Aisling's Journey with Rubicon
"Through volunteering I realised my passion and drive for community dance"
- Aisling Baxter, Community Dance Apprentice, Rubicon Dance
Read Aisling's story about her journey with Rubicon. Aisling is currently training to be a Community Dance Practitioner through our apprenticeship scheme, but has always been a part of Rubicon. From taking part in weekly classes, to volunteering and the full time course, find out how Aisling has thrived throughout her time at Rubicon.
"I first started coming to Rubicon as a child, taking part in weekly after school classes. This meant that when I was 15 and needed to complete some work experience as part of my schoolwork, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a week in Rubicon, work shadowing some of their dance leaders in various sessions and getting to know the building and how it worked a bit better.
At 18, after completing my A-Levels, I auditioned and gained a place on Rubicon’s preliminary Foundation Dance Course. At the time this was a one year course which provided learners with OCN level 2 and 3 qualifications, and this meant I was studying full time in the Rubicon building, taking daily class, volunteering in a few of Rubicon’s community dance sessions and pursuing the first steps of my career in dance.
The training I received on this course enabled me to gain places first on the Foundation course at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and later at Edge Hill University where I graduated with a BA(Hons) in Dance and Drama with Aerial Performance. After graduating and being unsure where I wanted to take my career, I was fortunate enough to be able to return to Rubicon and volunteer in a couple of Rubicon’s community dance classes in exchange for technique and fitness classes alongside the current full-time students.
Through volunteering I realised my passion and drive for community dance, and was offered a place on the apprenticeship training programme in May 2019. I am currently in my third term as an apprentice. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and learning so much. I am incredibly grateful to everybody at Rubicon for this amazing opportunity."