Kettering dance school party to celebrate two decades of ballet, tap, modern, street and jazz

A Kettering dance teacher will celebrate her school’s 20th year with a party to mark the two decades of The Anderson School of Dance.

Christy Anderson fulfilled her dream of opening her own dance studio in 2011 after starting off in a rented room in Kettering Leisure Village (KLV) in 2003.

On Sunday, September 17, Miss Anderson will be joined by present pupils and former students at the celebration in their Cunliffe Drive premises.

She said: “The school opened in 2003 with just a few classes based at KLV and now we have our own studios and about 250 students.

"Over the years the dance school has taken part in professional touring productions including Pop Factor and the Richard Jones magic show. Our street dance teams have won regional championships and we have put on many production shows at the Masque and Lighthouse theatres.”

Miss Anderson started dancing at the age of two-and-a-half. She trained at Laine Theatre Arts and worked as a professional dancer for many years before opening the school.

One of her career highlights was dancing in a show with Michael Jackson, performing to 90,000 people in the Olympic Stadium in Munich.

Many of Miss Anderson’s pupils have gone on to train at some of the top theatre colleges including the Stella Mann College of Performing Arts, Midlands Academy of Dance & Drama, Addict Dance Academy and Bird College – Conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre.

She said: “I’d love to see as many past or present pupils as possible for the anniversary reunion. As a special treat we will welcome back Erin Rose, a past student and now professional dancer who will be doing a demonstration class, and Molly Wishart, a past student and now singer/songwriter, who will be performing for us.

"There will be tea, coffee and a glass of bubbly for guests and cakes to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Research.”

The celebration will take place at The Anderson School of Dance – Unit 5, Cunliffe Drive, Kettering, NN16 9QJ – on Sunday, September 17, from 3pm to 6pm.