The figures speak for themselves. From only nine students in 2008 to over 180 today they show how, with Amy Eccles at its head, this passionate-about-dance teacher has made Motion Dance grow. At present Amy holds classes in the Holy Trinity Rooms, Church Street, from 3.30 every afternoon but she feels the size is limiting. She’d love to have bigger premises in Barrow with large dance mirrors lining the walls and lots of nearby parking. With bigger premises she could hold her annual show there but at present she has to find a larger venue in Leicester. But onwards and upwards! Ambition is one of Amy’s great qualities - she’s always looking to improve the teaching conditions for her dancers and help them to even greater success.
And success there’s been a-plenty. Every year Amy takes her dancers to a national competition in Blackpool where they compete against other Association of American Dancing (AAD) troupes from all over the country. In November last year her youngest group, the Babes, came 6th out of 21 troupes and her Juniors 8th out of 32. Competition is stiff and Amy, proud of these results, got BBC Radio 2’s Paul O’Grady to broadcast them on his Sunday afternoon show! Amy believes that dance is not just an enjoyable way to pass the time but is very good at teaching lifelessons such as the need for discipline, constant practice, a high level of fitness and the importance of being able to get on with other people. Seeing how well her students progress as individuals, not just in terms of good dance grades, gives Amy immense satisfaction. And the village benefits too. There is an overlap between dancers from Amy’s classes and those taking part in Barrow’s Panto and Youth Theatre productions. In last December’s Oliver quite a few of the ‘scruffy urchins’ and other, even bigger roles, were played by enthusiastic Motion Dance ‘overlappers’.
But how did it all start? Well, in Loughborough really. Amy was born in the town and loved dancing even as a toddler. She’d constantly be dancing at home in front of a mirror so her mother quickly recognised her pleasure in movement and dance classes followed. Soon she began
going to festivals and winning prizes and after leaving school Amy got a scholarship to the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama (MADD) in Nottingham. It has a crazy acronym but is a very highly respected arts college rivalling any in London. After three years, Amy left with a Diploma in Musical Theatre. She loved her years at MADD and it also gave her the opportunity of dancing in the West End on the stages of the Palladium and Coliseum.
Although early in her artistic life Amy toyed with the idea of becoming a dancer on the stage, she was soon disillusioned with the fickleness of the auditions system and realised she much preferred to teach. She started teaching for Stage Coach in Loughborough, loved it, and after building up her skills and confidence, started her own company in 2008. Amy wanted the
name to be attractive to both boys and girls so chose Motion Dance and now, although most of her students are girls, about seven boys attend regularly.
The curriculum which Amy follows is that of the Association of American Dancing. Because there‘s such a variety of dance taught every session, each dancer has to be equipped with three types of shoes – tap, ballet and jazz - expensive for parents but, Amy says, in spite of this they are a friendly and very supportive bunch. Amy insists that every session includes ballet as this she believes is the basis of all dance. She talks of a dance-sandwich; tap and jazz as the bread with ballet as the filling. But at Motion Dance you can learn more than tap, ballet and jazz as colleagues Danielle Stanley teaches Street and Contemporary and Lizzie Bywater Florence coaches singing for the new Motion Voices groups. And there are dance levels for all ages, each group leotard colour coded until you become older and join the prestigious Blacks! It’s a fascinating world and I loved learning about it. Thank you very much Amy.
Gaynor Barton
MORE INFO
If you would like to learn more contact Amy on 07881 593654 or email motiondance.co@gmail.com