Adele Stitch

I started dancing at the age of two and half in baby class with Mrs Nelms. Who would have thought that by the age of 28 my dream of owning a dance school would have come true!

Dancing has always been a part of my life. I get a lot of enjoyment in teaching dance, and I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.

During my younger years, I achieved a high standard in all my grades in ballet, modern and tap.

At the ages 8, 9 & 10 I appeared at the Bristol Hippodrome in several shows and pantomimes working alongside stars such as Michael Barrymore, Gary Wilmott and Sue Pollard.

Later shows included: Hello Dolly starring Dora Bryan. 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls and Hans Christian Anderson with the Bristol Light Opera Company.

As a child I competed in all the local eisteddfods, winning an array of medals and trophies in a variety of different sections. My duet partner was Miss Elise, who is now working at the school!

From 11, I trained every Sunday with The Bristol Youth Ballet Company, and attended regular master classes.

After my GCSE's I decided to try something new, and studied hair and beauty therapy at Weston College. During this time, I was awarded 'The Student of the Year Award'.

Throughout my time at college I continued to dance every Thursday evenings with the Manhatten Orchestra, in a big band show. We performed in front of hundreds of people at the Winter Gardens in Weston-Super-Mare, and various other seaside towns. It was during this time I realised that my real passion was for dancing.

Locally, I continued to perform with Nailsea Musicals and Nailsea Theatre Club during pantomime season, dancing in the chorus.

This led to another opportunity when I was 18 in which I was awarded the lead part as Jack, in Jack and the Beanstalk, in the Christmas pantomime. This production was highly praised and I subsequently got nominated for the Rose Bowl Award.

At the age of 18, I decided to concentrate on my dancing and enrolled at the Bristol College of Dancing. I studied for two and half years and obtained my Teachers Certificate in RAD and ISTD. During my time at college I continued to teach at several dance schools and held lessons at private schools such as The Downs School and Clifton College.

Whilst at College I also had the opportunity to work in TV. This included a programme called Cosmic Buggy, which was shown on ITV every Thursday night, and continued for 3 series. An audition in London followed and a few students and I performed a group dance for the TV show 'My Kind of Music', which was hosted by Michael Barrymore. The group dance we performed was shown on his programme on ITV.

On completion of my course, my credits included the higher grades in ballet, tap and modern, and elementary/intermediate national exams.

Once I was qualified I was invited back to the college to teach the new intake of RAD students, and assist in their teaching exam.

After completing college I continued to teach and worked at a number of schools, and dance schools.

Choreography became a passion of mine with my focus on Eisteddfod dances. Instant success followed and many of these dances finished in medal/trophy positions. I have been awarded the 'Choreography Trophy' at the Bristol Eisteddfod on two different occasions, and recently I have won the 'Teachers Trophy' at Longwell Green Eisteddfod. This trophy was awarded to the teacher that had acquired the best cumulative score over the week. This festival produced some particularly fantastic achievements for many of our dancers, and it is this accomplishment that makes all the hard work worth it!

In 2004 the 'Jennie Nelms School of Dance' was formed and I continued to teach with Mrs Nelms. We worked extremely well together producing outstanding results. Mrs Nelms and I had a great rapport with each other and this led to a great working relationship.

I believe the support and encouragement we gave to each other enabled the school to blossom.

The school was also known for brining dance into the community and the Nailsea Carnival became a yearly venture - and still is to this day. Every year, come rain or shine, we continue to have lots of volunteers keen to help, and to all of them I am truly grateful. This summer proved a particular triumph as we were awarded the cup for 'Best Overall Float'.

Other regular performances include town fetes, charity events and dancing in nursing homes, especially around Christmas time.

At 23 I married my teenage heart throb Jason and without his help and encouragement none of my dreams would have come true. We have two wonderful boys Hayden (4) and Luke (1).

After Luke was born I went back to college part time and completed my 'Royal Academy of Dance Student Teaching Qualification' this enabled me to become a fully registered teacher of the RAD.

I am continuing to further my qualifications by working towards exams in FDI and CDE modern and tap. I also attend regular syllabus update courses.

In September 2008, Mrs Nelms decided it was time to retire and the 'Adele Stitch School of Dance' was born. I owe a great deal of thanks to Mrs Nelms, for allowing me to continue in her footsteps and for giving me such a great opportunity. Jennie and Chris have both been extremely helpful through this time of change, and their advice has been invaluable.

Finally, I must also say a big thank you to all my family, for all their support and encouragement, especially my mum. Without my mum’s love, and financial assistance through college, my dancing would have never been achievable.

As the principal of 'Adele Stitch School of Dance, I will endeavour to continue the success of Mrs Nelms, whilst bringing a fun, passionate and technical approach to dance.

This is a dream come true for me, and I am glad that you can all be part of it!