South London Dance School Staff

Zoe began teaching at her local dance school aged 15 and trained as a dancer / dance teacher in ISTD, RAD and IDTA. She later trained as an actress at LAMDA.

Her first performing job was in the Royal National Theatre’s production of ‘Oklahoma!’ with Hugh Jackman and Maureen Lipman, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Susan Stroman. The show was a great success going into the West End and being made into a film.  Her next job was ‘Of Thee I Sing’ at the Bridewell Theatre, choreographed by Stephen Mear.  She then went on to perform in other London based and touring musicals as well as working as an actress in TV and film.

In 2002 Zoe decided she wanted to teach dance again and founded Grafton Dance Academy in Dulwich with the aim of creating a dance school that catered for all abilities; ensuring that those children talented enough to consider a career as a dancer would have an excellent technical and artistic foundation training and those students attending classes purely as a hobby could achieve their personal best in a supportive and fun environment. This ethos has been successful and the school – becoming South London Dance School and securing its own premises in 2009 – now has over 750 happy and successful students.

Ellie trained at Bright Sparks Performers and with them performed as a child in many professional productions including pantomimes at the Hackney Empire and several TV adverts.  At the age of 16, she began full-time dance and musical theatre training at Performers College, graduating with a Level 6 National Trinity Diploma.

Ellie has performed professionally for Dreamworks ‘Penguin of Madagascar Live!’, the London 2012 Olympic Games and in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Pantomime at the Shaw Theatre where she was also given the responsibility of Dance Captain. Within this role when she looked after and taught the Juvenile dancers, Ellie discovered her enjoyment and passion for teaching young people and so she decided to take her ISTD teaching qualifications in modern and tap. As a teacher, Ellie hopes to inspire the next generation of young dancers and performers to follow their passion just as she has.

Avalon Rathgeb graduated from Bird College in 2009 after studying on a 3 year full time scholarship. Recipient of two internships from the American Tap Dance Foundation 2009/11, Grant Swift’s TeAyPe (Melbourne, Australia) 2009-10, a scholarship for the Los Angeles Tap Festival 2012, winner of the 2013 cutting contest at Stockholm Tap Festival, invited to accept 1 of 25 places reserved for outstanding dancers in the 2014 Tap programme at the School at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, USA. Her career highlights include: dancing in the opening ceremony of London 2012 Olympic Games, the closing ceremony of the European Games (Baku Azerbaijan) 2015, Artistic Director of ‘Old Kent Road’ 2014-current, principle dancer for ‘Tapestry Dance Company’ under the direction of Acia Gray 2017-19. Avalon has been endorsed by Ruben Sanchez DanceWear since 2014.

Avalon is the Founder and Artistic Director of London’s pre-eminent tap dance company ‘Old Kent Road’ which she founded in London in 2014 supported by Arts Council England. Their most recent work ‘OSCiLLATE’ co-choreographed by Avalon and Dre Torres premiered at the world renowned dance house Sadler’s Wells- The Lilian Baylis Theatre. OSCiLLATE has been performed over 40 times including a China tour.

Humbled to have spent 2 years performing as a principal dancer with ‘Tapestry Dance Company’, North America’s only full time and salaried tap dance company Texas, USA. Under the direction of Acia Gray Avalon performed and toured shows including: ‘Just Tap’, ‘Mice and Music- A Jazz Tap Nutcracker’, ‘April Fools’, ‘Sound and Silence’, ‘Passing it Forward- The American Dream?’ and ‘The Souls of our Feet’.

As a solo artist Avalon frequently teaches and performs internationally for tap festivals and events including; Taptastic (Germany), Australian Tap Festival, TapUnited (USA), Tanzhaus (Germany), Riff Dallas (USA). Avalon was invited to create a show ‘K-Tap’ in Kuwait in collaboration with LAPA LOYAC and ‘Plaza’ as a movement director for Central School of Speech and Drama (UK).

In the UK is currently on Faculty at Arts Educational, Performers College and Pineapple Dance Studios and South London Dance Studios. Avalon’s passion for creation within tap dance originates in theatre through identity, current/political climate, communication and relationships. Her work has significantly contributed to tap dance being presented on stage within the UK and further afield.

Daisy Smalley-Nicholson trained at The Brit School and Performers College, going on to work as a professional performer in touring productions, in pantomimes and in Disneyland Paris.

Daisy discovered a passion for teaching dance, drama and musical theatre whilst working with children in nurseries and primary schools between performance jobs.  She chose to train as a dance teacher, gaining her DDE qualifications in ISTD modern and tap.

Daisy has trained children who have successfully become associates of the Royal Ballet School, performers with London Children’s Ballet and have been awarded scholarships for full-time training at top vocational performing arts schools.

