Harwood Dance has been a centre of excellence for dance in Cheltenham for over 30 years. We started out as Leckhampton Tappers - a small group of adult tap enthusiasts founded by Sara Harwood - and grew steadily from there into the dance school we are today. Sara has now retired as principal but her love of tap and her encouraging spirit are still woven into everything we do.

Sara's daughter Zoë took over as principal, bringing her own training in Imperial Classical Ballet, Modern and Tap. Under her leadership we kept the warm, welcoming feel that Sara built whilst evolving into a holistic dance school that nurtures the whole child - emotionally, mentally and physically. In 2023 Zoë passed the baton to Lily Boxall, a former Harwood student who bought the school and is now principal. Lily has since expanded the student numbers, added commercial classes to the street dance timetable and continues to choreograph for festivals and local theatre productions.

We run classes for children aged 2 to 18 in Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Street/Commercial and Acro (Acrobatic Arts). We are a registered member of the ISTD and all our teachers are DBS checked, attend regular training and hold an excellent reputation for safeguarding. Our students take exams and we are proud of their results - but we believe the best outcomes come from teaching without pressure, in a relaxed atmosphere where every child is recognised regardless of gender, body shape or background.

We are based at Leckhampton Village Hall and also hold classes at Up Hatherley Village Hall. All enquiries, enrolments and admin are handled by our office manager Fenella. If you would like to see what we are about we offer free trial classes - just get in touch via the contact form and we will find a slot for you.

When you contact Harwood Dance please let them know you hopped over from iwork4uglos!