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About Us

We are the school for all, We believe every student should be nurtured to their individual needs whether it’s a class for fun and fitness, Building confidence or because you want to level up and have a career and future in the industry, we pride ourself on provide something for everyone all with high quality training and passionate teachers.

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Where it all Began

After a 7 year career performing professionally, Mary hung up her dancing shoes and returned to the Isle of Wight. However she wasn’t quite ready to stop completely and started a small street dance class in Cowes with just 7 students in 2012.

Our Journey

From that first class in Cowes Starlight has grown from strength to strength, growing in classes and students year on year, in 2016 we added Acrobatics and Musical theater alongside our street dance sessions in 3 locations, Cowes Newport and Freshwater. Wanting to provide our students with a more rounded training program, we added a further three classes, Gymnastics, Ballet and Jazz, taking the program full time in 2017 and also introducing our additional team members. This was a game changer for us. We competed in our first international competition and set our sights on finding our own premises. In 2021 this dream became a reality and we opened our Newport Based studio, introducing more new genres such as, Cheerleading, Aerial, Tap, Pre Point sessions as well as providing a dedicated training space with sprung floors, barres, mirrors and more to elevate our students’ training further.

Our Values

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 To be an open and an inclusive studio where everyone is provided with equal opportunities to train in a class that suits them.

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To be committed to our customers and their training needs
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To continue to elevate and grow our program staying current, developing our training to ensure our students are always being taught correct techniques in a safe training environment.
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To develop and help our students grow in confidence as well as skills.
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To create a friendly and kind atmosphere where students can be themselves.
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To build a community and Studio family, we want and love that our students can hang out and socialize in our communal areas between classes where they build lifelong friendships and memories.
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To be respectful. We want our whole community to feel respected, from our students to their families and our teachers. We understand respect is a two-way street and a fundamental part of learning.
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Be ready! Be ready to learn and be ready for the class itself, our class times are the time the sessions start. We love it when our students show up ready to learn at the studio door.
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Be your best self, we don’t want anyone to compare themselves with anyone else. Everyone is different and brings something unique to the studio and we love that the most.
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Grow at your own pace, this is not a race, sometimes we have to get a little uncomfortable to grow as students, however you decide as and when you are ready to do this, we are here to guide and support you on your individual journey.

Meet The Team

Mary Bowdery -Studio Principal

Qualifications: NVQL4 professional dance Musical theater, L2 British Gymnastic coach General and freestyle gym, L2 Acrobatic Arts teacher, L2 British Cheer Coach, L1 Alexia flexibility coach, NVQ L4 NDTA .

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Contemporary dance teacher, UDO street dance teacher, ID Kicks and turns Technique
Pediatric and first aid in the workplace. Autism Awareness and safeguarding training
Training: StellaMann College of Performing Arts.
Something you didn’t know -Mary has an irrational phobia of Fish But loves sharks and is a secret fossil hunter. Her favorite time of year is whenever the sun is shining.

Emily Eccott – Head of Ballet and Tap

Qualifications – NVQ L4 in Dance, ISTD DDE in classical dance and Tap, Safeguarding.
Training, The Northern Ballet school
Something you didn’t know -Emily has recently become a new mummy!

Alicia Dent – Head Aerial and Cheer coach, Acro and Gymnastics instructor

Qualifications- Btech in performing arts, L1 British cheer, L2 British Gymnastics coach, Aerial foundations instructor in Hoop, silks, hammock, rope, pole and trapeze. 
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Foundation degree in primary Teaching, Pediatric First Aid. Safeguarding
Training, Bognor University, The Starlight Academy, Flying Fantastic and first 4 Sport.
Something you didn’t know – Alicia can walk better on her Hands than her feet, and she loves nothing more than a summer night on the beach with her campervan.

Gillian Cartwright – RAD Associate programs lead 

Gillian was born in London and trained from the age of 11 years at the Rambert
School of Ballet and Arts Educational School London.
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Gillian danced professionally as a classical ballet dancer with many dance
companies including English National Ballet, Graz Opera Ballet, and as principal
dancer/director of the Australian based company; “Ballet go Round”.
Gillian retired from dancing to open her own very successful dance school in
Shanklin on the Isle of Wight having taught as a guest teacher in England and
abroad.
Her school flourished, winning many mainland festival awards including
categories in the prestigious “All England Dance” Festival in London.
Many ex-pupils are currently dancing in leading ballet companies around the
world, dancing in West End Musicals and on cruise ships around the world.
In 2010 Gillian was privileged by being made a Life Member of the Royal
Academy of Dance. In 2013 The Royal Academy of Dance appointed Gillian as a
mentor to help and train young student teachers.
Gillian was lucky to have been taught by many great bygone teachers and is keen
to pass on her extensive knowledge of classical ballet onto the next generation of
young dancers.
Gillian sold her school in 2020 and is now a freelance ballet teacher and
choreographer.
One time I was dancing in a very old theatre in the Uk . I was on stage waiting for another 2 dancers to begin a trio in Sleeping Beauty. As they entered the wooden floor stage collapsed and they fell through the hole! I was in hysterics !, The show continued and we danced around the collapsed floorboard.

Helen Gibbins – Gymnastic Coach

Qualifications – Level 2 general gymnastics and preschool cpd add on . British Cheer coach Level 3 cheer. Level 2 nutrition and Health.

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Training through the Starlight Academy and Starlight Gym katz, with First 4 Sport England.
Something you didn’t know – Helen likes summer sunshine and light evenings. shes terrified of flying but couldn’t wait to jump out of the airplane for a skydive

Francesca Maretic – Theatre club and SEN lead, part time office assistant

Qualifications- Bachelor of Arts in Drama studies with Applied Theatre Teaching SEN and theater in education. Autism Awareness training, Mental health first Aid, 
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First aid in the workplace and Safeguarding training
Training –Winchester University.
Something you didn’t know – Fran has a playlist for every mood

Becci Maher – Choreographer, and cover teacher

Qualifications L3 Diploma in musical theater and Dance. Safeguarding
Training -Bird College of performing arts
Something you didn’t know 

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Becci loves being out on the water in the summer but loves nothing more than a muddy welly walk and drinking Coffee.

“My girls take the musical theatre classes at Starlight Academy and absolutely love their classes. Great teachers at a lovely studio in Newport. Definitely recommend”