Footnotes School of Theatre Dance - Ballet - Tap Dance

Footnotes School of Theatre Dance - About Us

About Us

Our School opened in Sept 1994 and having originally operated from village halls, due to popularity, 2006 saw us move into our own dedicated premises in North Walsham as a permanent residence with 2 working studios. The town centre location means ample parking nearby.

Our teaching staff are qualified via BTDA (British Theatre Dance Association) and/or IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association). All hold DBS checks and are first aid trained. The school's principal is also a member of the GPTD (Guild of Professional Teachers of Dance).

Assistance is also often provided within classes by senior pupils who are training for their professional teaching qualifications.

We offer classes in Ballet, Tap, Modern Jazz, Lyrical, Speech & Drama, Choreography and Acro, teaching pupils from 3 years of age in our "Tiny Stars" class, through to ladies well into their 70's within our adult classes. Pupils can work towards GQAL accredited grade & vocational examinations, as well as performance awards and stage performances.

The School has its own main production every alternative year, held at a local professional theatre. Pictures from past productions can be viewed in our gallery.

Meet The Team

Principal: Michelle Marett

Michelle started dancing at age 3. She gained her first professional Ballet qualification at 17 and went on to gain many further professional qualifications in all Theatre subjects. She is qualified to teach both BTDA & IDTA programmes of study in all Theatre subjects, holds an Anatomy & Physiology Diploma and is a member of the Guild of Professional Teachers of Dancing. Also trained in accountancy, Michelle left office life to follow her passion, starting Footnotes in Sept 1994, having carried out varied professional dance engagements in & around London, as well as being a regular in panto, alongside her office job. Her aim has always been to make dance available to all.

Jane Warden

Jane has been dancing since the age of 4. Having trained locally, she first started teaching alongside Michelle at 17. Jane was delighted to be asked to teach for Michelle when she set up Footnotes and has been a valued member of the teaching staff from the school's inception, when it was just to two of them.
Outside of dancing, Jane works for Marsh Aviation and volunteers for Norfolk Scouts, where her dance teaching skills are called into play for Norjam.

Rosemary Allen

Rosemary (Rosie) has been dancing with Footnotes since 1994, being with the school almost from its inception. She first started teaching within the school in 2006 and has achieved many professional & vocational qualifications to date. Having previously trained & worked in nurseries with pre-school age children, Rosie heads up our "Tiny Stars" class. She also takes classes through to senior level in all subjects. Rosie hopes to one day become an examiner and is actively working on continued professional development to achieve this.

Carlie Mace

Carlie joined the Footnotes family at age 10, having started dancing at age 3. Since gaining her first teaching qualification via the school, Carlie has gone on to teach various classes from Tinies to Seniors and is the first 'home grown' teacher in the school to have reached Fellowship level via the IDTA. She continues to work towards additional qualifications to further her professional development.

Georgina Lee

Georgina (Georgie) has been part of the Footnotes family since she was 7 years old. She began to assist in classes before gaining her first teaching qualification and carried on to teach some of her own classes within the school during a gap year. Georgie then left to study at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, gaining a BA in Applied Performance, and has since returned bringing her drama talents back to enhance the skills base within the school.

Dan Elliott

Dan took to dancing at age 6 after watching his sisters. Training with Footnotes until aged 19 and gaining the first level of professional qualifications, Dan then moved to Roehampton University to continue studying Dance. Whilst at university Dan became an active member of the Cheerleading squad and from here, he became a Cheerleading Coach & adjudicator, before moving on to become a dancer at Disneyland Paris. Dan is now back living in Norfolk and loving being back where he learnt it all, putting his extensive choreographic skills to work.

Becky Powell

Becky has been part of Footnotes since 2003, both as a student and now as a member of teaching staff. She teaches Adult Tap & Ballet and assists with various other children's classes throughout the week. Becky also instructs several dance based fitness classes in the local area under the banner of Inertia Fitness & Dance. Her personal favourite dance style is Ballet as she loves the control and grace.

Gemma Harris

Having started dancing at the age of 6, Gemma has been part of the Footnotes family since 2011. As well as her Vocational Dance qualifications in Ballet & Modern, Gemma holds a degree in Children's nursing and works on NICU at the N&N hospital. She does all this alongside furthering her own professional development in dance - one busy girl! She has been helping with the Saturday classes for 4 years now and loves supporting the students, watching them progress each week.

News

Take your time to browse through some of our recent stories...

New Term Sept 2020

Hi everyone, just an update on re-opening and the Covid-19 situation:

It is our aim to be back around the second week of September as usual, though things will need to be different for a while. We have had to work new timetables to allow cleaning times between each changeover and reduce class sizes which will mean shorter lessons for most. In terms of potential spread of infection and viral load however, the shorter sessions are probably better in the first instance. For the first term, everyone will remain on their same day - there will be no change overs for Saturday seniors at this time, sorry - but times will change for most people though we will aim to keep disruption at a minimum.

Unfortunately we will not be able to allow any parents into the building due to number limitations and remaining Covid secure. Children will have to be dropped outside with a staff member present. For this reason we will not be starting any under 5s in person in September. Instead we are hoping to organise a Zoom session for them to take part in at home at their usual time until we can phase them back in. This is also necessary as children of this age cannot be expected to socially distance and so our staff would not be able to go on to teach another class that day.

Just trying to put together all the necessary paperwork/procedures but we're all anticipating changes to it when the government finally releases the back to school guidance, so please bear with us.

We do understand and totally accept that some may not feel comfortable with returning to class as yet and this will not affect anyone's place within the school. If you are not intending for your child/yourself to return in Sept, please drop us an email or message so we know for numbers planning purposes. It is hoped that we can perhaps organise links via an online platform for anyone that may prefer to attend a class remotely for the time being.

We all very much hope to see everyone, in some way, soon, Michelle

BTDA Lockdown Award

🎖🎖🎖Earn a medal from home! BTDA Lockdown award 🎖🎖🎖
Last chance to book your place for the at home lockdown award. Responses needed by the end of tomorrow 😊😊
The award for any age, any class, anyone 🏆🏅
Keep on dancing 🤩💃🕺🏻🎼

Gallery

Have a browse through some of our photos...

Productions

Everyone loves showtime!

The school's main production is usually run on alternate years. It is not compulsory to take part, but we do insist that we are informed from the outset of those who wish to be involved in order to help with planning routines, costumes, etc. and that there is a good level of commitment with regards attendance to ensure a good 'final product'.

We do use a professional theatre for our productions and expect a professional finish within the capability of the relevant age groups.

The show is open to all, we do not audition students for it, and the routines are put together within normal weekly classes.

Those not wishing to take part in the show are still able to take part in classes and gain a valuable insight to the process of constructing a full production and the performance quality required.

Timetable

It is the principal's philosophy that classes at Footnotes should be an enjoyable experience for the pupils however, we do expect a certain level of behaviour and pupils whose behaviour is considered to be unruly or detrimental to others will be asked to leave their class.

Regular attendance is also expected, even more important when close to examinations or the school production.

We do insist that suitable dance wear is worn for classes, this is both due to safety and the discipline required for dance in general.

Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, our timetable is currently being reviewed and subject to change depending on relevant government guidance concerning numbers allowed in the building etc. This will also limit the number of new pupils we are able to accept at present. Please contact us via email or our Facebook page with regards timetable queries and we will do our best to help you.