MORE THAN PERFORMING ARTS
EDUCATION · EMPLOYABILITY · ENTERTAINMENT
ElginEA is an education and performing arts organisation creating opportunities for, through and with the performing arts.
Since 1999, we have supported children, young people and adults through creative learning, nationally recognised qualifications, performance, employability programmes, health and wellbeing, schools and community activity.
But what we do has never simply been about producing performers.
For some people, ElginEA is their first class.
For others, it is a place to build confidence, make friends, improve wellbeing or discover something they didn’t know they could do.
For others, it becomes a pathway into qualifications, further education, employment or a professional career.
Every age. Every stage. Every journey is different.
And we believe your greatest USP…
Is you.
FROM LOSSIEMOUTH TO ELGIN
Our story began in Lossiemouth in 1999.
Over more than 25 years, the organisation has grown and evolved, developing provision across education, performing arts, employability, health and wellbeing, qualifications, schools programmes, community activity and professional creative opportunities.
Along the way, thousands of children, young people and adults have learned with us, performed with us and grown with us.
As our provision has grown, so has our need for a home that can support what we have become.
9 North Guildry Street in Elgin represents the next stage of that journey.
Elgin provides greater accessibility, strong transport connections and new opportunities to work with schools, employers, community organisations and partners.
Our new principal centre will bring much of our provision together under one roof, with activity throughout the day, evenings and weekends.
But this is growth, not forgetting where we came from.
Lossiemouth remains an important part of our story and our future.
Proud of our past. Excited for what’s next.
LEARNING & TEACHING IS A PARTNERSHIP
At ElginEA, learning and teaching isn’t something we do to our pupils and students.
It’s something we build with them.
We do things differently.
We adapt. We change. We listen. We find new ways forward — and we do it together.
Our pupils and students are encouraged to become active participants in their own learning: to think ahead, take responsibility, ask questions, explore ideas, reflect on their progress and develop the confidence to shape their own next steps.
We believe in high standards and high levels of support.
We believe in recognising the person as well as the performer.
And we believe that education works best when people are given the space and confidence to discover what they themselves can bring to it.
That is why bespoke pathways aren’t simply possible at ElginEA.
They are actively encouraged.
PEOPLE TEACH PEOPLE
Our Learning & Teaching Team don’t just teach the performing arts.
They are educators, performers, choreographers, directors, musicians, writers, producers and creative practitioners who continue to work within their own professional fields.
That means current knowledge, experience and opportunity comes back into our studios, classrooms, rehearsals and productions.
Our team see pupils and students not simply as people completing a class or qualification, but as individuals and emerging practitioners finding their own way forward.
Some of the people who first came through our doors as children have gone on to become student leaders, tutors, assessors and mentors themselves — passing their experience to another generation.
That cycle of learning, experience and opportunity is an important part of who we are.
EVERY JOURNEY LOOKS DIFFERENT
Success at ElginEA doesn’t have one definition.
We have seen pupils and students progress to leading performing arts colleges, higher education and professional careers on national and international stages.
But success can also be walking through the studio door for the first time.
Finding your voice.
Making a friend.
Standing up in front of an audience.
Achieving a qualification.
Returning to education.
Building confidence.
Discovering a skill you didn’t know you had.
Moving into training, volunteering or employment.
All of those outcomes matter.
Because education isn’t simply about where somebody finishes.
It’s about what becomes possible along the way.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. REAL INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS.
ElginEA has always connected education with professional practice.
Our Learning & Teaching and Production Teams include active performers, musicians, choreographers, directors, writers, producers and creative practitioners, bringing current knowledge and real-world experience directly into our studios, classrooms, rehearsals and productions.
Over the years, our pupils, students, team and wider creative work have connected with opportunities across local theatres, national theatres, the Edinburgh Fringe, television, radio and international stages, as well as with entertainment agencies, entertainment providers and professionals from the West End, Broadway, Hollywood, film, television and the international music industry.
Our wider professional networks have brought leading artists and industry professionals to Moray and created connections and collaborations extending from Lossiemouth and Elgin to Edinburgh, London, Los Angeles and beyond.
These relationships aren’t about collecting famous names.
They’re about creating opportunities.
They bring professional knowledge, current practice, relationships and experience back into the environment in which our pupils and students learn.
They also allow our young people to see that the creative industries aren’t something that only happens somewhere else.
From a first studio presentation to the Edinburgh Fringe, from a local theatre to an international stage, every experience has value and every opportunity has somewhere to begin.
That’s what we mean by creating opportunities for, through and with the performing arts.
MORE THAN WHAT HAPPENS ON STAGE
ElginEA is also a place for health, wellbeing, connection and belonging.
Our provision creates opportunities for people to be active, creative, meet others, build confidence and support their physical and emotional wellbeing.
That can look different at every age and every stage.
For some, it is the confidence to perform.
For others, it is simply the confidence to walk through the door.
Both matter.
EDUCATION → EMPLOYABILITY → ENTERTAINMENT
These aren’t three separate parts of ElginEA.
They connect.
EDUCATION
Learning helps people discover who they are, what they can do and where their strengths might take them. From a first class to recognised qualifications and Higher National study, education sits at the heart of what we do.
EMPLOYABILITY
If education is about discovering who you are, employability is about having the confidence to take that person into the world. Performing arts develops confidence, communication, resilience, creativity, teamwork, adaptability and responsibility. These aren't simply performance skills. They are transferable skills for every industry and every walk of life.
ENTERTAINMENT
Performance is often seen as the final destination. For us, it's where education and employability come to life. A studio presentation, theatre production, outreach performance or professional opportunity gives people somewhere to apply what they have learned — to prepare, communicate, collaborate, manage pressure and grow in confidence. Every performance matters.
THE NEXT CHAPTER STARTS IN ELGIN
Our history has shaped us.
Our people have made us.
And our focus is firmly on what comes next.
The transformation of 9 North Guildry Street will create a new principal home where education, performing arts, employability, health and wellbeing can come together.
It will allow us to welcome more people, strengthen partnerships, develop new opportunities and continue investing in the communities we serve.
This isn’t simply about creating larger premises.
It’s about creating a home for the next stage of an organisation that has spent more than 25 years learning, adapting, performing, creating and investing in people.
After more than 25 years, we’re still learning.
Still changing.
Still creating.
Still daring to dream big.
And we’re only getting started.
1999 — Lossiemouth
Where our journey began.
Growth
More classes, performers and opportunities.
Employability
Using creativity to build confidence and future skills.
Performing Arts College
Creating a pathway for students ready to take their training further.
Productions
Bringing performers together on stage and creating memorable live experiences.
Elgin 2026 — The Next Chapter
A new principal home at 9 North Guildry Street and an exciting future as ElginEA Studios & Performing Arts College.
STEP INTO WHAT’S NEXT
Discover Your Future with ElginEA
From your first class to the next stage of professional training, ElginEA is here to help you build confidence, develop your skills and explore where your passion could take you.
Browse our 2026/2027 classes, find out more about the Performing Arts College or speak to our team about the opportunities available.