The Place offers work experience opportunities for students aged 15-18 years. We are able to offer a place to young people who show they have an interest in dance and seek a career in the art form. We are only able to offer a place during term time in the months of January/ February/ March/ May/ June/ October and November, for a maximum of 1 week.
Criteria
- Interest in Dance
- Studying GCSE, A-level or equivalent in Dance
- Attending dance classes either at The Place or at another school/ group.
Opportunities
During your week here you will have the opportunity to work and visit the different departments and gain an insight into how a dance organisation works. There may be an opportunity to view a technical rehearsal of a professional company, to view performances in the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, to work in the Costume department, to view the Richard Alston Dance Company rehearsing and to take part in class. (N.B. this is dependent on age and ability).
You may be required to work unsociable hours that exceed the hours of 9-5pm or on Saturday morning. This is so you get the most out of your placement and experience a range of our activities.
How to apply?
In order to apply for a placement you will need to download an application form and return it to us 3 months before your placement is due to take place. We also require a reference letter in support of your application. This can be from your dance teacher, school teacher or employer. Please email these to
When we receive your application it will be processed as quickly as possible and someone will contact you to let you know if we are able to offer you a placement. Unfortunately, because of the amount of interest we receive, we cannot offer placements to all applicants.
Please note that all work placements for 2011 are now FULL. We are accepting applications for 2012.
Student Experience
"My week of work experience at The Place was absolutely brilliant! Everybody was really friendly, and made the whole week extremely enjoyable. One aspect that I found the most interesting was the chance to look at other areas or other jobs to do with dance, which I hadn't really thought about before, or that I didn't even know existed. Having taken classes at the place for nearly two years, it was interesting to hear and look at many other areas of The Place, through talking to different people throughout the week. Watching classes from both the school and the company was incredible, and certainly a highlight of the week. My experience from the week, as a whole, has certainly made me excited for any career that I might have in contemporary dance, weather it is on or off stage."
- Barnaby Booth Yr 12 Tunbridge Wells Grammar school for Boys
"Carrying out my Work Experience at The Place was an experience that I will never forget. I absolutely loved every minute of my time there, whether I was watching Richard Alston’s company rehearse, joining in with the CAT classes, helping out in the costume department or talking to the Chief Executive! As soon as I arrived on my first day, having felt slightly nervous after a long commute all by myself, I knew that I was going to be in good hands during the week to come. Everybody was so welcoming and kind and I was given such a fantastically detailed programme, filled with exciting and interesting activities.
During my time at The Place, I particularly enjoyed, not only participating in and viewing professional classes, but also learning about what goes on behind the scenes in such a big organisation. I was lucky enough to meet many individuals, all from different departments, (such as the Development department and the Theatre/Artist Development department) who each explained their jobs to me and informed me of the skills needed to carry them out.
It was a very eventful and exciting week and the whole experience really gave me an insight into what it is like being a student in a dance school or working on the management side of things in such an organisation. I would thoroughly recommend The Place as a Work Experience placement to anyone keen and enthusiastic to learn about careers in not only dance, but many other fields, such as advertising or fundraising, to name but two. After I had finished my time at The Place, I wished for one thing only: to be able to do the whole week over again. It was such a valuable, informative and exciting experience and a wonderful place to work, and I would like to thank everyone for being so warm and kind to me whilst I was there.
- Charlotte Emms