Sue has a wealth of senior corporate management and people development experience, and amongst her many business qualifications she holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration. She has coached gymnastics, and was the u-16 and U-18 coach for Derbyshire County Netball, as well as being a county player and umpire herself. She was also selected for the very first Derbyshire Volleyball team. Sue has taught business studies to HND students in evening classes at Stockport College and has been a NVQ assessor.
Sue took early retirement in 2014 and established the Academy with Sam in 2015. She manages the operational, marketing and strategic aspects of the business.
Samantha is the Principal and co-owner of the Academy and she has a wealth of teaching experience, passion and energy. Her classes are great for building technique, strength, performance skills and confidence – and most of all, they are fun!
Having successfully won a full scholarship to train at Performers College in Essex, she graduated with a National Diploma in Musical Theatre and completed her teacher training.
Sam has performed in many cabaret events at the Mayfair and Grosvenor Hotels in London as well as performing on ‘Top of the Pops’. She has travelled the world as principal singer for the ‘Headliners Theatre Company’ working for P&O Cruises. She also enjoyed 3 years as Mezzo Soprano Swing for the amazing ‘Thursford Christmas Spectacular’ in Norfolk; the biggest Christmas show in Europe. Here, she had the honour of performing for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge at a Royal Gala Performance.
Laura graduated from Centre Pointe vocational college in 2015 where she completed 3 years of professional dance training in performance and teaching and became a fully qualified ISTD dance teacher, with diplomas in dance education in Ballet, Modern and Tap. During this time she successfully auditioned for ‘The Company’ and appeared at The Lowry, Manchester in ‘How to succeed in business without really trying’, and ‘The Wedding Singer’.
Laura has worked as a professional dancer for CMV and Costa Cruises, travelling the world and performing in diverse shows that encompassed multiple dance genres. Other professional dance work includes ITV – Cold Feet, a Bollywood Film, a Breast Cancer charity event ‘Lois Dynamic Dancers’, and she was Dance Captain in CATS at the Altrincham Garrick.
Laura has gained her teaching experience working for local schools and prides herself in helping each student to develop as a dancer. She enjoys using her creative choreography skills for shows and competition work and is passionate about her ongoing professional development. Through workshops and ongoing studies she has gained further qualifications to teach Alixa Flexibilty, Acrobatic Arts and Radar Technique.
Laura also owns 3 ((BOUNCE)) franchises within the fitness industry.
Merryn joined the Academy in 2015 as a student and she progressed through her classes until she left to pursue a career in the performing arts. She graduated from Centre Pointe Vocational College in 2021 where she completed her professional dance and teacher training. Since then she has gone on to work professionally as a dancer at numerous venues, including dancing at Emmerdale’s 50th birthday party celebration and dancing at the AO Arena in London for the Tommy Fury vs KSI fight.
Merryn is a fully qualified ISTD Modern teacher and a qualified Acrobatic Arts teacher. She has gained her teaching experience at multiple dance schools and primary schools. Merryn loves working creatively on dances as well as building technique and strength. She is passionate about her ongoing development and passing on what she has learnt in her classes.
Honey has loved dancing and performing from a young age and has always dreamed of being a dance teacher. She was a gymnast and became a young leader at age 12 and she achieved the British Gymnastics Women’s Artistic Level 1 coaching qualification in 2021.
Honey has won many competitions and danced at many places including The Northern Ballet and Blackpool Tower Ballroom. She assisted in teaching dance at her previous dance school before joining SWTA in 2021, where she qualified as an Acrobatic Arts Module 1 teacher in 2022, and then achieved her Alixa Flexibility Module 1 & 2 and Acrobatic Arts Module 2 qualifications in 2023. She is currently training for her ISTD Tap and Modern Diploma in Dance Education and will be fully qualified in 2024.
Evie has been performing musical theatre since the age of 4 and she has played in a number of theatres, including Buxton Opera House, Manchester Palace Theatre, New Mills Art Theatre and Chapel Players. She has been a member of Chapel Players since 2015 and has choreographed and taught singing for Chapel pantomime.
Evie is also a member of Bowden Theatre Works and has performed in many of their showcases as well as completing group and solo LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) exams; she has achieved a distinction in her LAMDA Grade 5 exam.
In September 2024 Evie will be commencing a BTEC level 3 extended diploma at The Manchester College and her goal is to become a professional musical theatre performer and a musical theatre teacher.
Evie says she feels very privileged to get to work alongside Sam and our students at the Academy, sharing what she already knows and learning more along the way.