When my business partner and I set up Perform sixteen years ago, we wanted to do something completely different to what other children’s drama classes were doing.

We had both worked for other drama schools and, while they were great in many ways, we wanted to create a class that focused on two things: 

• Giving children the best fun of the week
• Nurturing children to become so confident in themselves that they could be capable of doing whatever they wished to later in life. 

From a personal perspective, I am a very confident person today but this wasn’t always the case. I wasn’t sporty or particularly bright at primary school and I was terribly under-confident. I would never put my hand up in class or volunteer for anything. There were so many times that I felt I could have done something but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it because I didn’t feel good enough or because I was worried that I’d be laughed at by the others if I’d tried. 

Then drama classes came along and they were really my saviour in life. When I was ‘in character’ acting out scenes, I could be someone else and do things that I would never have the confidence to do as myself. I could have a 'voice' and, even if it wasn’t really mine but someone else’s, it still felt wonderful.

After a while, people began to see me differently and I started to see myself differently too. Bit by bit my confidence grew and my parents nurtured this in me.Because of my passion for drama and singing, I was able to grow and flourish in all other areas of my life (well… not sport… but you can’t have everything can you?!)

Last week, someone asked me if, by sending their children to Perform, they might have a career in the world of entertainment one day. My answer was, and always will be, that sending your child to Perform will hopefully give them to confidence to be able to put their hand up and aim for whatever career they want. 

If you’d like to find out more about how we do this at our weekly drama, dance and singing classes for 4-7 and 7-12 year olds, then take a look online. Here, you'll also find details about the Perform 4Cs: Confidence, Concentration, Communication and Coordination. 

Drama became my passion and my chosen career path but this won’t be the case for most. Whatever outlet you choose to help grow your child’s confidence to fulfil their potential later in life, the main thing is that they love it! And at Perform, that's something we never forget.