Susan first discovered her passion for dance at the age of 4 when she started at Jacqui Wilson’s School of Dance in Bishopbriggs.
Over the years she gained expert tuition and passed many exams in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Disco. Susan’s favourite thing of all was being on the big stage and performing at the annual shows.
At the age of 13, Jacqui Wilson put Susan forward for an audition for a German music video filmed in Scotland. She landed the role in ‘For the love of a Princess’ by DJ Sakin and Friends..as seen on MTV!! Susan loved this first taste of the commercial industry.
At the age of 17 Susan secured a place at university to study French with Politics…but she decided to follow her heart and gained a place at Dance For All College in Edinburgh where she spent 3 years of of professional training, gaining the HND Professional Stage Dance Degree and teaching qualifications with the RAD and ISTD.
During her time at College she was employed by Jacqui Wilson to assist in the Saturday children’s classes where she quickly discovered a love and talent for teaching.
Working at Dance UK helped Susan excel in her teaching exams and gave her first hand experience of teaching as a career.
In November 2006 Susan, a french speaker, successfully auditioned for Disneyland Paris Resort. Her favourite part about the job was performing in the daily parades as well as living and working in another country.
After a year with Disney, Susan returned to Scotland to join Dance UK full time and, after only four years, Susan was promoted to Head Teacher and Manager. Her favourite dance styles are Tap and Hip Hop although she also gets immense satisfaction from teaching Syllabus Ballet, Tap and Modern to the highest standards. Susan is also a key member of the development team for Streetdance UK, Dance UK’s highly successful boys dance program.
Susan also enjoys training with London’s leading choreographers, bringing the very latest commercial styles to Dance UK. Last summer, she also had the opportunity to work with Matthew Bourne at the Royal Ballet School, Covent Garden.
Susan says “I absolutely love every aspect of my job. Being part of the Dance UK Team is a great opportunity to not only teach dance but to be involved in the other aspects of the company: the administration, music editing, syllabus development, teacher training and show planning. It’s great to have a full time job doing something that I’m so passionate about! The kids are the best part about it..they keep me smiling 🙂 and I love being able to pass on my skills and experience to the next generation!’
