My Dance Journey

I started my dance journey at three years old with ballet classes. My cousin did ballet so that’s how I started. Back then dance to me was just something that people do as a child I never thought I would be where I am today.

I started out at AJ’s school of Dance and there were definitely highs and lows of that experience. As much as I enjoyed ballet I knew it wasn’t right for me I just couldn’t do the things they needed me to do back then and I wasn’t like all the other children there. So in 2009 I left and joined LA Dance club now known as Katy North Academy of Dance and that was the best decision I ever made.

With Katy there is never a bad day that goes by. She’s an inspiration to so many young people like me and if anything Katy North Academy is the best place to let your passion for dance grow. There are so many dance schools out there that are so focused on competitive dance and being the best but Katy North Academy isn’t like that we don’t want to be the best we just want to have fun whilst dancing and build our passion.

I took my first official dance exam in November 2012 as a star dancer, which was the name given to the beginner street dancers, after moving up to the stardance class (now known as Junior Street) in September 2012 and I then chose to take dance exams yearly to get feedback and learn how I can improve.

In 2013 Katy opened up a cheerleading class and of course my mum signed me up straight away. This was good for me because it helped with my flexibility and social skills as we had to work as a team.

In 2014 I did my first ever dance workshop with Bees Dance Academy and over time I found a new love for lyrical dance.

In 2015 I did my second dance show with Katy North Academy where I danced street dance and cheer.

In 2016 I joined the Rock ‘n’ Roll class. Rock ‘n’ Roll was a style of dance I had been interested in for a while before I actually got the chance to join. I used to enjoy making up my own routines at this age and when I was younger and rock ‘n’ roll steps would always be a part even though I had no clue what I was doing. So you can imagine how much it meant to me when my parents finally let me join.

In 2017 Katy opened up the Musical theatre class. She made the announcement when I was on holiday and I remember being so happy and literally begging my mum to let me join even though she had already signed me up before I could say anything. Musical theatre was always going to be one of my favourite styles because it involves singing dancing and acting which is three of my favourite things all into one class.

In 2018 I got the message asking if I wanted to be a crew member for the cheer class. Hearing this news was like a dream come true. Most of my life I had looked up to the crew members of Katy North Academy and now I was about to be one.

In 2019 the sad news arrived that cheer would be closing. My heart broke but with every low comes a high as not long after I was offered the chance to be crew for the street dance class below me. As I had reached street 2 by this point it meant I would be helping out the younger ones in street 1. In October I had the delight of becoming a crew member for Musical Theatre with one of my closest friends.

Being a crew member is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. It’s a way of sharing my passion with other students and hopefully inspiring them to continue doing what they love. It’s my way of giving back, I grew up being inspired by the crew members and now I get to inspire others.

Unfortunately due to how much dance I was doing I was struggling to make it through both my classes as well as helping out so I had to drop out of rock ‘n’ roll to give myself some time to rest. I still love rock ‘n’ roll and hope one day to rejoin the class.

In November I received The North Star award, which is an award at Katy North Academy that is given to students who Katy and the other staff members think are really hardworking and doing exceptional in dance. Receiving this award meant so much to me because it really did show that all the hard work I had put into dance over the years was really paying off.

In 2020 the saddest news of all hit dance would be stopping for a while. I didn’t know how to take that, dance had become so much more to me since the thing I thought most children do, it had become my life all I ever wanted to do was dance. Dance was the thing that if I was having a bad day I would go to a dance class and forget about all the bad feelings. However going into lockdown wasn’t that bad. If anything I got the chance to explore new styles of dance. Over the course of 2020 and 2021 I learnt tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and even got to continue learning lyrical.

In 2021 Katy came to my mum and I and said she had the perfect course in mind for me which would qualify me to become a dance teacher assistant. This was a dream come true, i never thought i’d ever get to make dance a career path and now it meant i could follow my dreams and begin inspiring children to do what they love. I started working towards the exam in April 2022 and I passed in November 2022. It was the most fun, most stressful but most rewarding course and as much as it was challenging i enjoyed every second. In 2023 i started working towards the next course which made me a fully qualified teacher and i passed in November 2023.

I now currently work for Katy assisting in the beginner street dance class and will be working in the rosettes class whilst my amazing dance teacher and now colleague is on leave.

I want to use this to say thank you to all the staff and students who have kept me inspired to dance throughout my life and I hope to be able to inspire other dancers over the years.

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