Ayrshire's young dance enthusiasts are set to benefit from dance lessons in a beautiful Ayrshire surrounding taught by a prestigious performing art school.

Young people in primaries 4 to 7 can immerse themselves in the wonderful world of the performing arts with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

The RCS - previously known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama - has a special partnership with The King’s Foundation at Dumfries House and East Ayrshire Council to deliver dance lessons to hundreds of young people across Ayrshire.

The classes are free to ensure as many people as possible can engage with high-quality dance tuition.

Students learn from expert RCS staff in the beautiful surroundings of this historic country estate.

Staff create a vibrant, happy and encouraging environment to empower and nurture students to fulfil their artistic potential, develop life skills and explore a world of possibilities within the arts and far beyond.

It’s also a chance to meet other young people who share their passion for dance.

Each dance class has live musical accompaniment allowing young people to work collaboratively with musicians and dance lecturers to further develop their dance and musicality skills.

The Pre-Junior Conservatoire of Dance programme aims to inspire and teach the next generation of dancers starting with core skills at an early education level.

The classes, for Ayrshire residents in Primaries 4 to 7, are delivered as part of the RCS Junior Conservatoire and open to all levels – no prior experience is necessary, it’s all about potential and enthusiasm.

Classes also offer a progression route for those who wish to take their learning further.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is consistently ranked in the world top ten for performing arts education.

Based in Glasgow, it offers specialist tuition across music, drama, dance, production, film and education.

Suzanne Shanks, dance lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Junior Conservatoire of Drama, Dance, Production and Film, said: “On Tuesday evenings, I have the pleasure of teaching a wonderful group of warm and friendly students at Dumfries House. 

"When I arrive, the dancers are always bursting to tell me their news from the weekend and to show me dances and steps they’ve been learning with friends.

" We enjoy an energetic and fun evening dancing to live music and creating our own movement. It’s brilliant to see both teachers and students sharing a love for music and dance.”

Find out more by emailing juniorsdance@rcs.ac.uk and on the RCS website https://www.rcs.ac.uk/junior_courses/pre-junior-dance/