Wednesday 8th April 2020

Finally, we are going to finish hearing from our teacher Eve!

I taught Eve as a teenager many many moons ago at Stagecoach. Since then, both Amy and I have watched her grow as a dancer and we couldn’t be prouder. I honestly do not know of anyone who works as hard as Eve and her love of dance is clear for everyone to see. Eve is so focused and has listened to her mentors over the years, continuing to take class and push herself. She has a natural affinity with the little ones when she teaches and the fact that she has worked so closely with us for so long has meant that we have (hopefully) been able to nurture her talent and she has a clear understanding of how we want our dance school to run. We consider Eve to be a real asset to our team…

Hey BE.Dancers,

Eve here! Those of you who I don’t teach will probably know me as the one screaming backstage at the Summer Show; “GET ON THE STAGE!!”. Anyway, before I start, I just wanted to give a massive thanks to all the dancers who have tuned into our online classes- it means so much to us teachers and we love seeing you guys on our screens dancing away!

 When Becca asked us to say a little something about why we love dance, I had to jump at the chance. My journey with dance is a little different to others. I didn’t start ballet when I was a toddler. I didn’t make my mum drive me to classes and competitions and I definitely did not practice my splits or turns at home- oops!  In fact, whilst growing up, I was determined that I would be an actor. Dance was always something that was included in my training- Stagecoach, college, university. Becca was even one of my dance teachers! Not sure what she would say about my capability back then! Ha!

After graduating from university, I kind of felt stuck. I didn’t have the urge to go to auditions for theatre or TV. I wasn’t like my other actor friends who were trying to find agents or do more courses. But one thing I found that was constant was my dance class. One day I took a class with a certain teacher who I thought moved and choreographed in such an amazing way. After taking her class for a few months, I booked a few private lessons with her. Within a few lessons, she managed to bring something out of me I never knew I had. Suddenly, the way I moved changed. The way I heard music changed and my attitude to dance totally changed. I was hooked. 

Soon after, she asked me what I wanted to do and (naively) I thought it was too late for me to become a professional dancer. But deep down I knew that was what I wanted to do. Eventually she said it for me; “You want to be a dancer, don’t you?”. I nodded and from then on, she became my mentor. Even to this day you can still find us in the studio training and working extremely hard together. Yep, even when you become a teacher, the learning never stops, FYI.

Since then, I have made sure I go to classes as much as I can (which Becca and Amy tell me off for all the time- they worry I’ll burn myself out. They are probably right). So, after teaching I’m 99.9% off to a class or two straight after. Now I won’t lie, it takes a lot of work, determination and passion. But I absolutely love it! For me, there is no better feeling then when I am dancing. I’ve been extremely lucky to find teachers who I love learning from and have shown me nothing but support in my journey. Something I try to pass onto my own students. 

So guys, this is why I tell you not to worry if you make a mistake or if you didn’t get that perfect pirouette, because I know that dance is a JOURNEY! It takes time, but that’s why it feels so good when you finally nail the choreography or get down in the splits. Because you know how hard you worked to get there.

I’ve been lucky to dance on stage at Saddlers Wells, on TV for ‘This Morning’ and even for a big artist such as, Stormzy (I know, right!). Unfortunately, they decided to bin the music video. But you can bet I’ll still tell people about it!

Let me end on this, a dance teacher from New York once told me; “It takes one person to believe in you, to make your dreams come true.” This could be anyone, your family, your friends, YOURSELF! 

But BE. Dancers, know this…. us teachers…. will ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOU!

Keep up the good work gang. Always proud! Stay safe and see you soon!

Eve x

Spreading some sunshine on This Morning!