Emily Hepworth

ISTD DDE

Principal
Emily trained at The Centre Performing Arts College in London with Karen King, graduating with a full DDE teaching qualification from the ISTD in Ballet, Tap and Modern. After leaving college she taught extensively in many local dance schools in Surrey and Kent, gaining 100% pass rate for all students submitted for examinations. Emily also taught Modern, Tap and Jazz at Dance First for over 7 years before having the pleasure of taking over as Principal. With a fantastic teaching team at Dance First, Emily continues to grow and develop the school, inspiring the next generation! Emily is also a fully qualified Pilates instructor, having trained with Polestar Pilates in London.

Alexandra Gravett

School Administrator

Alexandra is our first point of contact at the school and a vital member of the team. Dealing with enquiries regarding classes, timetables, class trials, uniform and invoicing, Alexandra is there to help. 

Annabelle Mannix

RAD RTS

Head of Ballet
Annabelle trained at Doreen Bird College and graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in dance and theatre performance. Whilst at college, she toured with Bird Theatre Company, gaining experience both on-stage, as a performer and dance captain, and off-stage as a stage manager. After graduation, Annabelle worked with a number of emerging contemporary choreographers on new performance pieces in a variety of genres. Annabelle has taught dance for the past 20 years and was previously deputy head and acting head of an established dance school based in Surrey. Throughout this time, Annabelle has taught ballet, tap, modern, jazz and contemporary to students at both local dance schools and vocational schools. More recently Annabelle was invited to be on the Board of Trustees for the ISTD, a position she held for three years, and is now a registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance.

Michelle Bigland

BBO Level 4

Born in Kenya, Michelle moved to Vancouver Island, Canada as a young child where she began dancing at the local dance school with additional training at Arts Umbrella Dance.  By fourteen she had been offered a place at the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto.  Missing the west coast, Michelle eventually returned to Vancouver to further her career working with professional dancers such as Joe Lauglin, Suzanne Ouellette, Reid Anderson , Earl Kraul and Beverley Bagg. In 2007 Michelle moved to London where she was given the opportunity to work with West London School of Dance. This encouraged Michelle to focus her career on dance education, which led her to acquire her teaching certification through the British Ballet Organization.  

Chloe Roberts

ISTD DDE

Chloe graduated from full time training at the Institute of Contemporary Theatre in 2020 and gained a BA(Hons) in Performing Arts. She trained in dance, singing and acting since a child and has performed in a variety of shows and competitions, including the Brighton fringe festival. Throughout her training she took her ISTD Examinations in Modern, Tap and Ballet.

She found her passion for teaching at a young age and has since gone on to teach and choreograph at a variety of schools in many genres of dance and performing across London, Essex and Surrey. Chloe also teaches acting and singing for students. Chloe took her ISTD DDI teaching exams in Modern and Tap before going to drama school and is now completing her DDE in Modern at Dance Teachers Inc.

Orla Gledhill

BA (Hons) RAD LRAD RTS

Orla trained at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in London. She graduated in 2023 with a BA (Hons) in Ballet Education. Alongside this she also completed her Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (LRAD). She is now a fully qualified and registered teacher with the RAD.  

Before beginning her degree in teaching she grew up training and completing exams in multiple genres of dance including ballet, tap, modern, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre. As well as performing in many shows with her dance school she was lucky enough to perform in professional pantomime for 5 Christmas seasons.

Orla is excited to be teaching the students at Dance First and sharing with the pupils her love of dance and performing!

Jodie Clark

FISTD, ARAD, BA (Hons.), QTS, Adjudicator BIFF & AED

Jodie teaches full time at the BRIT School and also manages a vibrant freelance portfolio teaching young dancers, students and coaching aspiring professionals. Jodie mentors teachers and delights in being a small part of their journey to enhancing their skills. Jodie offers a breadth of knowledge and experience in the Dance sector. Trained at Bird College under the leadership of Doreen Bird she travelled the world with a diverse performing career. Benefiting from the Dance Teacher mentoring programme from One Dance UK in 2014 she has continued her exploration into the art of dance teaching and continually strives to develop her practice. Jodie has proven success in technical advancement and artistic development teaching at a variety of vocational schools. Jodie is enthusiastic about partnerships and has experience in curriculum design and implementation. With vision for future growth and encouragement for others, she is passionate about developing the whole person and exploring motivation.

Maria Christodoulides

ISTD DDE

Maria has always had a passion for dancing and performing and graduated from The Centre Performing Arts College with a DDI teaching qualification in Modern and Tap and is currently working to complete her ISTD DDE qualification. Maria is also a qualified Acrobatic Arts instructor. As well as teaching, Maria trains with hip hop / commercial companies several times a week. She enjoys teaching children as she loves to see her students flourishing in confidence as they master new skills.

Catherine Sleeman

Biog coming soon…

Charlie Dyer

Biog coming soon…