Relocating their HQ to Livingston will treble study opportunities for academy students.
Plans to expand one of Scotland’s largest centres of performing arts from Edinburgh into Livingston are now going ahead.
The MGA Academy’s purpose-built 30,000 sq ft campus will allow the centre to triple its student intake to more than 500, to extend its educational programme to 11 BA degrees, two post-graduate Masters degrees, and also strengthen foundation courses.
Founded in 2015 and currently based in Balgreen the MGA Academy’s new headquarters in a former tax office in Almondvale, Livingston, will welcome its first intake of pupils in September and will feature Scotland’s largest sprung dance floor which extends to 347 sq ft.
The facilities, which represents a multi-million pound investment, include seven rehearsal studios for acting and musical theatre, seven fully-sprung dance studios, four singing rooms and a TV production suite. Other features include a student welfare and physiotherapy room, a learning resource centre and library, IT suites, study areas and a cafe and social areas.
The MGA Academy is approved by the Scottish Qualifications Agency, the Imperial Society for the Teachers of Dance, and is Scotland’s only fully accredited college with the UK’s Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre.
The centre is urging potential students to enrol early to avoid disappointment of missing out on a place during its milestone first year in the new campus.
Giles Auckland Lewis, Chief Executive of The MGA Academy, said: “We are very excited to see our new West Lothian campus taking shape and from September we are preparing to welcome up to three times the number of students we could previously enrol.
“With its location almost equidistant between Edinburgh and Glasgow and enjoying a superb motorway and roads infrastructure, the new base will be much more convenient for students and staff alike and this marks the opening of a new chapter in our success story.
“We have spared no expense to create a truly spectacular centre which will take the raw talent and sparkling potential of home grown and international performing arts students, and give them the basic tools through to advanced skills to dance, sing, act and perform at the highest levels.”
The MGA Academy was founded in 2015 to address a demand for an innovative performing arts academy outside of London and has produced a wealth of talented graduates who have appeared in studios, on stage and on screen in major productions.
