Class Schedule
Meet the JL Team!
JL Dance Academy was set up by Miss Joanne Howarth in Ripley in 2010. She began Dancing at the age of four. Joanne has taken part in many Dance Shows and she has won numerous Medals and Trophies when taking part in Dance Competitions as part of Troupes, Trios, Duets and through Solo Performances.
Miss Joanne appeared in the Nutcracker at The Derby Assembly Rooms and in Coppelia with the English Youth Ballet at York Opera House. She also played "Bella Goodson" in Peak Practice and Danced in Born to Perform 2000 at London's Dominion Theatre.
At the age of sixteen Miss Joanne successfully auditioned for Performers College in Essex and attended the full time course on a full Scholarship.
After finishing her Scholarship, Miss Joanne started her Teaching career, and began to further her own Dance Teaching qualifications; she now has over 10 years experience, has choreographed sell-out Shows and has transformed non-Dancers into Medal and Trophy Winners.
Miss Joanne has a huge passion for Dance and excels at empowering her Students, she inspires and motivates them, helping them find their own confidence and achieve feats they thought were impossible.
Miss Joanne holds her Diploma in Dance Instruction (DDI) with the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing), in Tap, Ballet and Modern. She also holds Associate Qualifications in Tap, Ballet and Modern Jazz with the IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association. Miss Joanne is a Level 2 Group Exercise Instructor.
Since setting up JL Dance & Performing Arts Academy, Miss Joanne has also worked in several Primary and Secondary schools across Derbyshire helping them offer Dance as part of their P.E. curriculum.
Principal
- Miss Joanne Howarth
Senior Dance Teacher
- Miss Emily Kerr
As JL Dance & Performing Arts Academy approached it's 18th month, Miss Joanne decided she needed another Teacher on her Team, that's where Miss Emily comes in!
Miss Emily has been Dancing since the age of three. She has also taken part in many Dance Shows, including some held in West End Theatre. Miss Emily has also competed in numerous Dance Competitions across the Country such as the British Troupe Championships where she won several Medals and Trophies.
Miss Emily trained under Jayne Wing of Leicester, and is now a Qualified Dance Teacher through the ISTD in Tap, Ballet, Modern and National. She has taught at several Dance Schools across Derbyshire and Leicestershire, including teaching for Jayne Wing at The Pirouette Academy of Dance.
In 2012 Miss Emily took part in the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, in which she Danced with one of her idols, Darcey Bussell.
Dancing has always been a huge part of Miss Emily’s life, passing on her knowledge and experience on is her passion.
Since joining JL Dance Academy, Miss Emily's experience and enthusiasm has enabled her to make great contributions to the School. Ever since her arrival she has proven herself as an invaluable member of the Team.
Miss Lucy has been dancing since the age of three and she has studied a wide variety of styles including Ballet, Tap, Modern Jazz, Theatre Craft, Gymnastics, Contemporary, and Freestyle.
Miss Lucy studied A level Dance and Performing Arts and then gained her Degree in Dance from DeMontfort University.
Her performance experience includes; Contemporary Dance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, African and Contemporary Dance at Derby Dance Centre, Street Jazz at Pride Park for various events, Cabaret Entertainment as part of a Dance Troupe and for the delegates at the Headmaster’s Conference in Manchester and Derby.
Lucy has also performed in DeMontfort's University Dance Festival taking on the role of Dance Captain. She has been fortunate enough to choreograph pieces of Dance with assistance from professional Contemporary Choreographers such as Jonathan Burrows and Xavier le Roy.
Miss Lucy was also a Model and Dancer for I'll Defined's music video Hit That Floor.
In the field of education Lucy has taught A level and GCSE Dance students, led Performing Arts Workshops and performances in Primary Schools, Dance demonstrations for community projects and has taught a range of classes at a local Dancing school. Presently, Miss Lucy teaches at various Performing Arts Schools in the East Midlands; she joined the JL Dance Team in 2014 and we're thrilled with her contributions to the School! The students always enjoy classes with Miss Lucy, and their Musical Theatre abilities has come on leaps and bounds!
Musical Theatre Teacher
- Miss Lucy Adams
Receptionist
- Gill Howarth
Gill Howarth has also been heavily involved with JL Dance Academy since the very beginning. Having raised a Daughter who was tremendously passionate and enthusiastic about Dancing (three guesses who!) Gill has all the experience you could ask for. As well as manning the JL Reception she also helps with all of the behind-the-scenes work that keeps JL Dance Academy moving. During Show and Competition Time, Gill is very much involved with the making of some consumes and props, she assists with the logistics of the events and helps back-stage with costume changes, hair and make-up.
Kelly Bagguley has been with JL Dance Academy since 2012, and took on Staff responsibilities shortly after that. Miss Joanne and Kelly have danced together for years when they were younger and Joanne was very excited when Kelly first offered her help. Since then Kelly has become an integral part of the Team! Similar to Gill, Kelly assists hugely with the running of the School and the behind the scenes aspects, we consider her one of the go-to people for any enquiries.
Receptionist
- Kelly Bagguley
Social Media Assistant
-Rob Howarth
Rob Howarth has been involved with JL Dance since the very begining, and he took a more serious involvement in late 2013 when he decided to leave behind a successful career in Virgin Active and make his home at JL Dance Academy.
Rob is a highly qualified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor. While working at Virgin Active he also played a role as a Master-Trainer for their Junior Fitness Program, working for Head Office delivering training for other Trainers and Coaches on how to deliver safe and effective exercise for under sixteen's. Holding his adult teaching qualifications, Rob still delivers Training Workshops for Virgin Active, but primarily works for himself and with us at JL Dance Academy.
Along side his own work in Fitness, Rob also plays the role of Social Media Assistant for JL Dance Academy, he deals with a lot of the web enquiries, oversees the content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, as well as keeping the signage up-to-date on the studio notice boards and he writes the JL Newsletter.
From the day-to-day lessons, right upto the Annual Performances, there can't really be Dance without Music. As you might assume from the name, Martin Howarth has also been very heavily involved with JL Dance since the planning phase. Using his vast experience and knowledge of architecture, electrics and plumbing, Martin contributed hugely to the the designs and construction of the Academy.
Along side the general maintenance that Martin oversees, he looks after the music and sound for the Studios as well as any events we host.
Martin is experienced in Music Editing and Sound Engineering, he uses these skills to ensure our Dancers always have the highest quality sound to perform to.
Music & Sound Director
-Martin Howarth
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) has been providing Dance Education since 1904 and is one of the World's leading Dance Examination Boards. It is also a registered charity and an accredited awarding board.
The Examination structure of The ISTD is designed to cater for those who wish to progress to making dance their profession, either as a performer or as a Teacher, and those persuing dance for fun. It has supported the training of many dance professionals throughout theworld.
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance achievedGovernment recognition in 2000 through The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and was further recognised to operate in the Qualifications andCredit Framework (QCF) in 2010 by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (ofqual).
The ISTD Grade Examinations from Grade 1 to Grade 5 are equivalent to GCSE’s and Grade 6 and above are equivalent to AS/A Levels and are eligible for UCAS points which support university
applications.
Exams are not compulsory but can be useful as a sense of achievement and as a celebration of months of hard work. Children who choose not to take exams will still progress with the students who do.
Primarily, dancing is fun and no pressure will be placed on a student to enter The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance examinations.
