Preparations are underway for our Youth Academy auditions in Oldham on Saturday 17 December. In partnership with Oldham Sixth Form College, this collaboration reflects our commitment to creating accessible and enhanced opportunities for young aspiring dancers in the North West region.

Now in its second year, PYA Oldham became our seventh academy, joining our network of academies in Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster, York and Gateshead. The PYA programme provides high-quality pre-vocational dance training for talented young dancers aspiring to pursue a career in dance.

The academies provide students with a 90-minute weekly class taught by current and former PDT dancers, as well as internationally renowned choreographers. Auditions for PYA Oldham come at an exciting time as our other cities are busy preparing their dance pieces for the PYA Showcase and Summer Dance Platform.

Founded in Leeds in 2009, Phoenix Youth Academy has seen graduates go on to successful auditions at top conservatoires, with two reaching the BBC Young Dancer finals. This year, 18 students are graduating, with continuing their dance or performing arts studies at undergraduate level, and three pursuing STEM subjects.

All students auditioning for dance conservatoires have received at least one offer, with placements at institutions like Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds Conservatoire, Rambert School, and Trinity Laban, among others. Additionally, three younger students have secured sports at CAPA College and Renaissance Arts, while six students have advanced to the final auditions for Sadler’s Wells National Youth Dance Company.

Find out more and apply here

Photography by Peter Huggings