Principal and Dance Teacher – Katie Christmas (AIDTA)
‘This young lady is an inspiring teacher.’
International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA)
Katie Christmas began dancing at the age of 3, and at the age of 18, went on to become a dancer and singer throughout the UK. Katie has danced in the West End, London, and has worked as an Entertainments Manager, producing shows for in-house teams. Katie has also produced production shows for UK Theme Parks as well as choreographing for West End theatres ‘Sadler’s Wells,’ ‘The London Palladium,’ and ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre,’ Disneyland Paris, Disney World, Florida and the ultimate dance teacher’s dream: ‘Broadway!’
With A Levels in Music and Theatre Studies, and Dance and Choreography qualifications through the BTDA and IDTA,Katie has a well rounded Performing Arts background, which helps make Footloose the success that it is. Katie not only teaches all Classical, Tap and Acro work at Footloose, but also choreographs all festival work and teaches dance to all Saturday main stage class students.
Katie is a qualified teacher through the IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association) and qualified ZUMBA instructor. With a performance background herself, Katie is able to teach the students the importance of performance on stage and teach them in audition technique for shows, cruises and universities. In addition to being Principal of Footloose Stage School, Katie also works at a number of primary and secondary schools across Leicestershire giving weekly Dance and Drama tuition in line with the National Curriculum, including GCSE and A Level Dance.
Katie is a Musical Theatre, Street & Jazz Dance, Acting, Screen Acting & Public Speaking examiner through STAGESCHOOL (RSL). Katie is also the founder and organiser of the En Pointe Festival of Dance with dance festivals throughout the year.
Katie’s vision for the Footloose Stage School remains constant: ‘The ethos of Footloose is to give students as many chances to perform on as many different platforms as possible. Footloose is a family that all students are welcomed into.’
Singing Teacher: Michelle Austin (BA HONS / PGCE)
Michelle is the resident Footloose Singing Teacher, tutoring all Saturday stage class, the Footloose choir and offering Trinity Rock & Pop private lessons.
Michelle began her love for the arts at school, when she became a part of the school Youth Theatre and Dance group. From there she was part of a number of shows performing around Leicester and developed a love of all dance areas, most particularly in Street Dance.
After school, I attended Brooksby Melton College to study Musical Theatre where I took part in a number of shows and performances before returning back to my Secondary school to work as a Teaching Assistant within Drama and English.
Michelle has now been working at the school for almost 8 years. Within that time she have developed her skills to become a teaching instructor in Drama for KS3 and support within BTEC Performing Arts classes for KS4 students.
Michelle graduated with a 2:1 degree in Theatre Studies and is now Head of Drama teaching KS4 / GCSE Drama at a secondary school in Leicester.
Michelle is currently working towards her NOQSENCO and is designated DDSL at Footloose.
‘Working at Footloose has given me a great opportunity to improve my skills within teaching and it is a pleasure to work with such talent and appreciation for the arts.’
Drama & Physical Theatre Tutor: Michael Christmas
Mr Christmas joined Footloose in September 2014 as our physical theatre and stage combat teacher. His extensive background in Performing Arts and correct techniques for stage falls and fight scenes allows Footloose to deliver the very best drama at Footloose!
In addition to his training, Mr Christmas has a number of TV credits & films to his name including but not limited to Casualty, Silent Witness and ‘The Festival’ which means Mr Christmas now features on the IMDB credits! Mr Christmas is able to educate the children first hand on the industry and with continual work himself, is able to assist our students pursue their dreams within the Arts!
Mr Christmas is an Acting & Musical Theatre Examiner through STAGESCHOOL (RSL) as well as co-organiser of the En Pointe Festival of Dance where he has his own fan club!
As well as teaching drama to all of the other classes, it is a pleasure to have a male role model at Footloose for our growing number of boys at the school.
Acrobatic Arts & Junior Ballet Technique Tutor: Katie Mugglestone (AIDTA)
Katie Mugglestone trained at Dupont Stage School in Leicester and went on to perform across the UK as a dancer in her own right. Katie returned to Leicester in 2018 and since that time has become a fully qualified Acrobatics Arts teacher, ensuring our students always learn the correct acrobatic techniques in a safe and controlled environment. Katie is also a fully qualified ballet teacher through the IDTA (AIDTA) and is a Progressive Ballet Technique Tutor. Katie has recently completed her ‘Alixa Flexibility’ teacher training and her impressive CPD ensures our students always get the most up to date tuition.
Katie currently teaches all acrobatic classes at Footloose including 1 to 1 acrobatic classes as well as IDTA technique for exams to our Junior classes.
Contemporary Dance Teacher: Raska Radulovic (BA Hons)
Raska trained at Footloose Stage School herself as a student!
Raska pursued the arts at Roehampton University where she was awarded a 2:1 in Dance Studies.
Raska performed in the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games and having completed her studies, has returned to Footloose to pass on her expertise as a teacher: Miss Katie is thrilled to be working alongside her first ever student! Most recently, Raska has started her IDTA teacher training in ballet and will soon be a fully qualified member of the IDTA!
Miss Raska assists with all main stage classes and Thursday show classes at Footloose as well as helping teach Private lessons for competition work.
Advanced Jazz & Tap Tutor: Michelle Upton (FIDTA)
Michelle Upton is a fellow of the IDTA and highly regarded adjudicator and IDTA examiner. In 2024, Michelle Upton was also appointed to the Contemporary Modern Jazz Faculty at the IDTA and helps to create new syllabi which is studied all over the word!
Michelle is an international examiner for the IDTA with recent visits to China, Cyprus and Portugal to name a few.In addition, Michelle runs her own dance teacher training programme, co-organises LaRen events and is event organiser for the IDTA Theatre Awards.
Michelle was also a Principal of her own dance school for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experience to Footloose. Michelle currently teaches our Inter & Senior tap classes, our Advanced Jazz and select private lesson students.
We are so fortunate to have Michelle Upton as an integral member of our faculty.
Resident Ballet Tutor: Sian Gurney (L.IDTA)
We are delighted to have the sought after Sian Gurney as Footloose Ballet Technique tutor.
Sian has a number of teaching qualifications to her name through the IDTA and continues to study, pursing her dream of becoming an IDTA Dance Examiner. Sian has Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT) qualifications, providing weekly exercises to strengthen our students feet and develop technique.
Sian teaches at numerous dance schools and college across Leicestershire and it is a delight to have such a passionate, dedicated member of or faculty inspiring the next generation.
Commercial Teacher: Grace Kew-Moss
Grace trained at Footloose Stage School for many years and is currently in her 2nd year of her BA HONS Dance degree at the exceptional Addict Dance Academy. In addition, Grace is training under Michelle Upton and has recently completed the first modules of her IDTA Ballet dance teacher qualifications.
Grace teaches our mini commercial class on a Saturday morning, in addition to being a Dep dance teacher in all genres. Grace also runs her own dance company ‘Grace Mai Dance’ and teaches at other dance schools in Leicester.
It is wonderful to welcome home one of our graduates and to see them now pass on the experience and knowledge they have gained.
Dep Teacher: Verity Tamnhe (BA Hons / PGCE)
In 2020, Footloose was thrilled to welcome Verity Tamnhe to their teaching faculty.
Verity is a teacher at primary school in Leicester and originally covered the teaching post of singing teacher at Footloose during Miss Michelle’s maternity leave. With Verity’s degree being in Drama, this allows her to cover all singing and drama classes at Footloose and she has become such a valuable member of our wonderful team.