585 2431
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.asneeds.org.uk