Pictured Above: Amy Roche (Vanessa Gardner's assistant) receiving the Gold Award from Anne Walker MBE and a judge of the competition - Terry Etheridge
www.ascotdance.co.uk  Vanessa Gardner  07786 620478 or 01276 856131

The Academy raised  £70 for Macmillian Cancer care with the September 2018 Coffee campaign , thanks to their Dancing Coffee Morning!

Vanessa Gardner Academy of Dance, who this summer celebrated 35 years in Ascot, has won Gold in the 2018 Dance School of the Year Awards.

Vanessa Gardner, who founded the Academy said: “We offer a caring and nurturing training of toddlers, children and adults of all ages and abilities in ballet, tap and modern dance. Our aim is to encourage all our pupils to develop a love and understanding of dance and music and to achieve their own personal best.”

“We have students who have attended Cecchetti Ballet Associates and Scholars, London Junior and Senior Ballet, and Royal Ballet Associates. Pupils have won numerous awards at competitions, and many students have successfully auditioned for further training colleges. While four ex-students now send their own children to the Academy.”

This year has seen expanded age groups from Melody Bear classes for children of 18 months upwards to adult ballet, tap and modern classes for all abilities, which are proving very popular.

The Dance School of the Year Awards were founded by Anne Walker MBE to celebrate the achievements of theatre dance schools who so often do not receive the recognition they deserve. 

Judges this year were Brenda Last OBE and Terry Etheridge, both of whom have had illustrious careers in the industry as dancers, teachers and choreographers, and they joined the dance teachers and their staff as well as the long-term supporter of these Awards-Angela Rippon CBE – when the winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony held at a glamorous black-tie event in Devon.

Anne Walker MBE, a former dance teacher who has founded a number of businesses including International Dance Supplies, created these Awards to celebrate this incredible industry. She says: “Dance teachers should be applauded and celebrated. So much more than just a teacher – they are almost a substitute parent to many of their students as they are role models, mentors and social workers, offering support, stability and a disciplined approach to life. They instil a love of dance, music and theatre which will hopefully turn many students into tomorrow’s theatre-goers if not performers or teachers. Fellow dance teachers have supported me in my career over many years and now I hope, through these Awards, we can all celebrate the life-long passion for dance and the achievements of theatre dance teachers everywhere.” 

www.ascotdance.co.uk  Vanessa Gardner  07786 620478 or 01276 856131