I am excited to be starting a new chapter of my life back in the north-west, supported by Cheshire Dance, sharing my love of dance with everyone aged 3 to 93.

I consider myself to be a very organised and reliable person, with good balance of attention to detail and seeing the bigger picture.  My sense of humour and experience of working with people from all walks of life combined with my patient and sensitive nature allows me to pick up on how other people are feeling and manage situations so that everyone feels comfortable to join in.

A potted history…

Dance has been part of my life for almost 40 years, starting with tap and ballet, and over the years has expanded to include character, national, modern stage, theatre craft, freestyle, latin and ballroom, artistic roller skating, dance exercise, musical theatre, Zumba, FitSteps, Ballestics and Funky Feet Music.

I gained my first dance teaching qualification in 1995 and have never stopped adding to my experience of dancing and teaching with and for people of all ages and abilities.

2009 saw the creation of abDance, delivering dance sessions to children and adults in various settings across Leicester/shire.  Initially as a part-time venture along-side my ‘normal’ job in IT, but in 2013 I took the leap away from normal, to pursue full-time dance-related work and haven’t looked back.

2014 was a busy year!  I took on the Funky Feet Music Licence, allowing me to use their award winning music in my sessions in nurseries, playgroups and schools.  It also marked my debut on the Leicester Amateur Dramatics scene as a performer and choreographer, working on pantomimes and musical theatre productions at The Little Theatre in Leicester.

Baby Discos were created as part of the Spark Festival in 2015. I joined the team at The Attenborough Arts Centre to deliver the pilot session with a jungle theme and went on to develop additional themes of space, underwater and winter.  They continued to be very popular although in 2020 they changed to an ‘at home’ format.

Over the past few years I have been working with local schools to create bespoke PE sessions using dance as a means of supporting other curriculum topics.  Such topics include; Dinosaurs, Space, Growing, Our Bodies, Knights and Castles; Superheroes.  It has been really interesting, taking a topic, finding music and other resources to create fun and engaging sessions for the children and staff to enjoy, which I deliver in the initial stages, and then via CPD and coaching, hand over to the teaching teams to continue.

Holiday camps were added to the repertoire in 2018 when I joined forces with a friend and music teacher.  We devised, organised and delivered workshops in singing, dancing and acting, culminating in a performance at the end of the week.

November 2021 saw a re-location to the northwest and I have been actively seeking new connections and projects in the local area.  I am currently working in 8 different settings throughout the week planning delivering fun and engaging dance based sessions to children and adults in styles from Ballet to Zumba and am looking forward to meeting and dancing with more people as time progresses.

"Why Dance? It is possibly the best form of exercise, which helps develop brains and bodies while having fun. It can be used to help develop confidence, resilience, perseverance, team work, friendships and independence; and can be used to support the learning of any topic."

Alison Bacon