Emily has been dancing since the age of two and a half years. She began her training in Nailsea with Mrs Jennie Nelms. Here she took exams in Ballet, Tap and Modern (Pre-primary - Grade 5 Tap and Modern (passing all exams with honours) and Grade 6 ballet, (passing with Distinction).

She then continued her ballet training with Ruth Lewis and the the Bristol School of Dancing (Clifton), where she completed all major ISTD and RAD exams, including Advanced 2 Tap and Modern exams (passed with Honours) and Advanced 1 ballet. She was lucky to recieve extra tuition from RAD Examiner and Adjudicator Janet Palmer and ex-Royal Baller Principal Karen Paisley at the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dance in Bath in her later teens.

From the age of seven, she competed in Dance Eistedfods locally and nationally, winning medals and trophies along the way and was delighted to come third with her duet partner in the 'All England' finals in London at the age of 16. She also performed in many local dance shows, fetes and fairs, including the Nailsea Pantomimes every year, pantomimes at the Bristol Hippodrome and BLOC shows at the Colston Hall. At the age of fifteen, she was awarded the 'Most Improved Dancer' Scholarship at the RAD Summer School, which included a free place to the Summer School the following year.

She was a member of the Bristol Youth Ballet Company for several years, where she worked her way up from the corps de ballet to soloist. They performed at many theatres in the area and took part in regular workshops from visiting teachers.

After completing her G.C.S.E's and A-Levels at Bristol Grammar School, she went on to the University of Birmingham, where she studied a 'BA Hons in Dance and Theatre Arts' for a year before deciding that the course did not offer enough practical training.

She left University and went for an audition in London to become a Professional Dancer at Disneyland Paris. She was thrilled to make it through the character and parade dancer rounds, being given the chance to audition to become a show dancer. She was offered an open ended contract to dance in a show in the Disney Studios Park called 'Animagique' performing as Sleeping Beauty in a show 6 times a day! She also had the chance to play some other well known characters including Raffiki (the Lion King), King Louis (The Jungle Book), an Elephant (from Dumbo!), and to operate many of the puppets and kites which were used as props in the show.

She lived and worked in Birmingham for several months upon her return to England. During this time she continued to dance in the Birmingham University Dance Society shows and Guild Musical Theatre Group Musicals. She also gained experience teaching Street Dance classes for the Centre for Sport at the University of Birmingham. Following this she returned to Bristol, where she helped to teach for the Bristol School of Dance for some time for Miss Angela Redgrave.

In January 2003, she went on a trip around the world for 6 months. This was an amazing experience and she visited 8 countries in total and did lots of amazing things, including going to see The Australia Ballet perform Swan Lake at the Sydney Opera House, Learning to Tango in Buenos Aires and even skydiving out of a plane at 12,000 feet in New Zealand!

Emily is delighted to have recently completed her F.D.I Modern teaching qualification at the Janet Marshall Dance Centre and Bristol College of Dancing and also to have qualified with the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS) with the Royal Academy of Dance.

She still takes regular Advanced Ballet classes with Ruth Lewis, and Advanced Jazz, Modern, Contemporary and American Tap classes with various teachers in the Bristol area. She also continues to perform regularly with the Bristol University Dance Society (Please visit the News section for more information).

Emily is delighted to have recently been employed by Stapleton School of Dance and looks forward to teaching at the school for many years to come. Emily is also thrilled to be teaching her own classes in Baby Ballet, Children’s Ballet and Adult Ballet Fitness at David Lloyd, Westbury-on-Trym.

For information on the current classes Emily teaches, please visit the Classes section. You can also find further information on these schools in the Contact and Location sections.