Meet Our Teachers

Miss Amy

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself and the journey of how Starstruck School of Theatre Dance came to life. Since I started dancing at the very young age of 2 years old, I was fascinated with dance and in fact did my first ever competition at just age 2 on stage by myself. I started my training at Lisa Thornley School of Theatre Dance where my older sisters Miss Mel and Miss Gemma also attended and then taught me and helped with my training as they got older.

In my younger years I competed in lots of local festivals and won many sections for my age group but what I remember most, other than the hard work is the fun it came with it and the many new friends I met along the way, some of whom I keep in touch with, a saying well known, “friends that dance together stay together”.

As I got older, I took part in lots of different pantomimes which I had to audition for and did some modelling for various companies. At the age of 16 I attended the Phil Winston’s Theatre Works Collage in Blackpool for 3 years and following my training there I went onto to work as a dancer at Alton Towers and then in Ibiza. On my return to the UK, I went to auditions in London and got offered a job on the Costa Cruise Liner, after lots of thinking and support from my family I turned this offer down and decided to open my very own dance school in 2010.

To make the school successful I worked hard to further my qualifications for teaching and gained 2 IDTA associates in Modern and Ballet. I am also a qualified Zumba, Boxercise and Cheerleading Instructor. My passion for dance is so strong that I will do my absolute best for all the children that attend my school to ensure they are the best dancer they can be whilst having some fun along the way. The school and I is also part of the IDTA (International Dance Teaching Association), so we also encourage students to take part in the IDTA exams and I am very proud to say we have a 100% pass rate since these started and school is going from strength to strength each year with fantastic marks.

As if running the dance school on a daily basis and having her own young family, Miss Amy has for the past 2 years been asked to choreograph the dance for the ‘Panto-Ever-After’ which takes place at the Barnsley civic every Christmas, giving young talented dances the opportunity to perform with professional dancers, and our very own Miss Amy choreographs the dance for this, what an achievement!

Miss Chloe

Would Starstruck even be Starstruck without the presence of Miss Chloe?! Miss Chloe has been here since the beginning of time back in 2010 where her love of teaching started at just age 10. Miss Chloe loved her dancing so much that she would assist Miss Amy in the teaching of lessons after school and over the years, this helping after school became teaching her own lessons, choreographing and joining the teaching faculty. Growing up, Miss Chloe had the most successful time as a dancer, she participated in festivals, championships, scholarships, exams and shows. Gaining many medals and trophies along the way at local festivals. But her love of dancing took her onto bigger things! Miss Chloe became more amazing gaining TDCI championship placings across modern, ballet and Song & dance categories, going on to win both a Junior and Senior TDCI modern championships title. Miss Chloe is an amazing dancer, and her love of dancing didn’t just show through festivals,Miss Chloe was chosen to represent the IDTA in the Jazz category at the TDCI international scholarships in 2014.

Miss Chloe was a Miss Dance of Great Britain finalist for 3 years running, 2016, 2017 and 2018, having the opportunity to dance on the magical stage at Winter Garden in Blackpool, every young dancer’s dream!In 2018, Miss Chloe went to performers College in Essex to study Musical Theatre & Dance. Miss Chloe graduated with a First BA (hons) Musical Theatre in 2021. While at performers college Chloe studied various styles of dance including ballet, jazz, musical theatre, commercial, tap, contemporary, lyrical, choreography, as well as acting and singing. She has since returned to teaching at Starstruck to offer her experience and skills to our very own young dancers here at Starstruck, the children at starstruck are very lucky to have Miss Chloe to share her talent, having choreographed a dance for one of our very talented Tallulah-Sue who went on and won a juvenile Modern Championship, with the amazing choreography!

A message from Miss Chloe: I am so proud of each, and every child and teacher involved in this show, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it. They have worked so hard, and I hope that you see what all the hours at dancing havebeen for. I’ve had the pleasure of working with children that I wouldn’t normally get to in my week to week and I will miss getting to spend so much time with them all. I’ve had a wonderful year helping to put this show together and just want to thank everyone who has had a hand in making the show what it is and thank the parents for trusting us with your children. Lastly, a massive congratulations to all the amazing teachers. The show and the training these children receive starts and ends with you and your work this year has been outstanding despite any hardships we have faced. They are some extremely lucky children to have teachers like you and I’m so proud to be on a faculty with you all.just want to thank everyone who has had a hand in making the show what it is and thank the parents for trusting us with your children. Lastly, a massive congratulations to all the amazing teachers. The show and the training these children receive starts and ends with you and your work this year has been outstanding despite any hardships we have faced. They are some extremely lucky children to have teachers like you and I’m so proud to be on a faculty with you all.

