The Team
MEET YOURPrincipals
Katherine Richardson
Having trained at the Royal Academy of Dance for 3 years, gaining a BA in the Art and Teaching of Ballet Katherine has taught at several schools around London, including the Central School of Ballet. She continues to mentor several students from the RAD studying to be teachers. Most recently she has been working on a brand new dance fitness class, DDMIX, which has been set up by Darcey Bussell, Katherine is delighted to be working closely with her. Katherine has developed the school from what was just 3 classes on a Thursday afternoon to the thriving school you see today! Katherine is very proud to be a tutor on the Licentiate course (LRAD) at the Royal Academy of Dance headquarters in Battersea, working with some of the best teachers in the country.
Chloe Chapman
Chloe started dancing at the age of five at Deborah Capon School of Dance, where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern and National, reaching Advanced 2 level in each genre. Here she was also given the chance to compete and perform, both locally and nationally. Chloe was then offered a place on the Musical Theatre course at Bird College, where she trained in various styles of dance and theatre performance. Realising her passion for teaching, Chloe then returned to Deborah Capon School Dance College to complete her ISTD Teaching qualifications, where she gained her Diploma in Dance Education in Ballet, Tap and Modern and has now been teaching at various dance schools in and around London for the past 10 years. In 2014 Chloe was lucky enough to be a finalist at the ‘All England Dance Finals’ where she won 2nd place for her tap solo, she was also awarded a ‘Premiere Special Commendation’ at the 2015 ISTD Star Tap Awards. On top of all this, Chloe is currently studying for a degree in Business & Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation at the University of Kent. Chloe has been teaching at The Village School of Dance since 2019, and has gone from teaching just one day a week in Wimbledon Village, to all week. She has loved working with Katherine and the students so much over the years, that she has decided to open a branch of TVSD in the beautiful Royal Tunbridge Wells and Dorking, so more students can experience the magic of our school! Together Chloe and Katherine are a formidable team and are determined to build a happy, friendly and successful school.
MEET YOURTeachers
Rosanna Smith
Rosanna trained in dance and musical theatre at the prestigious London Studio Centre graduating with both a diploma and BA (hons) in Theatre Dance. During her training she performed in many shows and theatres including the New Wimbledon theatre, the Criterion Theatre Piccadilly in London’s West End and ‘Parade’ at the Pleasance Theatre working with many west end choreographers, performers and directors. She was also a Tap dancer on the BBC’s One Show choreographed by Arlene Phillips. Rosanna is currently working towards her teaching qualifications with the ISTD and is really looking forward to start teaching Saturday classes and become part of The Village School of Dance.
Jenna Johnson
Jenna discovered her love of dancing at a young age at her local dance school in Manchester, where she gained Advanced levels in all dance genres. Jenna began her professional training at London Studio Centre graduating with a BA Hons in Theatre Dance. On completion of this training, Jenna continued her professional development with The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance and The Royal Academy of Dance undertaking their Diploma in Dance Education and Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies qualifications. Jenna is also an Acrobatic Arts and Alixa Flexibilty certified instructor. Jenna is extremely passionate and strives to inspire and empower everyone she teaches.
Grace English
Grace is a dance teacher from Ireland, qualified with the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She started ballet at 3 years old and continued dancing at local dance schools, taking classes in every style she could try, until she was 18. She went on to study dance full time at Inchicore College of Further Education in Dublin where she gained Diploma in Dance Education in Imperial Ballet and Modern Theatre with the ISTD. She then moved to London to study at the RAD where she completed a BA Hons Ballet Education with first class honours as well as the Licentiate RAD programme with distinction. She continues her studies at the RAD on the Masters in Dance Education programme. Alongside her studies, Grace has been teaching dance since 2015 and has experience teaching dance in many settings, ranging from local primary schools, to ballet schools, to performing arts summer schools. Her favourite part of a ballet class is Grand Allegro and loves to help students approach dance with confidence and positivity.
Marie Sheehy
Marie began studying ballet at the age of 3, and quickly fell in love with dancing. She found a passion for Contemporary dance through the DanceEast CAT scheme where she studied for 6 years, alongside her training at King Slocombe School of Dance in Cambridge. At 16 she joined the London Studio Centre associates program, before moving to London to study at London Contemporary Dance School. Marie relocated to Sicily to join the collectivo of Compagnia Zappalà Danza in January 2019. During her time with the Collectivo, she had numerous opportunities to perform in new and existing choreographies at Scenario Pubblico. On returning to London, she performed with International Arts Collective in their world premiere of ‘Free.’ Marie currently works as a freelance dance artist in London. Alongside performing, she very much enjoys teaching and sharing her passion for dance. She has taught at a variety of dance and academic schools in London, and is delighted to have joined the team at The Village School of Dance.
Orla Gledhill
Orla trained at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in London. She graduated in 2023 with a BA (Hons) in Ballet Education. Alongside this she also completed her Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (LRAD). She is now a fully qualified and registered teacher with the RAD. Before beginning her degree in teaching she grew up training and completing exams in multiple genres of dance including ballet, tap, modern, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre. As well as performing in many shows with her dance school she was lucky enough to perform in professional pantomime for 5 Christmas seasons. Orla is excited to be teaching the students at The Village School of Dance and sharing with the pupils her love of dance and performing!
Lucinda Irving
Lucinda trained at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in London. She graduated in 2023 with a BA (Hons) in Ballet Education. Alongside this she also completed her Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (LRAD). She is now a fully qualified and registered teacher with the RAD. After teaching dance across London for many years, we welcomed Lucinda to TVSD in September 2023 and we are so happy she is with us!
Ciara McCooey
Ciara grew up in Knockbridge, Ireland and danced before she learned how to walk. At the age of four, she was enrolled in a stage school where she took dance, drama and singing lessons. She began her ballet training at the age of eight and instantly fell in love. At this stage, she performed in competitions. When she was eleven she decided to attend Coastal Ballet School in Drogheda tofurther her training. Here she took graded and vocational examinations under the RAD syllabi and also partook in modern exams (graded and vocational) under the ISTD syllabi. In 2015 Ciara joined Dublin Youth Dance Company (a youth contemporary company) and with the company has performed in the Irish Youth Dance Festival (2016, 2017), Dublin Dance Festival (2017) and at Castle Malatesta in Rimini, Italy (2017). She has been awarded distinctions in all of her speech and drama exams under the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Leinster School of Music and Drama. She has also gained distinctions in her singing exams (Royal Irish Academy of Music). In 2020 she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance with a Degree in Ballet Education and the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance. She became a qualified Pilates and Progressing Ballet Technique instructor in 2021 and is currently undergoing her yoga teacher training. She has experience in teaching students of all ages in the genres of ballet, modern, tap, and contemporary.
Maisie Bonwick
Maisie is a fully qualified teacher of the ISTD and teaches our Musical Theatre, Modern and Tap classes in Dorking. Having danced since a very young age and going on to train professionally, she is passionate about all things dance and performance!
