MEET THE TEAM
Claire-Louise • Owner & Principal BA Hons (Dance and Theatre Performance), A.I.S.T.D (DDE)
Claire-Louise opened her doors to Twinkle Toes Academy in 2013 just after her daughter turned 9 months old. It was established to provide young girls and boys, a fun and safe environment to introduce them to the exciting world of dance, something that Claire-Louise has had a passion for since the age of three years old.
She began ballet in Bahrain in the Middle East and then continued to dance in Singapore and then back in the UK when her parents returned here to work. She continued her love of dance at Bird College, one of the UK's top dance colleges in Kent where she gained her BA (Hons) in Dance and Theatre Performance.
She decided to further her teaching career at Kingston Upon Thames Teachers Training college where she gained her ISTD DDI (Diploma in Dance Instruction) and her DDE (Diploma in Dance Education). Her teaching career has allowed her to pass on her passion of dance to many young children.
Having over 10 years of teaching experience, Claire-Louise decided that it was time to re-brand the school and to create a more sophisticated and more mature brand to fit in with the upcoming and innovative dance world that we are in today. She hopes that it will encourage even more dancers to continue to explore the dance world and is excited to introduce many more exciting things to the Academy over the years to come.
Nicola Bacon • F.I.S.T.D
Nicola Bacon is an ISTD Fellowship qualified teacher in tap and modern.
She ran her own academy for 16 years from 1990-2006 before starting her own family. Nicola danced professionally back in the 80’s appearing on many TV shows, West End musicals and cabarets.
She has taught at several leading dance colleges inc GSA, Italia Conti, Mountview, Sylvia Young, Jayne Coleman Academy, Arnould School, Red Shoes, Susan Robinson School of ballet and many more over the years.
She teaches our Tap, Modern Theatre, Ballet & Lyrical/Contemporary classes and is excited to share her wealth of knowledge and experience with our Claire-Louise Dance Academy students!
Sarah Van Niekerk
Sarah completed her professional dance training at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance 2002-2005, gained her Ballet teaching qualification at the Royal Academy of Dance 2007-2008 and returned to Rambert School 2011-2012 to complete a Masters Degree in contemporary dance graduating with distinction.
Her professional performing career credits include contemporary dancing for over 6 years with Moving Visions Dance Theatre as well as many other freelance performances in Ballet, Flamenco, contemporary and modern dance styles.
Sarah has taught Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, Flamenco and Modern at many dance schools in London and Surrey and has her own 2 young children.
Sarah Whitfield • L.I.S.T.D
Sarah is a qualified ISTD tap, Modern and Ballet Teacher who also has her Licentiate tap.
She has been teaching Adults and Children for over 20 years at many different dance schools in and around Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire. As a family we moved to Hampshire in 2016 and sheI opened her own dance school in Clanfield 2017. They survived Covid, online teaching and did their very own show in 2022 which was a great success but unfortunately it closed in January 2025.
She has choreographed for Adults, Children and local pantomimes and just wants to pass on the enjoyment and love of dance to all.
Heather Wonders
Heather grew up dancing, competing in competitions and performing in shows in the Surrey area.
In her adult career, Heather is currently a cover teacher for Jazz and acro classes and works in a Primary school, helping to teach dance in PE lessons and taking the school to dance competitions, winning awards for her choreography.
Heather is excited to start teaching Acro at Claire-Louise Dance Academy.