Welcome to Totnes School of Dance

Principal Louise trained locally before joining the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Whilst completing the three-year Licentiate Teacher course at the
Academy, Louise also won several prizes, including the National Dance and Choreography prizes.  She graduated as Head Student and went immediately to Thessaloniki, Greece, where she taught for three years. 
Returning to England in 1994 Louise worked as a freelance teacher and choreographer in various local schools before co-founding Totnes School of Dance, (with Jo Cobain) in 1995. Under Louise’s expert leadership, Totnes School of Dance has grown and flourished with a reputation for the excellence of the ballet, in particular.

Cara began her dance career relatively late (at the age of 13), taking lessons in ballet,
tap and modern and she was a regular, enthusiastic performer in the annual, regional dance festivals.  By the age of 19, Cara had attained up to Advanced 2 Level RAD ballet and ISTD modern and she subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal
Academy of Dance in London.  Here Cara studied for a Degree course in the Art and Teaching of Ballet where she achieved a first-class Honours in her teaching assessment and an overall classification of 2:2 with Honours.  Cara has also obtained status as a Licentiate of the RAD, granting her full recognition
as a qualified RAD ballet teacher.  Cara joined the team at Totnes in 2003, another Academy graduate ready to contribute to the tradition of the School’s excellence in RAD
ballet. Since then she has grown in confidence and expertise as a teacher, teaching on both the
vocational and general class programmes, where she has achieved excellent exam
results with all of her students.

Sarah started dancing at the age of two, achieving the highest levels in ISTD and RAD exams, before completing the first part of her teaching training with the ISTD in Tap, Modern and Ballet with ISTD examiner Deborah Laws.

She then went on to train professionally at Performers College in Essex, graduating with a Level 6 Diploma in Musical Theatre. During her time at the college, Sarah was lucky enough to work with many professional choreographers, and performed at events such as Move It, The Daisy Ball and the FA Cup Final.

After graduating, Sarah worked as a professional dancer and performer at The Colour House Children’s Theatre in London, as well as playing the title role in Kickline’s productions of ‘The Little Mermaid’ and the 2015/16 Pantomime ‘Sleeping Beauty’. However, Sarah’s love of teaching soon drew her back to Devon, where she completed her DDE teaching qualifications, and most recently her Licentiate Modern exam. She is currently studying for her Licentiate Tap exam, having passed her Advanced 2 Tap exam with 95 marks.

Sarah continues to help her students achieve consistently excellent results in exams, festivals, and has had pupils successfully audition for the Royal Ballet School Asssociates, Elmhurst Associates, Ballet Boost and Tap Attack Associates. She is very excited to join Totnes School of Dance, and can’t wait to continue to help her students develop both as dancers and as people.