Meet the DDA Teachers
Teachers
At Dakoda’s Dance Academy, we take pride in our team of talented and dedicated dance instructors who are passionate about nurturing the love for dance in every student. Our diverse faculty comprises seasoned professionals with extensive experience in various dance styles, ensuring a comprehensive and enriching learning experience for all.
Dakoda Matthew’s-Forth
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Hannah has loved dance since the age of 3, training in RAD ballet and various other dance styles. She teaches dance throughout Ireland and London. Hannah was awarded a first class BA (Hons) in Ballet Education at the Royal Academy of Dance. She has also gained Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance, the highest award the RAD has to offer. Further Hannah has taken her Advanced 2, becoming an Associate of the RAD. Her studies developed in-depth knowledge of RAD syllabi, dance science, performance and choreography.
She has also completed the Karsavina Heritage Award, a syllabus of archived ballet pedagogy, training stylistic qualities of Russian, French, Italian and other ballet styles. Hannah was also very fortunate to receive the Winifred Cullis Memorial Award in her second year of study. Hannah has been selected to work various events hosted by the RAD in London, gaining experience as the lead chaperone at the Fonteyn International Ballet competition, RAD HQ open day and RAD Bedells Bursary, working events with renowned dancers such as Darcy Bussell and Anna-Rose O’Sullivan.
Miss Emma
Emma started dancing at an early age, following the RAD ballet syllabus up to Advanced 2 level, whilst also studying modern, tap and musical theatre. She took part in many shows and competitions with the Susan Robinson School of Ballet, winning several awards at National level including the Molly Lake Musicality Award for Ballet at the All England Dance National Finals and the Dame Antoinette Sibley Scholarship at the RAD Dance Challenge. Pursuing her passion for ballet, Emma then trained at English National Ballet School, where she studied, performed and choreographed ballet and other dance genres at a very high standard. She performed on stages such as Sadler’s Wells Theatre and The London Coliseum, and was involved in reaching out to the wider community through various projects. In her final year she danced with English National Ballet in Swan Lake as a member of the corps de ballet. Since graduating from English National Ballet School with a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance, Emma has been working as a freelance ballet teacher, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to share her knowledge and nurture students to achieve their best.
Laura started her adventure with performing arts in her motherland- Poland, at the Youth Musical Academy that inspired her to reach the highest peaks and move into a different country. She has recently graduated from Millennium Performing Arts College. Filled with passion for the craft and love for the people, she is ready to step into her first, professional job.
Miss Ashley
Ashley is a proud Canadian, trained professional triple threat artist, teacher, and choreographer with a specialisation in teaching acrobatics. You can catch her balancing on her hands as often as she does on her feet! Ashley brings a wealth of experience having worked worldwide in Theatre & TV/Film. DDA is thrilled to have her positivity, dedication, passion and technical skills to further inspire our learners. 🌟
Miss Kate
Kate graduated from New York University in 2023, where she majored in Vocal Performance and specialized in Musical Theatre. At NYU Kate performed in productions like Ordinary Days, Nine, Applause and Die Fledermaus. After graduating she performed at the Fireside Theatre in Scrooge the Musical and began teaching dance to children in New York. Prior to studying at NYU, Kate grew up in Sydney and was trained in singing, dance and acting before performing with the children’s chorus of Opera Australia in four of their productions. 🎭
After his family moved from London at the early age of 9 months old, Eli grew up and lived in rural southern France for the majority of his life. He started taking an interest in dance at a very early age and started taking ballroom and latin dance classes at 8 years old, as it was the only dance style offered to him locally. Over the next four years, he trained hard in all areas of Ballroom and Latin, competing all around southern France and in 2016, came 2nd in his Règion. A few years later, he started taking an interest to different types of dance, he began doing ballet, jazz, contemporary, all while keeping up his passion for ballroom and latin. It was only in 2018, when he was enrolled into a Musical Theatre summer camp that he took a big interest to Singing and Acting as well as dance. He became obsessed with the idea of being in Musical Theatre onstage, and it very quickly became his ambition to attend drama school in the U.K. Over the last few years, he has been perfecting his technique and branching out on all types of dance from all over the world. And in 2023, he was offered a place at the world renowned Laine Theatre Arts after auditioning for schools all over and around London. He is now in his first years at Laine and is thrilled to have joined the team here at D.D.A.
