Coleen Man Dance Academy

COLEEN MAN – PRINCIPAL

Coleen started dancing at the age of four beginning with Tap and Jazz and then introducing Ballet when she was six years old with Ruth McInnes Dancing School. She continued dancing until she left school where she worked as a dancer in trade shows for companies including Volkswagen and Motorola, Pantomimes and music videos with her most notable achievement being cast in the UK tour of the West End production of the “King and I”.

Coleen has had over 15 years dance teaching experience, starting off just helping out on Saturday morning classes for the love of it. She then went on to work for various companies including Bromley and Sevenoaks council and various Theatre Arts Schools in the local area.
Coleen came back to teach at the school that she trained at in 2003, consequently taking over the Ruth McInnes Dancing School, changing the name to the Coleen Man Dance Academy in 2008. It was also in this year that she became a registered teacher of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance. She now teaches ballet and commercial Street Dance to children within her own dance school and for other Theatre Arts companies within the area. Coleen has been associated with many local projects in conjuntion with the Coleen Man Dance School including, Orpington Repertory Company, Pratts Bottom Amateur Dramatics, Green Street Green Primary School and Tubbenden Primary School.

From 2007 she also taught Modern Jive for over 5 years for Ceroc Kent, going on to win the London Ceroc Championships Open category in 2010, the highest accolade of it’s kind. Coleen is also a qualified Aerobics instructor, obtaining her Exercise to Music licence in 2003 and has worked in many of the local Leisure centres teaching everything from Salsa Aerobics to Pilates.

Her thirst to widen her dance knowledge has led her to try many forms of dance including Salsa, Zouk, Contemporary but she really fell in love with West Coast Swing in 2010 and hasn’t looked back since, now having worked her way up to the Allstar Division she now competes regularly at events in UK and Europe, being one of the highest ranked competitors in the Europe. She also runs her own West Coast Swing school, Swing Academy UK and has also passed her GPDIA Advanced Elite certification in West Coast Swing.

MARILYN MOORE – TAP TEACHER

Marilyn Moore has always had a love for dancing, having started ballet at the young age of 2 years old. She trained at the Searles Stage School, in Croydon where she gained her teaching qualification in B.A.T.D Ballet, Tap and Jazz.

She begun teaching Ballet, Tap and Jazz in her early 20’s at the dance school that she trained at and then went on to run a successful dance school in West Wickham for many years alongside holding down a ‘regular day job’. Apart from teaching children Marilyn also teaches adults classes in both tap and keep fit.

Marilyn has been involved in many local dance productions including performances at the Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks and Her Majesty’s Theatre in the London’s West End. She has also put her choreographic skills to the test having been involved in a number of productions with local Societies and Amateur Dramatics.

Apart from teaching at Searles in Croydon and running her own dance school she has managed to fit in teaching for Ruth McInnes Dancing School, Tappers for Susan Bishop and currently for the Coleen Man Dance Academy in Orpington.