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Meet the Team

All our teachers have professional experience and hold appropriate teaching qualifications 

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Annie Dunkley 

Principal

Dip Ballet in Education RBS/ROH. RAD RTS. Silver Swans Licensee.

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Trained at the Royal Ballet School from the age of 11, Annie worked as a freelance professional dancer and actress in the commercial sector for many years. West End shows, Films, TV series, Commercials and Music Videos kept her busy and she has worked with artists as diverse as Clint Eastwood, Whitney Houston, Freddie Mercury, Tina Turner and Timmy Mallett!

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Once settled down with a family in Horsham, she gained her teaching diploma, jointly delivered by the Royal Ballet School and Royal Opera House, and achieved Registered Teacher Status with the RAD. Alongside teaching for the Royal Opera House and English National Ballet, Annie has taught ballet at Horsham School of Dance since 2011. Since taking over as principal in 2019, Annie has overseen some exciting developments, and the future of HSD looks bright!

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Katie Schoen

ISTD DDE Ballet, DDI Modern.

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Katie trained at Bird College graduating with a National Diploma in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre. She then went on to work as a Parade Dancer at Disneyland Paris, and later embarked on several contracts as a production dancer and trapeze aerialist for Celebrity X Cruises. She was then promoted to 'Aerial Captain' for her final cruise contract.

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Katie has choreographed for summer youth projects at the Electric Theatre in Guildford including shows 'Aladdin' Easter 2017 and 'Singing in the Rain' Summer 2017. Also a production of 'West Side Story' in Belfast Summer 2018.

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Katie coaches children at various schools across Surrey and West Sussex. She has had great success in entering students for dance festivals and exams in Ballet, Modern and Tap.

 

Katie likes to use the skills she learnt as a professional dancer in her teaching practise and she thoroughly enjoys passing on her passion for dance to her students.

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Michaela Kent

ISTD DDE Tap ISTD DDE Modern

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Originally from Kent, Michaela received her training in Tap, Modern and Ballet at the Sydney Woodman School of Dancing in Canterbury. At 17, she took a summer job as a resident dancer at a holiday centre on the Isle of Wight and ended up staying for 25 years! 

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During that time, she became Entertainments Manager, responsible for devising and coordinating daytime activities as well as writing, producing, choreographing and performing in the resident shows. 

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With a young daughter to look after, Michaela changed direction to pursue an academic path, undertaking a humanities degree and subsequently gaining a PGCE in Adult Literacy and ESOL at UCL. She maintained her passion for dance by returning to lessons, and quickly realised her real desire was to teach dance. 

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Michaela is delighted to be part of Horsham School of Dance, sharing her passion and knowledge, and supporting the students on their dancing journey.

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