Principal & Dance teacher: Miss Emma
Miss Emma is the owner of the Academy and strives to continually keep giving her students opportunities to perform and grow in confidence and gain the maximum they can from being part of Aspire within their dance drama and singing classes as well as them growing as individuals. Miss Emma started dancing at age of 3. At the age of 16 she went on to train professionally at the Tiffany Theatre College, Essex. Whilst training at college she studied numerous styles of dance as well as singing and acting and gaining teaching qualifications. After graduating she went on to work professionally for numerous companies abroad, in the UK and at sea before settling down into teaching. Miss Emma loves to teach, as she is able to pass on her knowledge and passion in Dance to her students and see them grow and gain knowledge in the specific techniques required for each individual style. She is a registered teacher with the ISTD, RAD and Acrobatic Arts.
DANCE TEACHER: Olena Russell
Olena known as Lenka trained at the kharkov state academy of culture,she then went onto further her training at the Hamburg school of entertainment in Germany. Olena’s professional experience includes performing as a lead soloist in the modegart theatre’s production of The Alphabet of symbols and the Kharkov chirstmas gala, Aida cruises from 2010 to 2014. She was also chosen to perform at the christening ceremony of Aidablu in Hamburg Germany. Olena now enjoys passing on her passion for dance through teaching.
SINGING TEACHER: Miss Louise Good
Louise is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she studied singing for Opera. Before this she gained experience in musical theatre, taking on many roles in professional and amateur shows in and around Cheshire, Manchester and London. Now she enjoys teaching singing and performance, passing on her passion for music and the world of theatre. Louise teaches group singing classes and private lessons at the Academy and enjoys seeing the students grow as individuals as well as groups creating harmonies and working together.
DRAMA TEACHER: Miss Stephanie Harrison
Steph has always been attracted to the wonderful world of theatre, a passion that fuels her love of teaching Drama. After completing her degree in Drama and Theatre Studies at Liverpool John Moores University she went on to complete a PGCE at the University of Reading. Miss Steph has also worked in theatre across the North West and is currently head of drama at school in Liverpool as well as running group drama classes at Aspire.
ADMIN: Susan Russell
Susan, Mum to Emma, has been very involved in the world of dance for over 20 years supporting her and her brother Kris with their love for dancing, singing and acting. She is delighted to be involved with Aspire and help with the day to day running of the Academy. Susan deals with all the admin and communication side of the Academy ensuring students and parents are kept up to date with everything happening at Aspire and also the smooth running of the Academy
GUEST DANCE AND MUSICAL THEATRE TEACHER: Kris Russell
Kris has been dancing since the age of 4. At the age of 16 Kris went on to train professionally at the Urdang Academy, London. Whilst training, Kris studied numerous styles of dance as well as singing and acting. After graduating college Kris went on to work professionally at Resorts world Sentosa, Singapore and AIDA Cruises worldwide. He has now taken steps in launching his own production company and initially plans to stage numerous productions worldwide in collaboration with Joe Labero who is an internationally renowned illusionist. Kris enjoys coming into teach at the Academy and see the progression of the students.
DANCE TEACHER: Georgie Chenery
Georgie has been dancing since the age of 3 and used to dance at Aspire up until she was 17. She then went on to train professionally at Bird College in Sidcup gaining a diploma in Musical Theatre. She trained in various dance styles whilst at Bird and also worked with lots of different creatives in both the musical theatre and dance profession. She is excited to now be on the teaching team with both Emma and Lenka who taught her everything she knows, and is also looking forward to passing on her knowledge and passion for dance to all of the students.
Values at the Academy
Our Values at the Academy: We welcome children of all abilities, ages, nationalities, races, genders and religious background and promote equal opportunities for all students. We promise to value all students and their individuality and adapt to every individual’s needs whilst creating a fun and enjoyable learning environment for all. We will comply with the current Child Protection Laws and follow the guidance on safe guarding and wellbeing of children at all times. We will also uphold the Code of Conduct and Code of Professional Practice, set out by the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance. We will work to maintain the highest level of teaching possible as well as striving to continue professional development.