Northern

The B.A.T.D. Northern Region covers the area between Thirsk, in North Yorkshire, Teesside, Durham to Newcastle in Tyneside. We are a relatively small area, but a very friendly one!

We usually meet three to four times a year, on a Sunday, and hold our meetings in Teesside, which is approximately in the centre of our area. We always welcome new members joining us and are interested to know exactly what they want from their area. Usually at our September meeting we plan the year ahead.

Firstly we try to include the teaching to our members any new syllabus work that has been produced recently. We realise the importance of keeping our members up to date with new work, and feel the only way to gain the best exam results is to actually see the work, rather than just trying to ‘read and teach yourself’ from the syllabus book!

We then take note of all the requests our members may have, and give everyone a chance to speak, and then try to accommodate their needs over the next few meetings. Once a year, usually in May we have a ‘day of dance’ for the children in our area, and try to bring lecturers of high standing to share their expertise and inspire our local dancers. Recently we have had a dancer from the West End, who taught them a routine from ‘Cats’ and brought costumes and pictures for them to see, and a delightful young man from the highly acclaimed dance company ‘Rough Diamond’ In summing up our region I would say we are friendly and approachable! There is always an examiner at our meetings who is more than happy to help solve any problems you might have, whether it’s general advice, help with planning or running your exam session, or most importantly willing to discuss any difficulty arising from the syllabus work.

If you would like to come and join us please contact our regional secretary Miss Jill Nichol.
Tel 07944 722931 or send your e-mail address to: jillnichol@hotmail.co.uk
You will then receive notification by email informing you of our forthcoming events.

Of course our most enjoyable meeting is in December when we all go out for Christmas Lunch together! No dancing, but lots of laughter, come and join us!

Hazel Munroe – Northern Region Chairperson