Reflecting on 2015 and a Look Ahead to 2016

By Daniel Jenkins

With Christmas well and truly over and the New Year now underway, here at Jigsaw Arts we’ve had time to take stock and look back at 2015 – and what an exciting 12 months they’ve been…

In 2015 we celebrated our 20th birthday; 20 years of Jigsaw! We can’t quite believe how quickly the time has gone. We certainly celebrated our 20th Anniversary in style when Jigsaw staff and students past and present came together in glamorous attire for one fun-filled and emotional night.

Whilst there was plenty to keep us occupied off-stage, highlights on-stage included Jigsaw Croydon’s incredible Christmas production of The Wizard Of Oz. The team ethos in the school really shone through, and we were so proud of the way that the young performers conducted themselves on the day. The older students went the extra mile to help out our younger stars to make sure that they had a wonderful experience in front of all their family and friends.

Whilst many of our pupils showed us their acting talents on-stage, Jigsaw Crouch End student Nia Omorogie flexed her acting ability in front of the cameras for the first time in the feature film Macbeth starring Mark Rowley and Akiya Henry. The film, which was produced by GSP Studios, is currently in post-production and we are all looking forward to seeing the finished result! We interviewed Nia last July for the Jigsaw blog, and she gave some advice to young performers who may be auditioning for something for the first time:

“If you get scared when you are doing your lines, just stop and breathe deeply, and you will be OK.”

Last year, we were extremely proud to have raised a staggering £798.37 for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice. We aim to run two charity appeals a year, and we were thrilled to go into Christmas with the knowledge that Jigsaw friends and families had contributed to this hugely important cause.

Whilst last year was full of exciting new developments in Jigsaw, we’re sure that 2016 will hold just as much to get excited about.

As we enter into the New Year, Jigsaw Winchmore Hill is expanding at an incredible rate, so much so that we are opening a brand new class aimed at students aged 5-6 running from 4:30pm-6pm. As always, we offer a two week trial and places are currently available, but make sure to book early if you want to avoid disappointment.

This term will also see whole-school shows taking place in Broxbourne, Camden, Ealing, Finchley, Hendon, Ilford and Winchmore Hill! We can’t wait to get started, and I’m sure that the students are excited to get underway too.

So here is to another fun-filled, action-packed year at Jigsaw. 2015 was brilliant, so let’s see if we can make 2016 even better!

Stay tuned to our website for weekly blog updates, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for our regular newsletter. You can also follow us on Twitter @JigsawArts, and don’t forget to swing by and ‘like’ us on Facebook too – we love hearing from you.

Happy New Year!

Jigsaw Performing Arts is dedicated to developing performance skills, promoting self-expression and building confidence. We offer performing arts classes for children aged between 3 – 18. Find your nearest school by entering your postcode into the search on our home page.