Interview
The school’s performers at Disneyland
Dance school seniors
at the Theatre Royal
“Charlotte was
absolutely brilliant.
She said she’d help me,
we could do it together,
and so in 2009 we
launched with our
first class in Brading
School, and we haven’t
looked back.”
Being awarded ‘Dance
School of the Year 2016’
perform on a West End stage – which
led to the creation of their second-string
company, Class Talent.
They effectively hire a London theatre
on a Sunday, when it would otherwise
be ‘dark’, and give dancing schools the
opportunity for their pupils to perform
there, in front of an audience of friends
and family.
It’s led to young dancers from the Isle
of Wight treading the boards of iconic
theatres including Her Majesty’s, The
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Sadlers
Wells,The Shaftesbury and The Palladium
– and their relatives getting to see them
for an affordable price that just covers the
theatre hire fee.
For Linda and Charlotte this is not so
much a profit-driven business, but one that
gives young dancers and their families a
dream experience, and raises money for
various charities into the bargain.
Thanks to Linda’s contacts in the dance
world, going back over 40 years, she can
call on people such as the busy West
End star Gary Watson, who travels from
London on a regular basis to give his
professional insights at dance and drama
workshops here on the Island.
She also managed to get well-known
stage and TV actress and presenter Julie
Peasgood to come on board as the dance
school’s celebrity patron, and now Julie
and her husband Patrick Pearson visit
Shanklin Theatre every year to present the
awards at the school’s annual show.
Linda is very clear though that without
solid support from her family, none of this
would have come about.
She pays particular tribute to the
unwavering belief and support of her
parents, who passed away on the same
date within three years of each other –
dad on December 29th 2010 and mum
on the same date in 2013.
And of course to Charlotte, the daughter
whose belief in her at her lowest point
brought Linda back from the blow of
losing the hotel.
“I count myself so lucky to have the
family support I’ve had” says Linda, “and
that’s why our work ethic now in the
dance school is ‘family’. We consider all
our pupils and their parents as a great
big happy family, and we just love being
involved with them”.
It’s not really a case of ‘going to work’ for
Linda and Charlotte when they’re at the
school – it’s what they love and what gives
them a buzz.
They’re always planning projects, such as
the visits to Disneyland Paris, where their
pupils will be going for the fourth time
this year to dance and perform on the
Disney stage and enjoy all the fun of the
theme park at a subsidised cost.
Treats like this are offered thanks to all
the fundraising done by the school, and
Linda’s thinking behind it is simple:
“I know what it’s like to have nothing”
she says, “but when I look back, losing
the hotel was the best thing that ever
happened to us.
“When you’re faced with something
like that, you can choose to go up or go
down. We consider ourselves very blessed,
and we love the fact that we can work at
something that makes other people happy.
“It was our destiny to be here on the Isle
of Wight” she adds, “but just not to run a
hotel!”
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