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
- 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 - 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 - 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 - Great works: Beethoven's Symphony No 9 "Choral"
Course start date: Tue 5 Aug 2025Location 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 - Great composers: Gilbert and SullivanCourse start date: Tue 5 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Katy HomdenCreators of arguably the most popular and enduring opera in the English language from the 19th century, this course will introduce you to Gilbert & Sullivan’s musical legacy via biographical study and operatic highlights. tutor: Katy HomdenFull fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Contemporary dance intensiveCourse start date: Sat 16 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Francis AngolThis is a three-evening intensive in contemporary dance fusion. Learn how to express your physicality in a dynamic fashion and gain basic knowledge of the main principles of contemporary dance, with influences from other techniques. General level - suitable for both beginners and improvers. - Choral singing for pleasure Course start date: Mon 28 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard Hartley-WilsonWhether you’re a beginner or have some experience, this choral class will give you something to look forward to on a Monday. We sing many genres from musical theatre to pop plus more traditional pieces. This course is very popular, so booking early is essential. Break weeks 5th & 26th May 2025.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £174.00 - Choir at lunchtime Course start date: Mon 28 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard Hartley-WilsonCome and spend your lunchtime singing a range of music, in interesting choral arrangements. It's good for the mind, body and spirit. Sing music from across all genres, have fun and leave with a spring in your step. There's no better pick-me-up at lunchtime! Break weeks 5th & 26th May 2025.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £104.00 - Exploring the music of Richard StraussCourse start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Katy HamiltonFrom the heady waltzes of Der Rosenkavalier to the awe-inspiring opening of Also sprach Zarathrustra, come and delve into the life and works of the brilliant – and controversial – composer and conductor, Richard Strauss.
Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Listening to the 20th century 1Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Edward HendersonUsing Alex Ross’s 'The Rest is Noise' as a guide, we'll investigate art music in the first half of the 20th century. This module covers Mahler’s last symphonies, fin de siècle Paris and the Ballet Russes, and Expressionism and the Second Viennese School. Break week: 28 October 2025.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Dance 60+Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Francis AngolJoin our weekly dance and movement classes to improve mobility, posture, balance and coordination. Our aim is to inspire older men and women to get creative with dance and movement.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £125.00 - Lieder: music and poetryCourse start date: Wed 17 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Katy HamiltonFrom the late-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, the German Lied developed and blossomed as a musical genre for amateurs, professionals, homes and concert halls. We trace its history through some of its most important composers.
This course has a scheduled break week on 29 Oct 2025. - Floor barre: general levelCourse start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Dilek TaptikFloor-Barre is a wonderful conditioning programme for everyone, regardless of age and ability. Work through all the important muscle groups while safely supporting the body on the floor. All levels welcome.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £90.00 - Men's ballet Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Martin WimpressPerfect if you've never taken a ballet class before, or if you did ballet as a child and want to return. This men’s ballet course provides slow and fun training in how to use your body correctly, with a focus on correct placement, stance and posture.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £90.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.
Add me to waiting list