2023 FACULTY

Training at the Royal Ballet School London, George danced with the Royal Ballet and toured with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He was awarded the Lynn Seymour Award for expressive dance, and in 2003 was a young British dancer of the year finalist. In 2004, he was a Royal Academy of Dance Adeline Genee finalist at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Greece. Upon graduation, he went on to join the Semperoper Ballet in Germany and the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam touring internationally throughout Europe, Asia, and America. His repertoire includes dancing soloist and principal roles in classics such as; The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty as well as working with modern choreographers such as Forsythe, Kylian, and Mats Ek. Wishing to explore the world outside of the Opera House, George went on to perform in the German premiere of Tabaluga the Musical and returned to London’s Westend to create and star in McQueen The Play at the Haymarket Theatre, Piccadilly and had a regular slot at The London Cabaret Club. George has danced in music videos for bands such as The 1975 and Sticky Fingers as well as acting in dramas for television and film. George has also modelled internationally for fashion houses including Prada, Jil Sander, and Moschino.Now dedicating his time to the studio George is the artistic director of BDC Bath Dance College in the UK, a foundation course that prepares students for the professional industry with famous alumni including Maisie Williams. Outside of his own studio, George is regularly invited as a guest teacher and has lectured for the International Dance Teachers Association, Dance Teacher Web in Las Vegas, and Move It, London, to name a few.

Giorgio was born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.  He trained at Palma's Conservatoire for Music and Dance and then at the Royal Ballet School in London.  After graduation he joined The National Ballet of Canada in 2014 performing productions such as Christopher Wheeldon's Alice in Wonderland, John Neumeier's Nijinsky, The Nutcracker, he also performed the role of the Prince in Rudolf Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty during his time there.
He later joined the English National Ballet in 2016.  
Giorgio has performed in many productions with English National Ballet, including Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall, Akram Khan's Giselle in London and many locations around the world, the Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Song of the Earth, Annabelle Ochoa's creation Broken Wings a piece depicting the life of Frida Kahlo, Le Corsaire, La Sylphide, in which he performed the role of Gurn, Le sacre du Printemps by Pina Bausch, William Forsythe's Approximate Sonata and his recent creation of PLAYLIST 1 to 5, Manon in which he performed the role of Lescaut.  He recently performed the role of Captain in Akram Khan's production of 'Creature'.  Giorgio is also a singer and a music producer, he has been writing and creating music since he was 14 years old - his style of music is an eclectic mix of piano, blues and electronic.  

Dr Peter Lovatt is the co-founder of the Movement in Practice (MiP) Academy, a specialist provider of education in the psychology of movement and dance.
Prior to taking his academic degrees, Peter was a professional dancer. He trained in dance and musical theatre at the Guildford School of Acting and worked as a dancer in musical theatre. He set up the first Dance Psychology Lab in 2008, from where he studied how movement changes the way people think and solve problems, how it changes social interaction and increases pro-social behaviour, and how movement changes people’s feelings. This work has led to a programme of research which examines the effect of dance and movement on the motor and non-motor symptoms of the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson’s. With a background in both dance and cognitive psychology, Dr Peter Lovatt takes you on a thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of the psychology of movement and how it affects uniquely human skills such as creativity and divergent thinking, skills that are important in education, healthcare and the workplace. Peter teaches two courses on Dance Psychology at the Royal Ballet School in London and his work has been reported on TV, radio and in the national and international press, through which he has become known as Dr Dance.

Layla graduated from The Royal Ballet Lower and Upper Schools, and later returned to qualify as a Royal Ballet School Vocational teacher. Layla also gained a BA Hons degree and Dip HE at London Studio Centre.

During her Ballet career, Layla performed with The Royal Ballet, Kirov Ballet, English National Ballet and Scottish Ballet in works such as Alice!, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Cheating Lying Stealing, Sleeping Beauty, Rubies, Carmen, Swan Lake, Giselle, Nutcracker, Jeux, and Romeo & Juliet. Layla created the role of ‘The Bird’ in Hart’s Peter and the Wolf and danced ‘Liberty Bell’ in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes European debut. Further credits in Theatre, TV, Film & Commercial work include 'On The Town' (Japan); Meg in 'Phantom Of The Opera' (West End); 'Nutcracker & The Four Realms (Disney); 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' and many more; Layla has been teaching for 24 years at establishments including The Royal Ballet School; Central School of Ballet; Urdang; Hammond; Danceworks; Pineapple; W.A.C. Layla teaches open classes for professional dancers and has taught company classes for An American In Paris and On the Town. Layla has taught/adjudicated in Australia, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Africa and is a regular judge for The Dance World Cup. She choreographs for dance schools and coaches pre-vocational students privately, with many going into professional training/work. Layla founded Dunsford Performing Arts in 1999, directing annual courses and workshops, employing industry experts. She currently runs her own classes and teaches all year groups weekly at Central School of Ballet.

