About us
The Principal
Miss Louise Benson (DDE ISTD)
Louise was accepted into the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London when she was just 11 years old. There, she received extensive training from renowned teachers such as Patricia Prime, Bonnie Lythgoe, Pat Dennison, and Gary Lloyd. With her experience as a child performer on television and in theatre, combined with her training, she graduated at 18 with professional teaching qualifications in Ballet, Tap, and Modern dance from ISTD.
Throughout her career, Louise has performed in various famous theatres in London, including The Dominion, The Bloomsbury, and The Palladium. She has also appeared in numerous pop videos for artists such as Fat Boy Slim, Westlife, and Texas. Additionally, Louise has been featured in commercials and TV shows like Nokia for X Factor, National Anti-Smoking Campaign, Supernoodles Campaign, Clearasil, and The Bill. She has also modelled for brands such as Whistles, Marks and Spencer, Topshop, Karen Millen, House of Fraser, and Betty Jackson in London, Hong Kong, and Manila.
Teaching has always been a passion for Louise, and after teaching at various dance schools, she co-founded the successful Lucie Benson School of Dance in 2005. They produced incredible shows at the Epsom Playhouse and various other productions, resulting in great examination success, helping many pupils gain places at full-time performing arts colleges like Urdang, Performers, Stella Mann, and Masters. Starting with only a few students, the school grew to hundreds of pupils by 2014.
In 2010, Louise was offered a small dance school in West Wickham. She started Lucie Benson School of Dance (Bromley) as an offshoot of the main school in Putney, with just a few students. After having her first baby in 2014, Louise took full control of the West Wickham School, which has helped hundreds of students explore their love of dance. The school is known for being kind and non-competitive, with a friendly, nurturing environment, allowing everyone to experience the Arts positively.
Louise is a fully qualified teacher in Ballet, Tap, and Modern dance with ISTD. She is also fully qualified in Acrobatics teaching with Acrobatic Arts, a registered chaperone, DBS checked, and first aid trained, with relevant public liability insurance.
Our Teachers:
Miss Clara Burnie Dip TCL (Professional Dance and Musical Theatre)
Miss Liv Nordwind Dip TCL (Professional Dance and Musical Theatre)
Liv has just graduated from Laine Theatre Arts with a Level 6 Diploma in Dance and Musical Theatre. She has extensive experience teaching and choreographing routines for a variety of schools and academies, and is passionate about bringing creativity and storytelling into her work.
As a dancer, Liv achieved many awards at both regional and national events and was crowned CYD Dancer of the Year 2019 at the Can You Dance? Super Convention. She is highly skilled in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, commercial, contemporary, and tap, enjoys singing, and has a love for acting.
Liv has performed in numerous professional pantomimes, appearing in the ensemble and understudying lead roles, and will be performing in Yeovil’s pantomime this December. She has also featured in many Laine Theatre Arts productions at the Epsom Playhouse, choreographed by Matt Cole, and most recently played a Hostess in Sweet Charity, directed and choreographed by Jane McMurtrie.
As a teacher, Liv loves watching her students’ excitement and creativity grow each week and seeing her choreography come to life. Her true passion lies in Musical Theatre, Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary Dance, and she strives to help every dancer feel proud, inspired, and confident in their achievements.
Miss Rachel Kelly (MA Musical Theatre LRAM)
Originally from Glasgow, Rachel trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and later gained a Masters Degree in Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music.
As a performer she has worked in various theatre and musicals in London and on tour working with companies such as The National Theatre, The Old Vic and The National Theatre of Scotland. Rachel has over ten years performing arts teaching experience working at various schools in London. As well as this she has a Licence to Teach Music from the Royal Academy and privately coaches singing and drama school preparation. Rachel is extremely excited to be joining the team at Louise Benson School of Dance.
Kate Mellor V.P.A to Louise Benson
Kate has over 20 years’ experience in providing high level administration and business support across many industries and for the last four years has been supporting various companies and individuals as a freelancer through her VA business. Her background is in the financial and luxury sectors, although she now has a varied client base tailoring her support to their needs.
Her good attention to detail and proactive attitude really helps with the planning that goes into our shows and her extensive knowledge makes our day to day admin much easier to manage.
Kate really enjoys working with the team. She holds a DBS and Chaperone Licence so can always be found backstage at our performances with the children, helping to ensure things run smoothly.