Alice Smith is the principal of The Centre Dance Academy and a dance teacher in Northwood Ballet school and dance academy. She has performed in the West End not only is an incredible performer and dancer but also an incredible teacher. Through this interview I discovered so much more about her as a person and her inspiring story of how she came to be who she is today.

Discovery of dance

She discovered dance through her mother, who is also a dance teacher. Her mother has a school in Northwood and Alice started dancing with her as soon as she was born, even when she was in the womb, she added they were “dancing together.” 

Journey with dance

Alice started dancing at Northwood Ballet school with her mum and from there she moved to Susan Handy dance school in Eton, “which is a great school” and then from there she auditioned for lots of different dance colleges around the UK. Eventually choosing to go to KS dance which is a school based in Warrington. She was there for one year where they did ballet, contemporary, commercial, jazz and Spanish. She also gained her teaching qualifications there, a DDE in Cecchetti Classical ballet. From there, she transferred to Tring park school for the performing arts where she was there for her 2 final years and she gained a level 6 diploma in professional dance.

Why dance as a career?

She pursued dance as a career because she loves dancing and she “just wanted to do something that I loved to make a living. Why not?”

Performance opportunities 

Alice Smith has performed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the West End of London in Oliver Twist. She went on to perform at theatre royal in Windsor where she was the principal role “Cinderella” in the ballet "Cinderella" and she also performed at the Lowry in Manchester where she did Les Sylphides and was one of the soloists.

Why teach children?

She decided to teach children dance because “I wanted to pass on my enjoyment and love for the art to the next generation” and unfortunately she couldn't dance professionally because of a back injury so it was “the natural next step.”

Benefits of dance

“Dance has benefitted me because it has given me strength, it's given me discipline and it keeps me moving and it's great for my creativity, the physical side is great and the mental side is great.” She believes it connects you with people from all over the world. “Dance is such a universal language so you know you can literally just connect with anyone else in a dance space and I just love it, it's great.” 

Overall, Alice Smith is a moving example of someone who followed their heart and dreams and shows how hard work pays off as now she is the Principal of the dance academy she once danced at as an infant. It is truly inspiring!