This Intro to Contemporary Dance Course with Hsing Ya is perfect for anyone coming to contemporary dance for the first time. This beginner friendly course will cover the basic foundations of contemporary dance, including weight transitions, breathwork, basic floorwork, and using the body to create flowing and expressive movements. Hsing's course is a safe space for students to enjoy learning at a comfortable pace.
Each class will comprise a warm up, centre work, and choreography. The warm up will focus on body alignment, core strength, hip and spine mobilisation. Centre work will build a basic movement vocabulary of contemporary slides, rolls, turns and jumps. Choreography will encourage students to connect to their breath and bodies to feel dance as an inner expression.
The course aims to provide a supportive environment for students to gain and grow confidence in themselves.
No previous dance experience necessary to take this beginner friendly course - all are welcome!
YOU'LL LEARN
- Foundations of Contemporary Dance
- New Steps
- Weight Transitions
- Breath Work
- Floor Work
- Musicality
- Rhythm
- …and build confidence, while learning in a fun, supportive and relaxed environment!
WHAT TO BRING
- Footwear: Wear either socks or you can go barefoot.
- Comfortable clothing: For our dance classes, we encourage everyone to wear what they feel the most comfortable to move in. You can visit our Pineapple store opposite the studios and ask for advice from our staff, or can check out our online store where we have all the dance essentials you might need for your class. We have changing rooms and showers on location.
- Water bottle: It's important to stay hydrated during your classes, so make sure you bring your water bottle. We have multiple water points in the building where you can have a refill.
SCHEDULE
This Contemporary course for beginners is 6 weeks long, with 1 class per week on Sundays (6 classes all together). Each class is 60 minutes long and held by Hsing Ya at Pineapple Dance Studios.
Course start date: Sunday 20th September 2026
Timings: Sundays 12.45 - 1.45pm (60 minutes)
-
1st Class: Sunday 20th September
- 2nd Class: Sunday 27th September
- 3rd Class: Sunday 4th October
-
4th Class: Sunday 11th October
- 5th Class: Sunday 18th October
- 6th Class: Sunday 25th October
Price: £95
All courses are non-refundable* and have to be booked before their start date. The course price is inclusive of our membership fee.
*If you cancel up to 48hrs before the start of the course, you will receive a refund in a form of account credit.
ABOUT HSING YA
Hsing Ya is an award-winning choreographer and professional dancer with over 15 years of experience across advertising, music videos, and stage productions in New York, Taiwan, Paris, and London. She is an energised and versatile Contemporary & K-Pop teacher with a phenomenal teaching technique.
She has received multiple grants from Arts Council England, Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation, and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan. Her work has been showcased at Sadler’s Wells, The Place, and as part of the Ella Mesma Company since 2016. Recent highlights include residencies at Paris’ Cité Internationale des Arts and Chisenhale Dance Space, as well as collaborations with Dance Forum Taipei, WC Dance Company, Feng Dance Company, and Appetite Dance Productions. Hsing Ya holds an MFA in Choreography from Taipei National University of the Arts.
Check out our other courses here.