Meet Our Team

We offer you the highest quality, professionally taught classes.
We never lose sight of you as an individual.
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Alta Academy of Dance Teachers

All our teachers are fully qualified and incredibly passionate about what they do.

We really look forward to sharing our love of dance with you.

Deborah Mercer, Dancer, Founder Ballet Teacher RAD Examiner PBT Exam Coach

Deborah Mercer

  • BA Hons, ARAD, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner and Tutor, ISTD DDI Modern Theatre, PBT Certification

  • Deborah’s ballet journey started in Hong Kong where she was born and where she trained with Joan Campbell and Paula Lau. She progressed through all the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) ballet grades and vocational levels up to and including Advanced 2. In her early teens, she was invited to join the Hong Kong Ballet Group which saw her perform regularly, both as a corps and soloist, alongside a group of local vocational dancers as well as professional dancers from abroad. At 16, she was offered a place at the prestigious Académie Princesse Grace ballet school in Monaco and at age 18 she continued her professional dance training at Rambert Ballet School, as it was known then.

    Owing to changes in her family circumstances, following her time at Rambert, Deborah completed a language degree at the University of Westminster and went on to have a career in marketing and commerce during which time she continued taking professional dance classes. However, she was drawn back to her first love and, having gained her teaching qualifications through the Royal Academy of Dance, she has not looked back. She has successfully trained pupils for entry into renowned vocational dance schools, performing arts colleges and Associate programmes. She has also, in conjunction with other teachers, coached her own daughter who trained at English National Ballet School and who was a finalist at RAD’s flagship Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto, 2019 (renamed The Fonteyn in 2021).

    Deborah is an RAD Examiner and tutor, holds her DDI qualification in modern theatre and is a certified PBT teacher. She taught for many years at various schools including Brighton College, The Brighton Academy and IC Theatre. She has choreographed for many shows including Brighton College’s annual dance show at The Dome over a number of years.

    Deborah is passionate about instilling a love of dance to everyone she teaches - children and adults alike.

Emily Koschyk RAD Ballet Teacher Examiner Tutor ISTD Modern

Emily Koschyk

  • RAD RTS, RAD Teaching Diploma (Distinction), RAD Examiner and Tutor, LCDD Diploma (Distinction), ISTD DDE Modern Theatre, Imperial Ballet, Classical Greek, National

  • Emily began dancing at the Maureen Gardener School of Ballet under Wendy Lewis in Winchester. In her teenage years, Emily discovered her passion for teaching while working with young children in an academic setting. She went on to study dance pedagogy at the London College of Dance and Drama where she trained in a broad range of genres, including Ballet, Modern, Tap, National and Classical Greek.She graduated with vocational and teaching qualifications from the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, the Sense of Performance Cup and Distinction in Teaching Studies.

    Emily’s first job took her to Germany where she danced in television and theatre shows. After 10 years of teaching ballet and modern, she opened her own very successful school in southern Germany, which she ran with her husband for almost 20 years.

    Emily has been a tutor for the RAD’s Certificate of Ballet Teaching Studies since its inception in 2004 and was also a tutor for the Berlin based Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate. She is a CPD tutor for Pre-Primary to Advanced 2 levels and an RAD Examiner. She is also an Inspire tutor for the Royal Ballet School.She teaches at various RAD Summer Schools around Europe.

    Emily relocated back to the UK in 2020 and now freelances and is studying for a Masters in Dance Science. She is enjoying being back ‘home’ and continuing to impart her knowledge, particularly of the dancing body, and of course her passion for dance.

Victoria Allport

  • RAD RTS, Teaching Diploma (Distinction), RAD Examiner and Tutor, Freelance Coach

  • Former Professional Dancer and choreographer, currently freelance teacher/coach and tutor on the Royal Academy of Dance’s Certificate in Ballet Studies.

    Victoria, or as known to her students, Miss Vikki, started dancing at the age of 5 and quickly decided that this was her vocation, training at Gillian Quinn's North of England College of Dance, on the Royal Academy of Dance’s Student Teaching Certificate. At the age of 17 she was invited to choreograph a local charity pantomime, leading to more choreographic work in the North of England whilst continuing to teach.

    At the age of 19, she had the opportunity to dance professionally both abroad and in the UK in musical theatre and pantomime. She eventually settled in Mexico and ran her own very successful dance school for nearly 20 years, during which time she completed her RAD Teaching Diploma specialising in anatomy and music. A desire to share her passion for ballet became the driving force behind the school and she formed a small company that seasonally performed classical ballets, with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Acapulco.

    Many ex-students from Victoria’s school in Mexico have gone on to be professional dancers and RAD Teaching Members.

