Performing Arts Courses & Classes in London and Online
City Lit offers performing arts courses in the heart of Covent Garden in Central London during the evening, daytime and at weekends. Explore our range of subjects including acting, (including accredited acting courses), dance, radio and screen, and voice, speech and communication as well as a full range of music courses, such as piano, singing, strings and wind instruments to jazz and pop, music technology, music theory and history
Our courses are labelled clearly for beginners or those with previous experience and you can speak to a specialist advisor to help you choose the right level. If you would you like some help or advice:
For music courses email music@citylit.ac.uk. You can also view our music auditions and advice page.
For drama, dance and speech courses email drama@citylit.ac.uk
- City Lit a cappella
Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Della RhodesThis small ensemble of experienced harmony singers learn, record and perform original arrangements of jazz and popular songs. Develop your listening, timing, intonation, musical memory, and team work. New members with good music reading and aural skills are welcome.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £132.00 - Sing jazz 1Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laura ZakianImprove your singing technique and solo performance and learn some standard repertoire and jazz protocol. Explore style, develop good timing and phrasing, breath control, and extend your vocal range. Not suitable for beginner singers.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £181.00 - Mozart's ViennaCourse start date: Wed 24 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pauline GreeneMozart’s music has come to stand for the greatest and most beautiful aspects of the Western classical tradition. But who was he? And what exactly did he do? Come and discover more about this famous Vienese composer. break week 29 Oct 2025.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Storytelling for business and pleasure 1Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ariella EshedAll cultures respect the world of Story. The ability to tell Stories, in a variety of settings, is a skill that has seen a strong resurgence both in the workplace and in contemporary performance. Gain greater confidence in your communication skills and apply this to your wider experience. This course will be delivered in the college.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £160.00 - Jazz today Course start date: Wed 5 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Albi GravenerAn exploration of jazz music as we find it today and as it has developed over the past forty years.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £104.00 - Music analysis for listeners: Messiah Part ICourse start date: Wed 10 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pauline GreeneHandel’s Messiah, composed in1741, is a stalwart work for concert programmers everywhere at Christmas and Easter. We look at Part I, from the beginning to the duet and chorus ‘His yoke is easy’, briefly putting the work in context and examining its forms and overall structure. We will then analyse a passage of recitative, an aria, and a chorus, in order to show how the composer created his effects and how effective this was for audiences then and now. *This course includes a 60 minute break.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Symphonies in productionCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pauline GreeneStudy symphonies coming up in the 2026–27 season, we will discuss their composition, context and style, and then hear a selection ofmusical examples. NB Break week: 30 May 2027.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Beethoven's ViennaCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Katy HamiltonLudwig van Beethoven’s music has come to stand for the greatest and best-known aspects of the Western classical tradition. But who was he? And what exactly did he do? Come and discover more about this most famous Viennese composer.
Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Music theory: grade 6Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarha MooreDevelop your understanding of musical language by learning to write four-part harmony, harmonise and write diatonic melodies, modulate, and analyse scores (harmony, melodic decoration, phrase structure, performance instructions, stylistic implications). Break weeks: 18 Feb and 1, 8, 18 April. - Speak Shakespeare monologues and scenes: comediesCourse start date: Wed 7 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vernon ThompsonDo you enjoy speaking Shakespeare or would you like to enjoy it? Whether you are preparing a Shakespearean monologue for audition or simply have an interest in their structure, rhythm and poetry, this course enables you to work on and speak monologues from the Comedies with confidence as well as rehearse duologues/ scene work from As You Like It and All's Well That Ends Well specifically. The course is held at the college, and includes a trip to the Box Office Studio in Shoreditch, site of the original Theatre where the Lord Chamberlain's Men performed.
Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £104.00 - Piano repertoire Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Shelagh SutherlandIf you have a minimum playing standard of grade 8, come and explore the wealth of piano repertoire, concentrating on style and period. Broaden your interpretive skills and gain experience in performance practice. Break week: 29 May 2024.Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £349.00 Concession £244.00 - Acting Shakespeare Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Robert CavanahRehearse scenes and speeches from various Shakespeare's plays. Create vivid performances that are both true to life and true to Shakespeare’s language.
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