Music & Performing Arts – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 confidence 10 warehouse 11 tap dancing 12 stage combat

13 songwriting 14 summer festival 15 punctuality

16 basement 17 radio interview 18 friendships

Elena: Hi everyone. My name’s Elena. I’m here today to talk about my time at the prestigious Highfield Academy of Performing Arts. You probably know it as the place where the global pop icons Cara and Jay first met, but to me, it was just secondary school.

People often assume we all went there because we possessed immense natural talent, or perhaps because strict parental discipline pushed us into the performing arts. But actually, for Cara, Jay, and myself, our parents sent us there primarily to build our confidence. We were all incredibly shy kids who hid at the back of the classroom, and our families hoped the stage would bring us out of our shells.

Highfield wasn’t your typical glamorous stage school. You might picture a beautifully converted church or a modern glass factory, but in reality, it was located in an old warehouse right in the city centre. It had incredibly high ceilings and it was absolutely freezing in winter!

As for the curriculum, dance was mandatory. Most kids loved the energetic hip-hop classes, and classical ballet was obviously the foundation for everything we did. However, to everyone’s surprise, it was tap dancing that Cara and Jay really excelled at and enjoyed the most. They loved the intricate rhythms they could create with their feet.

Dramatic arts were also a huge part of our daily timetable. We learned how to project our voices and spent weeks mastering various regional accents. But the most exhausting part of the acting curriculum was definitely stage combat. We would be completely out of breath after those classes, though Cara was surprisingly good at the sword-fighting sequences!

When it came to music, you’d probably think their incredible singing voices made them stand out immediately. While they were indeed great vocalists, what truly set them apart from the rest of us was their songwriting. They would spend hours crafting their own original lyrics and melodies instead of just singing covers like the rest of us did.

There were numerous performance opportunities at Highfield. We had a winter showcase every December, which parents loved, but the most important event of the year was the summer festival. That’s where talent scouts from major record labels would actually come to watch us perform, making it a very high-pressure environment.

To keep us grounded, the school directors were incredibly strict. We didn’t have a specific uniform, which was quite nice, but they were absolutely uncompromising about punctuality. If you were even one minute late for a morning rehearsal, you were excluded from all practical classes for the rest of the day.

Because we were so determined, we spent hours practicing. When all the official music studios were booked up, we couldn’t use the local park because it was too noisy with traffic. So, Cara and Jay found a damp basement under the main dining hall and turned it into their secret, private rehearsal space.

Their big break into the music industry didn’t happen overnight. They didn’t win a televised audition like many people think, and their local gigs only drew very small crowds. The real turning point was a radio interview on a regional station, where they played a live acoustic track that ended up going viral online.

Today, they are massively successful pop icons. You might think they value the vocal technique they learned above all else, or maybe the fame it eventually brought them. But when I spoke to them last week, they both agreed that the friendships they formed during those years are the most valuable things they took away from the academy.

9 gymnastics 10 older brother 11 windmill 12 youth club

13 confidence 14 shoulder 15 community centre

16 discipline 17 clothing brand 18 respect

Marcus: Hi everyone. I’m Marcus, and I’m a professional street-dancer. I want to share how my journey in the performing arts began, which might surprise some of you. When I was younger, my parents encouraged me to try various sports. I actually started out doing athletics, hoping to be a sprinter, but it was gymnastics that truly gave me the core strength and balance I’d later need for breakdancing.

My introduction to the street-dance scene wasn’t through formal classes. I’d watched my cousins messing around with some hip-hop routines at family parties, but it was my older brother who first took me down to the local park where the real dancers hung out. Watching them practice on flattened cardboard boxes completely changed my life.

I remember that first day clearly. Some guys were doing incredible headspins, which were impressive, but the moment I knew I had to learn to breakdance was when a guy executed a flawless windmill. Seeing that continuous spinning motion using just his upper body strength was mesmerising. I spent the next six months in that park, informally learning from the older kids.

Of course, dancing outdoors is fine in the summer, but the British weather isn’t always kind. When winter arrived, we needed an indoor space. We initially looked into renting the school hall, but it was too expensive. Fortunately, we found an empty room at a local youth club where the manager let us play our music as loud as we wanted for free.

As we got better, we started entering local dance battles. People often assume you need perfect rhythm to win. While rhythm is important, I found that I seriously lacked confidence when performing in front of a crowd. It took several tough losses before I learned how to project energy and hold the audience’s attention.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, either. Breakdancing is an extreme physical activity. I always wore kneepads, expecting my knees to give out first, but ironically, it was a bad fall that tore a muscle in my shoulder that took me out of action for nearly six months. That period of rest made me realise how much I loved the art form.

Now, I’m not just a performer; I’m also passing on my knowledge. While many professional dancers end up working in expensive commercial dance studios, I prefer staying close to my roots, so I run my sessions at the community centre in my hometown. It keeps me connected to the streets where I started.

When new kids join my classes, they usually just want to learn the flashy tricks and have fun. I have to remind them that natural talent isn’t enough; true discipline is what’s required if you want to master the complex footwork and power moves safely.

Outside of teaching and performing, I’ve been exploring other business ventures. I’ve turned down a few offers to appear in music videos, and instead, I’ve put my savings into launching a clothing brand designed specifically for dancers who need flexible, durable gear. It’s doing surprisingly well online!

People often ask what my ultimate goal is. While making a lot of money or achieving international fame would be nice, gaining the respect of the pioneer dancers who paved the way is what truly drives me. Thanks for listening!