Parents

If your child’s ballet teacher has asked you to enter them for the Cecchetti Southern Area Awards, please click here to access the entry page.

Please carefully note the age bands for each section and the entry restrictions. And please enter an accurate height in cm as this determines the group they are placed in on stage.

The location of the competition is the Studio at The Hawth Theatre, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, RH10 6YZ.

There is lots of free parking in the large car park at the theatre.

The theatre is within walking distance from Three Bridges train station, where there are normally taxis available as well.

Ballet clothes

Please check your child’s ballet attire in plenty of time before the competition, in case you need to purchase or replace any items.

Dancers must wear plain tank-style leotards without any embellishment. They should be a different colour to their ballet school uniform and not black. Seniors are permitted to wear camisole-style leotards. If a belt is worn it must be the same colour as the leotard.

Juniors should wear flesh-toned socks and ballet shoes. All other sections can choose flesh-toned socks or tights and ballet shoes.
Competitors should wear their hair in a bun, or if their hair is not long enough, an alternative neat style for ballet. Where possible fringes should be secured back. A plain 1/4 inch ribbon, in the same colour as the leotard, can be worn to decorate the bun.

Boys in the Junior section should wear a white leotard or vest, ballet shorts and ballet socks. In the other sections boys can wear a white leotard or vest, ballet shorts or tights in black or navy blue.

It is not necessary to buy new ballet shoes, but clean and neat shoes will look best under the lights.

Adornments

No jewellery, hair adornments make up or nail varnish can be worn. Backstage helpers will ask competitors to remove any items that infringe these rules.

The set work and dances

Your child will learn the set work in their ballet classes in the weeks leading up to the competition. They will be performing this to an audience, so if you can encourage them to practise at home or with their ballet friends this will be helpful.

This is a competition for recreational ballet dancers, so please encourage them to do their best and enjoy the experience.

Please arrive at your designated signing in time with your child already dressed in their competition ballet clothes and with their hair done. Please remember jewellery, hair decoration, make up and nail varnish is not permitted to be worn. Please dress them in comfy clothes over top of their ballet wear and provide them with water. If you are not able to do their hair before hand, there will be helpers backstage who can help. Parents are not permitted to go backstage at any time.

You will leave your child at the sign in desk, where chaperones will take them backstage to prepare for the competition. There the children will be briefed on how the event will run on stage. There are toilets and there will be space for them to warm up.

For you there is a bar on-site at The Hawth and indoor seating. You will be notified when it’s time to enter the Studio, prior to your child’s section taking place. There will be programmes to buy, with cash or card.

Photography or videography inside the Studio during the competition is not permitted.

After the adjudication of your child’s section, they will return backstage to dress and collect their belongings. They will be brought to the foyer to be signed out into your care.

All competitors will receive a certificate of participation to recognise their committment to enter the competition. We hope the experience of dancing on stage with their peers and performing to their families creates a positive experience for every child.

A senior member of the Cecchetti community will be invited to adjudicate the Awards. He or she will select a winner and a runner-up for each section. We also have a Joy of Dance award, which is given to the competitor who performs the set work with a real sense of enjoyment. Winners of each section will receive a medal which can be kept, and a shield which should be returned prior to the following year’s competition. For the Joy of Dance a statue, cup and shield are awarded, which can be kept for a year by the winner and returned prior to the following year’s competition.

Closer to the Awards the arrival times for each section and the expected running times will be published here. This will be the week of 31st January 2026 once the entries have closed.