Street Dance troupe Diversity, winners of Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, open their second dance studio location this week, in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. There are Open Days scheduled during the weekend - already in high demand - and dance classes start on Monday 13 October.

The dance group opened their first studio in home-county, Essex, and have chosen Birmingham as their second location, after requests from Midlanders. The new venue is situated on the corner of Ickneild Street and Carver Street in the Jewellery Quarter, with the Diversity name displayed on the outside wall. 

However, the group are keen to say that they have not simply given their name to the project at arms’ length - Diversity are deeply involved in the day-to-day running of their studios, and dancers from the group also instruct classes. 

When scouting locations for the studio, founder member Ashley Banjo toured potential venues in Birmingham, settling on the Coin Foundry - which still housed old industrial equipment at the time the purchase was made. It’s safe to say that the interior is now unrecognizable, with a sleek, minimalist design, but hints of the building’s history remain in the high windows, and exposed brick and beams.

Boasting dance studios across two levels, the venue makes the most of a space which will soon feel like home to the budding street dancers of Birmingham. To celebrate the opening, founder members Ashley Banjo, Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely were on hand to provide a tour of the new studio, and a group of current Essex members had the opportunity to showcase their skills. 

The studio offers classes catering for different levels - beginners, intermediate and advanced - and for different age groups, from Baby Beginners (aged 4-6) all the way up to adults lessons. Speaking to What’s On, Ashley explained that these in particular are a big hit. 

“One of our most popular lessons is our adults - Adult Beginners and Adult Intermediates,” he said. “I think that people think ‘I'm too old to start’ (Not the case!) and there's loads of people that used to dance, back in the day, that just enjoy it.”

Monthly memberships include a weekly class which matches the member’s age and experience. There has already been a huge demand for the Open Days scheduled to take place this weekend. 

“The open days give a taster session to every class that we offer,” Ashley explains. “We've got hundreds of people coming! So much so that we're going to open up our Sunday for all of the people that couldn't get space on Saturday, just to offer another open day. Big demand!”

Places for the weekend’s Open Days might have been snapped up already, but for more information about classes, memberships and the studio itself, visit the website at diversitystudio.co.uk