Miss Katie
Katie grew up in Derbyshire, which is where her love for dance began. She trained and took exams in RAD ballet, NATD, Modern, Tap, Street Dance, and LAMDA Acting and Drama. In 2021, Katie moved to London to undertake the BA (Hons) in ballet education degree and Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance Award. Alongside this, she works with the RADiate programme, which provides dance classes for students with disabilities and special educational needs. Katie has a special passion for community dance and continues to develop her knowledge through autism awareness training and work experience with the CODA dance company and SEND CPD. Since being in London , Katie has taken part in some exciting events such as the new opening of the Royal Academy of Dance with Her Majesty the Queen Consort and the Bedell’s Bursary auditions with Dame Darcey Bussell. Katie aims to share her interest and enthusiasm for the arts and provide the best quality of teaching and support to all the students she is fortunate to work with.
Miss Ellie
Abbi started her performing arts journey at an early age, training at MB Academy & Elite Theatre Arts in Doncaster. Her training also included associate programs with the Northern Ballet School, Stagebox and British Youth Music Theatre. She has performed in numerous dance shows, plays, short films and musicals during her training years and was an IDTA championship dancer achieving a number of song & dance titles, CYD dancer of the year nominee and was a TDCI World Performer Finalist.
She taught singing and acting for a number of years at her family’s theatre school and was the resident choreographer, whilst completing her level 3 diploma and A-Levels at specialist performing arts college CAPA. Whilst studying she completed her BATD Jazz teaching qualification. Following this Abbi began her training at Urdang Academy where she is currently studying Musical Theatre and Dance. She is so excited to be joining DDA and enjoys teaching a range of styles and genres.
Laure (she/her) is a versatile independent French dance artist. She moved to the UK to pursue her dance training and obtained her BA in contemporary dance from Trinity Laban in 2020 with First Class Honours. Recently, she graduated from the MA Dance Performance at London Contemporary Dance School where she collaborated with renowned artists like Tom English, Hannes Langolf, Theo Clinkard and Benjamin Jonsson. She now works as a freelance performer in London and uses movement and voice as tools to reveal meaning. She steps into the role of choreographer as the founding member of the RAW Collective, an all-female trio of artists creating and performing both in Europe and the UK. She is also a certified dance teacher and shares her passion for dance with students of all ages and backgrounds, specialising in ballet and contemporary dance.
Lily began her dance journey in Cape Town, South Africa at the age of two at The Reddam House Academy of Dance as well as taking part in workshops and classes with Cape Junior Ballet. There she trained in ballet, tap, modern and contemporary. Moving back to England Lily completed a foundation year in musical theatre and has always had a love for performing. Lily also has experience working behind the scenes, having done jobs in stage and production management as well as lighting technician in the past, giving her a great understanding of the theatrical arts as a whole. However, ballet has always been her first love having taken her RAD ballet exams until Advanced 1. In 2022 Lily completed a BA in Ballet Education at the Royal Academy of Dance as well as their Licentiate course. Lily is passionate about making ballet fun and captivating for all her students, wanting to spread the love and passion she feels for the art form to her students.
I started Ballet classes when I was just 5 years old after my Dad noticed I kept walking on my tip toes around the house.
I completed Ballet examinations up to Advance 1 and throughout this journey also sparked a particular interest in contemporary dance and musical theatre, performing in curtain raisers and shows across the Midlands. I went to study Dance at the University of Roehampton achieving a First Class Honours and went on to complete my final year at the Royal Academy of Dance in Battersea gaining PGCE with QTS. Post studies, I was blessed to be able to work full time in a Performing Arts school for 4 years with students aged 11-18 teaching GCSE and BTEC specifications and choreographing for shows with large audiences. In addition, I recently completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training which has helped to develop my understanding of body awareness and something I find useful integrating into Dance classes to support physical and mental well-being. Teaching has always been my ultimate passion and I am still working hard to diversify my skills in a variety of styles!
Arzu is from Glasgow, Scotland. She started dancing at the age of six, learning ballet and contemporary techniques at the UK Theatre School in Glasgow, where she also passed her RAD Ballet exams. As she got older, she expanded her dancing training to include tap, jazz, and street dance at her local dance school. Arzu completed her ISTD Modern and Ballet examinations while enrolled full-time in Dance Studio Scotland’s “dance artists” course after finishing secondary school. She then moved to Leicester in 2021 and enrolled in a full time course at Addict Dance Academy, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in dance and performing arts. She worked closely with industry experts from across the country while she was professionally trained at Addict. Her main area of expertise is commercial styles including hip hop and street dance. Arzu is incredibly passionate about dance, education & choreography, and she strives to inspire, educate, and invest time into every dancer she works with.
Mr Matt
Matt started dancing at the age of 5, going on to train and graduate from London Studio Centre. Since then he has danced on The Brits, X-Factor, The National Television Awards, Sing-On!, and 75 Years of D-Day. He has also appeared in adverts for Adidas, Footlocker and Old Navy. Matt teaches our Street Dance and Breakdance classes!