Kate Stanforth, 28, is founder of Kate Stanforth Academy of Dance; an inclusive dance academy with a mission to make dance accessible to all. She has made a career out of dancing; from choreographing for the BBC to dancing for brand campaigns filmed in Miami. She was recently named in the Top 100 Most Influential Disabled People list for 22/23, named as a ‘Woman of The Year’ two years in a row and won 'Wellbeing Practitioner of The Year’ from OneDance in ’21. Kate is currently enjoying continuing expanding
her own practise, with recent work with New Adventures Overture Programme, Mimbre and Dance City’s Pro Programme.

Kate Stanforth Academy of Dance
katestanforthdance@hotmail.com

Kelly is currently in Groundhog Day at the Old Vic and has previously been an associate and assistant choreographer: Moulin Rouge, Singin in the rain, Oh what a lovely war and The Mizer
Performing credits include Matilda, The Merry Widow, Young Frankenstein, The Bodyguard, Singin in the rain, I can’t Sing, Fame, We Will Rock You (All West End)
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Tours include Mamma Mia, Grease, Never Forget, Guys n Dolls and White Christmas
Kelly has taught at many colleges and schools throughout the country.

Mikael Petersson is the Head of Accompanying and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Pianist Placement Scheme Coordinator at Elmhurst Ballet School. He obtained a B Mus (Hons) degree at Birmingham Conservatoire in the year 2000. Mikael has attended Masterclasses with Prof. Hans Leygraf and has studied with Prof. Peter Feuchtwanger.

Piano recitals have taken place in Sweden, Germany, France, Austria and the UK and has appeared on radio and television.  He has also produced a CD with music by Chopin, Mozart and the Swedish composer Stenhammar.  As an accompanist Mikael Pettersson has worked with Canoldir Male Voice Choir and German singer Eva Meier as well as cellist Richard Jenkinson from the CBSO.  In 2000 he was a finalist in the Birmingham Accompanist of the Year Competition.  

Mikael Petersson has taught piano for several years and regularly organises Masterclasses and concerts for pianists and has recently released his second CD featuring Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte.

Victoria Marr trained at Elmhurst and the Royal Ballet School before joining the Birmingham Royal Ballet. As a First Soloist, she danced many leading roles in a wide range of the company's repertoire. From the classics such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker to more modern works by Balanchine, Bintley, Van Manen and Tharp. Whilst still dancing professionally Victoria accrued qualifications in fitness and nutrition. After a long and successful dance career, Victoria retired in 2013 from full-time performing to co-found Sleektechnique.com, the first online ballet fitness company in the UK. Alongside fellow co-founder, dancer and lifelong friend Flik Swan, Victoria has grown Sleek into a global business, bringing ballet-based fitness to adults and students alike across the world regardless of location.

Matt Smith Bio Matt is a professional Irish dancer and currently plays the lead role in Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance’.
His journey started at the age of 5 when he watched the original VHS of the show and inspired by Flatley, asked his parents to find him a local Irish dance school.  Throughout a successful competitive career Matt won multiple regional and international championships, including holding the British National, Great Britain and All Ireland titles all in the same year, and achieving a ranking of 2nd In the world. Matt always knew his end goal was to perform professionally with ‘Lord of the Dance’ and the opportunity came in the summer of 2010, when he was invited to a 2 day audition in pineapple studios, London.  A successful audition was rewarded with a place in the troupe and a tour of Europe. After a year performing in the chorus, he was picked to play the lead good guy role and has been lucky enough to perform all over the world in many prestigious venues including The Palladium, Dominion and Playhouse theatres on London’s West End, Caesar’s Palace - Las Vegas and Paris’ Palais des Congrès.
As well as leading shows across 5 continents, Matt has danced on some of the biggest TV shows in the world including guest performances on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and numerous chat shows around the globe.  Throughout this period he has worked extremely closely with Flatley, helping with the creation of Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, and most recently the Lord of the Dance: 25 years of standing ovations show. Matt is also the Male Dance Captain, in charge of the performance standard and well being of the male dancers, and hopes to continue to inspire future generations of dancers to take up Irish and continue to perform this style around the world.

Sohan Kailey, Director of Aashiyana Arts, is a Performing Artist, Dancer, Professional Entertainer, Actor and Children's Entertainer, Street Theatre Artist and Puppeter. Sohan has been involved in the performing arts for many years and his musical influences range from Indian cinema, Latin Jazz to the Big Band sounds of New York City. He has performed and facilitated workshops at numerous world music festivals as well as working with corporate
clients. http://www.aashiyanaarts.com/