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.

Jordan Morris

Jordan commenced his dance training at the age of eight, primarily under the guidance of his local dance academy in Brighton. He further honed his skills at the Alexandra Dance Academy, where he achieved distinction-level distinctions in Modern ISTD.

At the age of fourteen, Jordan embarked on a Centre of Advanced Training (CAT) scheme to further his knowledge in contemporary and ballet dance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. During this period, he collaborated with esteemed choreographers such as Alison Curtis-Jones and Neil Fleming Brown (Company Wayne McGregor artist).

Jordan’s tenure at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire also encompassed his membership in Ceyda Tanc’s Youth Company, during which he performed in numerous productions throughout the year. Notable performances included his participation in Brighton’s Fringe Festival at the Spiegeltent and alongside Richard Alston’s Dance Company.

Following the completion of Trinity Laban’s CAT scheme in 2020, Jordan pursued his dance education at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona in Spain. He graduated from the university in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Dance degree, demonstrating his proficiency in classical ballet, contemporary dance, urban commercial dance, tap dance, and jazz.

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.