A dance academy is working with young children in a bid to develop their physical skills.

Pupils at Ysgol Bryn Deva, Connah’s Quay, have been taking part in activity lessons from teachers at NEW Dance Academy, to increase their physical ability.

The dance school works with foundation phase children across North Wales as part of the DanceFest which will see the pupils take part in a performance next month.

Helen Foley-Thompson, teacher, said: “I think it’s important because children get a variety of experience and physical skills, it’s great they all really love it.”

Teachers at Bryn Deva aim to teach the children the importance of exercise, so at the start of each session they have an assessment on their physical ability and then see how it improves.

The teacher added: “The children practise once a week and it’s an essential part of the curriculum. Not all children are writers or academics so it’s teaching them a variety of skills and shows them that people excel in different things.”

NEW Dance practitioners work with children to develop their agility, balance and co-ordination, which they say are the key skills children need to develop between the ages of four and seven.

Angela Fessi, artistic director of NEW Dance, said: “We don’t teach the children a pre-choreographed routine, instead we work together with the children to compose the dance piece they perform, which creates a very original and personal piece as well as encouraging the children’s creativity and teamwork skills.

“DanceFest is always a highlight of the year as the project showcases the fantastic talent and hard work of the participating schools.”

The DanceFest ’18 project is funded by Flintshire Council with support from the Arts Council of Wales and the 2018 performance will be running at Theatr Clwyd between June 18-22.