Daisy is dedicated to enabling and encouraging her students to achieve their full potential in dance as well as enjoying the process and developing confidence.  Daisy is keen to teach a range of levels, ages and dance genres to continue to further her qualifications and experience.

Rani trained at D&B theatre school, later studying BA in dance at Roehampton University.  She is an experienced commercial, hip-hop, lyrical and contemporary teacher who is passionate about building an inclusive and creative learning environment in which young people can develop their dance skills and personally.

Kayley started dancing from the age of 4 at Maria Anderson School of Dance, where she also participated in All England Dance Festivals and performed in professional pantomimes. She went on to train at Performance Preparation Academy where she graduated with a Diploma in Musical Theatre. She has performed in productions including The Producers and Dames at Sea, in which she was also Dance Captain.

Kayley completed her ISTD Teaching Qualifications at The Urdang Academy and she loves sharing her passion for dance and the performing arts with the students at South London Dance School.

Jadon, from Canada, trained at both Randolph College for the Performing Arts and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she obtained her Master of Arts. She danced and choreographed professionally in Toronto, her hometown, and is now excited to continue teaching alongside her professional work in London. Previous credits include: Heathers (Marquee Theatrical Productions – choreographer); Fountain of You (Edinburgh Fringe – dance captain); Wonderful Town (Randolph Theatre – dance captain); DON’T! (Paprika Theatre Festival – director). Jadon’s main aim is to encourage her students to discover and embrace their individuality and become artists as well as athletes.

Tilly trained in dance and musical theatre at Performers College and during this time she obtained her ISTD teaching qualifications.

Tilly started her teaching career where her own dancing journey began, at Tozer Studios in Nottingham, then becoming a full-time member of the SLDS teaching and administration team in 2019.

Following a period of travelling the world, Tilly is happy to be back at SLDS teaching one day per week alongside her full-time office job.

Ciera trained for four years at the Brit School for Performing Arts, 1 year at The Urdang Academy and 3 years at D&B Performing Arts. Ciera worked professionally as Ensemble in Evita UK Tour, Principal Dancer and Understudy Tinkerbell in Peter Pan with UK Productions, Princess Jasmine in Aladdin Pantomime with touring company Chaplis, played Cinderella, Ariel and Rapunzel in Disneyland Paris, Dancer (Let’s Dance for Comic Relief) and Body Double for Hit Girl (Kick Ass 2). Photographic credits include Ford and Stub Hub. Ciera also worked as a Crystal Palace Cheerleader.

Ciera is a qualified ISTD tap and modern teacher and loves passing on her passion for performing through her teaching. She has entered children for their ISTD exams and has choreographed for numerous shows.

Ciera has been an examination administrator at South London Dance School since 2018 and loves the challenge of organising huge examination sessions for our students. It is especially rewarding when we receive such high standards of results and makes all the hard work worth it!

Kirsty comes from Glasgow, Scotland and holds her ISTD Diploma in Dance Education. She has passed her ISTD Cecchetti ballet exams up to and including Advanced 2 level and has completed courses with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Elmhurst School for Dance and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.

Kirsty has just graduated with a first class degree from Bird College, where she professionally trained in various genres of dance and musical theatre.

She recently performed as a dancer in the opening of ‘Move It’ at the ExCeL centre and was a featured ensemble member in the musical ‘Follies’ at the Doreen Bird Foundation Theatre.

Kirsty loves sharing her passion for dance with the students at South London Dance School.

Amelia trained at both the Guildford School of Acting (GSA) and Italia Conti, where she obtained a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in Musical Theatre, alongside her ISTD DDE teaching qualifications.

With over eight years of teaching experience, Amelia specialises in Modern, Tap, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Acro, and Gymnastics.

Alongside her professional performing career, she has trained students who have gone on to train at prestigious institutions including The Royal Ballet School, Tap Attack, and a range of top Musical Theatre and Dance conservatoires.

Amelia is passionate about inspiring the next generation of performers. She hopes to equip each student with the skills, confidence, and creativity they need to explore the world of Dance, Acro and Theatre – to express themselves in all forms of movement.

Candice is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and holds a Diploma in Performing Arts from Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. After graduating, she returned to Vancouver to teach and choregraph. Her teaching experience includes coaching gymnastics, leading musical theatre classes, and offering private voice lessons.

In 2023, she moved to London to continue her training at The International College of Musical Theatre. Since then, she has been teaching musical theatre to students of all ages across London. Candice is passionate about all aspects of musical theatre and is extremely dedicated to fostering creativity, confidence, and discipline in young performers. She is thrilled to be part of South London Dance School, helping students pursue their love for the arts in a fun and supportive environment.