An independent dance company is expanding with the opening of a new dance college.

M26 College of Performing Arts has been set up by Aeron Llyod-Wren from Radcliffe, his husband Jak Lloyd-Wren and their friend Sophie Turton.

Aeron set up a now well-established dance school, Freak Dance, in Radcliffe more than 15 years ago and is keen continue supporting young people in the town.

The new college is based in the Freak Dance studio on Dale Street and officially launched earlier this week (Tuesday, September 10).

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Jak, who is from from Oldham, said: “We saw that some high schools were getting rid of dance and drama classes at GCSE level.

“We [Freak Dance] became an accredited centre to hold GCSE’s a few years back and we’ve had some really successful cohorts coming through our doors.

“We teach all kinds of kinds of dance and many leave us and go into professional work, so it felt like a natural progression to become a college too.

Jak and Aeron are both highly experienced dancers and qualified dance teachers, teaching internationally each summer.

Jak added: “There a lot of privately funded dance schools out there, which can be incredibly expensive.

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“It seems a shame for kids who can’t access that to miss out when what they’re so good at what they do and we wanted to offer an alternative.

“Why shouldn’t they be able to pursue this as a career if they have the talent and drive to be there?”

There have been plans for the college since before the Covid pandemic with Jak sharing that “now felt like the right time”.

He continued: “We’ll have a small cohort to start. We’re offering a vocational course which is up to International Dance Teachers’ Association (IDTA) standard.

“In society, there is pressure to sit exams on certain dates. We can be more flexible and also offer students the chance to finish off courses which they may have started in the past but never completed.”

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The college will be open three days a week from Tuesday to Thursday.

It will also give students access to trained nutritionists, sports therapists and other professional support services.  

Sophie added: “We had an amazing first day. It’s all been go! The atmosphere was electric and the talent of the students is incredible.

“We can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.”