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– All staff are DBS checked and first-aid trained –
Clare O’Connor – The Principal
Clare put on her dancing shoes aged 4 and hasn’t looked back since. She undertook thorough childhood training at the prestigious Laine Theatre Arts and Central School of Ballet. Clare then went on to study dance professionally full-time at The Northern Ballet School. It was here where she achieved her initial ISTD teaching qualifications whilst studying and performing all dance styles as well as acting and singing.
Since graduating, Clare has danced professionally worldwide and across the UK. She has danced on West-End stages, in UK tours, UK and international shows, on large cruise ships and in music videos.
Clare quickly fell in love with teaching and choreographing, soon finding herself immersed in the teaching world. She is fully qualified with the ISTD in ballet, tap and modern. Clare is an enthusiastic and passionate teacher who strives to inspire all students to achieve and exceed their potential, in a fun and nurturing environment. She is passionate about helping every student to grow in confidence.
Clare is always studying and attending courses to strengthen her training and never wants to stop learning!
Molly Price – Professional Dance Teacher
Molly trained at The Brit School for 2 years before completing a BA Honours in Dance at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Here she received extremely versatile training, covering ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, commercial and aerial. During Molly’s training, she had the incredible opportunity of performing at The Brit Awards behind Pink! Since graduating she has gone on to dance professionally, including performing at The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals and grand finals in Liverpool, behind various artists including Rita Ora, and last year’s Eurovision winner Kalush.
Molly has also established herself as a dance teacher alongside freelancing. She is also a qualified Personal Trainer.
Madi Crawford – Professional Dance and Musical Theatre Teacher
Madi began her dance and musical theatre journey at the age of 4. Since then she has continued to grow as a performer, training in various dance styles including: modern, jazz, commercial, ballet and acro.
She began training full-time at the age of 16 at Arts1 School of Performance, achieving a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Performing Arts Practice. Madi is now continuing her training at Laine Theatre Arts where she is able to learn and grow as a performer.
Alongside her training she is currently working towards her ISTD DDE Modern qualification, assisting her knowledge in the field of teaching.
Madi loves teaching and is passionate about inspiring the next generation of performers.
Madeline Gilby – Professional Dance and Acrobatics Teacher Teacher
Maddie has been passionate about dance since the age of 3. At just 8 and 9 years old, she
danced in pantomime performances at the Blackpool Grand Theatre for two consecutive
years. Aged 10, Maddie auditioned for the UK tour of Matilda the Musical and, after five
auditions, was offered the dual roles of Lavender and Amanda. She performed for 18
months on tour, performing in over 100 shows culminating in a show in Edinburgh in front
of an audience of 3,000 people.
Maddie has trained in acro since the age of 2 and has taught many classes at her previous
dance school for all ages for 2 years before coming to O Connor Dance Academy. Maddie
has competed in many gymnastic competitions and has done multiple festivals including
solos and groups within the acro style. Maddie loves all genres of dance and is currently in
her second year of training at Laine Theatre Arts, where she continues to refine her skills
and share her passion through teaching.
Lauren Williams Teaching Assistant
Lauren’s dance journey began at the age of 3 years old. She has had training in many dance styles including Ballet, Modern, and Tap. She has a passion for dance and has spent many years as a dance teaching assistant.
She is soon to commence studying for her ISTD DDE teaching qualifications. Lauren is DBS checked to ensure a safe dance learning environment for everyone. She regularly goes to London to watch dance productions, her favourite being ballet!
