A LEEDS dance school is running online auditions for its newly-launched Contemporary Urban Dance course.

The Northern School of Contemporary Dance is inviting applicants to send footage of themselves dancing in order to win a place at the conservatoire.

The one-year course, due to begin this September, will be led by Antonio Ssebuuma and has been developed in collaboration with leading Northern School of Contemporary Dance alumni like Sharon Watson.

Sharon said: “I hope that by broadening the range of genres the school can offer, we see a diverse uptake of fresh new talent.”

The CertHE Contemporary Urban Dance is designed for students wishing to expand and explore their skills in a variety of diverse styles before joining a three-year degree programme.

Students will usually have a Level 3 College qualification or A-Levels, but NSCD also awards places to very talented 16-17 year-olds.

The course will explore a breadth of dance styles with close connections to popular and youth cultures, encompassing African/Caribbean Carnival dance, House, Vogue and Street/Hip-hop.

Working across social and cultural contexts, students will examine the increasingly important role the Urban Dance genre plays in the communication of narratives spanning diverse and sometimes challenging subject matter.

Students will be encouraged to develop their own improvisation, freestyle and choreographic skills and technique classes in Contemporary and Ballet will contextualise and enrich their Urban focus.

Visit nscd.ac.uk/how-to-apply for further information about the course beginning this September. The deadline is May 31.