Contemporary, lyrical & jazz
in Solihull.
Contemporary, lyrical and jazz are taught together at Star-Struck, in one class, deliberately. They share a technical root, they borrow from each other constantly, and dancers who train all three read music and movement better than dancers who only ever work in one.
This is the expressive, technical end of the timetable. It is where dancers come to tell a story with movement rather than to land a trick.
The classes running now.
- WhenTuesdays6:30pm – 7:30pmWhereThe EdgeAges & feeAges 8–18£138 a term
Showing classes running in Autumn Term 2026 / 2027. Times come straight from our timetable, so this page is never out of date.
The Edge
Alderbrook School, B91 1SN
Directions
Three styles, and why they belong together
Lyrical is the bridge — ballet's line and control set to the words and emotion of a song, so the choreography follows the lyric rather than just the beat. Contemporary strips away some of that formality: floor work, weight, release, movement that falls and recovers rather than always holding a shape. Jazz brings the sharpness and the attack, with isolations, precision and the theatrical edge that makes a routine land from the back of a hall.
Teaching them as one class means a dancer builds the shared technical vocabulary once and then applies it three ways, instead of learning three near-identical warm-ups on three different evenings.
What dancers get out of it
This is the class where technique gets forensic. Alignment, turnout, control through a movement rather than at the end of it, and the difference between performing a shape and meaning it. Dancers who train here tend to be the ones whose competition solos in other styles suddenly look finished.
It also happens to be the class most often cited by our alumni who went on to train professionally, which is not a coincidence — it is the closest thing on our timetable to conservatoire-style work.
Who it suits
Dancers who are musical, who feel things strongly, and who would rather move an audience than impress it. It carries a higher starting age than our other classes because the technical control it asks for is genuinely harder for younger bodies, and starting too early tends to build habits that take years to undo.
What parents usually ask.
Why are contemporary, lyrical and jazz taught in one class?
They share a technical root and borrow from each other constantly. Teaching them together means dancers build the shared vocabulary once and apply it three ways, rather than repeating near-identical technical work across three evenings.What is the difference between lyrical and contemporary?
Lyrical keeps ballet's line and control and follows the lyric of a song. Contemporary is looser and more grounded — floor work, weight and release, movement that falls and recovers rather than always holding a shape.Does my child need ballet training first?
No, though the class draws on ballet-derived technique and anyone with a ballet background will recognise a lot of it.Why is the starting age higher than your other classes?
The technical control this style asks for is genuinely harder for younger bodies, and starting too early tends to build habits that take years to correct. The current age range is shown against the class above.Where does it run in Solihull?
At The Edge, our studio within Alderbrook School on Blossomfield Road, B91 1SN. One class covers all three styles, so there is a single evening to fit into your week rather than three.
Other classes in Solihull.
Book a taster session.
One session, no obligation, nothing to buy first. Tell us the age and we'll suggest the class that fits.