Miss Mel

Miss Melanie (Mel) – Is the big sister/mum that drives us in the world of dance and who’s passion lives on within us all, having danced since she just 7 Years old. Miss Mel started teaching at the very young age of 16, having had the pleasure of teaching and choreographing for Miss Leah, Miss Gemma and Miss Amy, even having set Miss Amy’s her first ever festival solo! Miss Mel now gets the absolute pleasure of teaching her own nieces within the school. Miss Mel has made some amazing memories and had some fantastic achievements from dancing in the past, her biggest achievements were her getting to the Miss Dance of Great Britain final in 1998 and having the opportunity to choreographed choreographed a dance for some talented young dancers to be able to perform on ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’, something some of us could only dream of! We would normally only see Miss Mel when its show times, but Miss Mel is loving teaching the kids at Starstruck and has started to teach private lessons on a more regular basis. Melanie struggles with illness, and this limits the time she can spend helping Miss Amy teach, however she is soldiered through and for the past few months she’s found a new lease of life helping put this fantastic show together and give our kids some fantastic teaching, Miss Mel is a perfectionist and works all children to their full potential, knowing what each child’s strength is. You only must look at her daughter Chloe and see the discipline that has been installed to get the results of a great dancer, with Miss Chloe now following on in her footsteps with helping Miss Amy teach and choreographing her own dances.

This show is special to Miss Mel for many reasons, but one main reason is her grandad Fred, without Miss Mel’s Grandad Fred, Miss Mel would never have been able to start dancing, which then started the Schofield family dancing legacy that is today Starstruck! Everyone who knows Miss Mel, knows her love of Christmas is off the scale, this again is all down to her Grandad Fred’s love of Christmas, which was
instilled into Miss Mel from a very young age. Grandad Fred would make every Christmas for Miss Mel so magical and unforgettable; it is for this reason Miss Mel would like to dedicate her part in the show to her Grandad Fred. This one is for you Grandad Fred a full night of “Twinkle and Tinsel, a Starstruck advent-ure" love you always grandad Fred, gone but never forgotten!

Miss Gemma

Miss Gemma is the glue that holds starstruck together, she is Miss Amy’s right-hand woman. Miss Gemma is the lady of many talents, teaching weekly at the Starstruck School of Theatre and Dance, as well as doing her own job as a child & adolescent mental health nurse/cognitive behavioural therapist and having a family of her own. Miss Gemma focuses on some of the tap grades, along with some technique classes and Private lessons.

Miss Gemma is the peacemaker between adults and children, the one that can reassure everyone that they are doing a great job. Not only does she fully support and help me with the dance school but also personally, this is something I will always be eternally grateful for, I wouldn't be able to do what I do without her!

Miss Ash

Miss Ash, who doesn’t love Miss Ash?! She is the heart and soul of starstruck. Miss Ash trained at JB from the young age of 3 years, Miss Ash danced here until she left to continue her training at CAPA college where she studied A level dance, A level drama and BTEC performing arts. Miss Ash then went on to do her degree at Creative Arts in Blackpool. Miss Ash lived the life we could all only dream off, when she moved to Singapore, living there for 7 years. During her time their Miss Ash taught dance in international schools and within the private education sector. It was Starstruck’s gain when Miss Ash returned to the UK and decided to start working for Miss Amy.

Miss Ash is now a wonderful mummy to Ronnie, while continuing to provide excellent teaching to all the kids at starstruck. Miss Ash is amazing at all dance styles, but her favourite is tap. Miss Ash is funny, kind, caring and most of all loud, but we wouldn't change her for the world!

Miss Leah

Miss Leah began dancing at the age of 4 and was lucky enough to be taught by our very own Miss Gemma and Miss Mel! She left school and attended Phil Winston’s Theatre Works in Blackpool and graduated with a contract as a professional dancer onboard P&O Aurora. Miss Leah then moved on to work for Norwegian Cruise lines and preformed as Dance Captain in many corporate shows and events across the UK. Miss Leah played a big part of Miss Chloe’s dance journey helping her achieve great highs, setting Miss Chloe’s dance that qualified for the Miss Dance of Great Britain, Miss Leah was a true inspiration to Miss Chloe in her dance journey. It’s fabulous that Miss Leah is now here at Starstruck to pass on her talent and experience to our children.

After travelling the world, Miss Leah returned home to Barnsley where she is now a fabulous mum of two wonderful little boys, a dance teacher, personal trainer, and a qualified Dietician. Miss Leah is honoured to have been asked to choregraph in Starstruck’s show and really loves being a part of the team. Thank you, Miss Leah we don’t know, how lucky we are to have you!

Scarlett

Scarlett Dickinson is a singer with a real passion for music. After training at Bird College and earning a First-Class degree in Musical Theatre and Professional Dance, she’s built a career performing at weddings and private events.  
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When she’s not performing, Scarlett loves teaching singing to children. She’s dedicated to helping them grow in confidence and find their own unique voices.
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She has worked with students ranging from ages 4 years and above, both in individual lessons and group settings, at various performing arts schools. Through her guidance, Scarlett strives to help each student reach their fullest artistic potential.