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
- Great composers: Louise Farrenc
Course start date: Thu 24 Jul 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Trish ShawDiscover the musical life and work of Louise Farrenc (1804–1875), the celebrated French pianist, composer, teacher and scholar. Learn about her delightful chamber music, her important piano etudes, and her impact on French music and culture in the 19th century.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00 - Opera appreciation: an introductionCourse start date: Thu 24 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pauline GreeneWhat is opera? And how do you approach watching and listening to it? Explore the ostentatious, sometimes overwhelming, world of opera through study of two major works and styles.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00 - Musicianship for singers: introductionCourse start date: Fri 25 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BeckmannImprove your understanding of theory and musicianship in relation to the singing. This introductory course is for any singer who would like more understanding about the music they sing. - Singing solo for beginnersCourse start date: Fri 25 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BeckmannA beginners workshop style class for singers who are looking to take the first steps into singing solo. Learn how to sing confidently with an accompanist through manageable exercises and challenges building to an entire song.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £69.00 - Flute and clarinet choirCourse start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lindsey FillinghamOpen to intermediate/advanced flutes and clarinets to play ensemble pieces in a range of styhles. Great for sight-reading and ensemble skills! Alto flute, piccolo, Eb and bass clarinets welcome. - BurlesqueCourse start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Gwendoline LamourBurlesque is an empowering and expressive performance art. Learn the basics of burlesque movement and dance in this glamorous and fun one day workshop. We will explore the posture, deportment, style and elegance of showgirl movement.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £48.00 - Sing jazzCourse start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laura ZakianLearn essential tools to sing jazz, including what to listen for in the piano accompaniment and the importance of pulse, groove and vocal technique. This day is for singers with musical experience who are new to the jazz idiom. - Flamenco: power and performanceCourse start date: Sun 27 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Danielle AllanThis course, separate but complementary to the other summer flamenco dance courses, will focus on archetypal flamenco dance steps and moves that accompany ‘Seguirillas’ music. With emphasis on dancing style, performance presence and panache, the course will culimate in a short dance sequence with live guitar accompaniment. Suitable for men and women of all ages, from beginners to improvers. - Mime: workshopCourse start date: Sun 27 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sean CroftThere’s so much more to Mime than the striped jumper, beret and box!
The course will cover basic techniques in Mime towards developing and creating worlds alongside opening your body up to expressionistic styles. Through technique and improvisational based classes we will play and explore some of the most renowned exercises in Mime and build on them. Engaging your imagination and developing your awareness of your body as a tool for theatre craft.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £48.00 - Actor summer school: improversCourse start date: Mon 28 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sean Croft, Juliet PragueA five day intensive course designed to enhance your skills and develop your confidence in acting. Explore a range of exercises and acting techniques that will illuminate and enliven scripts and scenes. Ideal for those who have completed a beginner’s level course. - Music history bookclub: My Tango with Barbara StrozziCourse start date: Fri 1 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Edward BreenThe music history book club meets towards the end of each term to discuss novels and biographies with musical themes and references relevant to the music history programme.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £19.00 - Come and sing: Mamma miaCourse start date: Sat 2 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan Blake, Richard Hartley-WilsonCome and sing all your favourite ABBA songs from the wildly popular jukebbox musical Mamma Mia at our friendly weekend workshop. There will be oppurtunities for solos over the weekend.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £90.00 - Argentine Tango: introductionCourse start date: Sun 3 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adriana PegorerAn introduction to Argentine Tango. Learn and practice the fundamentals of this famous partner dance in a supportive and fun environment!
No partner needed – come alone, with a partner or with friends. Suitable for both beginners and those with some prior experience.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £27.00 - Piano: intermediate to advanced practice clinic Course start date: Mon 4 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Phillip LeslieExplore the foundations of good practice and how to prepare for performance. These classes offer you the opportunity to address key technical, musical and physical challenges at the keyboard within a musically diverse and supportive group.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £62.00 - Great works: Beethoven's Symphony No 9 "Choral" Course start date: Tue 5 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Katy Hamilton, Trish ShawBeethoven’s monumental ninth symphony, first performed in 1824, has had an enormous impact on western classical music and on wider European culture. How did Beethoven come to write this work, and what does this symphony still mean to us two centuries after its first performance?Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00
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