    On returning to the UK, Victoria took up the position as Head of Ballet at Brighton College and during her time there established a full programme of RAD classes and mentored trainee teachers. Former students have achieved places at prestigious vocational schools such as London Studio Centre, Laban and English National Ballet School. Her love of choreography helped to win the Phyllis Bedells Choreographic prize in collaboration with her talented student who also reached the Finals of the coveted Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto (2019).

    More recently, Victoria has completed extensive examining, tutoring and teaching worldwide, and continues to eagerly share her love of dance.

Siân Holloway

  • RAD RTS, RAD BA Ballet Education, LRAD

  • Siân has danced since the age of 3, studying RAD ballet up to Advanced 2 and ISTD tap, modern and jazz. She has achieved distinctions in both RAD graded and vocational ballet examinations. She has also achieved distinctions in ISTD modern, tap and jazz exams, with her highest mark being 93% in her Intermediate tap.

    Siân has performed in multiple professional shows in her home town Southampton and, in her gap year, performed as a backup dancer in a show at The Theatre Royal in Winchester. After studying the RAD syllabus for many years, Siân embarked on the BA course at the Royal Academy of Dance (2018-2021) with the intention of becoming a ballet teacher. Whilst studying at the RAD, Siân’s passion for teaching and ballet grew and she achieved firsts in all of her teaching exams. She graduated with a BA in Ballet Education and a distinction in the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance.

    She began her teaching career in London and Surrey and now shares her time between Alta Academy of Dance and teaching commitments in London.

Charlie Donnelly

  • ISTD DDE Modern Theatre & Ballet, ISTD Licentiate Modern Theatre

  • Charlie trained at Bird College, gaining a degree in Dance and Musical Theatre. She also trained at Chichester College and the Centre for Advanced Training at Trinity Laban. She holds her ISTD DDE qualification, ISTD Licentiate in Modern Theatre and is currently working towards her ISTD Fellowship. Charlie has performed professionally in both Contemporary and Musical Theatre. Most recently in Mary Poppins (Europe and West End). She has taught in a number of schools and colleges.

Abi Walter

  • ISTD DDE Modern Theatre & Tap

  • Abi comes very highly recommended. Not only is she a fully qualified teacher but also has professional dance experience.  She trained at Laine Theatre Arts, Chichester College and Bird College and holds a Degree in Dance and Musical Theatre as well as the ISTD DDE in modern and tap.

Anya Mercer

  • Diploma in Professional Dance, English National Ballet School, RAD ARAD

  • Anya began her training with Victoria Allport at age 5. She went onto Tring Park School, Academy of Balletic Arts and English National Ballet School (ENBS). She was a Royal Ballet School Senior Associate and was selected for intensive courses at the Royal Ballet School, Academie Princesse Grace and Dutch National Ballet School.

    Anya won the Phyllis Bedels choreography award and the National Youth Ballet performer of the year in 2018. She was a finalist in the Fonteyn (formerly Genee) International Ballet Competition in 2019 held in Toronto.

    Anya performed in Nutcracker with English National Ballet and while at ENBS danced works by choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Didy Veldman, Andrew McNichol and Alleyne Dance. She also performed in Raymonda, Les Rendezvous and La Sylphide.

    Anya worked with National Youth Ballet in 2023 restaging Ada with the senior performance company.

Samantha Hills

  • Samantha started dancing at the tender age of 5 taking part in Ballet, Modern and Tap exams. She then moved to London at 16 to train at London Studio Centre.

    During this time Samantha found work dancing for Arlene Philips and from here she found herself on the West End stage in the hit musical Grease.

    From starting out in the ensemble she progressed to understudy and play both Frenchy and Marty. From her Samantha went on to perform many roles in various shows including Fame, Happy Days, Saturday Night Fever, The Rocky Horror Show and Boogie Nights to name a few. She also danced in Royal Variety shows, pop videos and various film and television shows, working with choreographers such as Matthew Bourne, Karen Bruce and Alan Harding.

    Samantha has since moved to Brighton and has had experience teaching all over the south coast. She has also been an associate lecturer for The University of Chichester on their musical theatre courses for the past seven years.

    She is delighted to be teaching the next generation of performers.

Testimonial

“Having known Miss Deborah as a teacher for over 10 years we could not have been more delighted to see the establishment of Alta Academy of Dance. It truly is a nurturing and inclusive environment where young dancers are inspired and supported to achieve to the best of their ability. Miss Deborah has a teaching style that motivates and encourages with genuine care and understanding. She has guided my own children through many RAD grades and developed both their technique and artistry. The support she has unwaveringly shown, particularly to my son, both in class and private lessons, has set a firm foundation for his love of ballet to flourish. Male dancers can often be marginalised in class and Deborah sets a culture of inclusion from the outset. If you are looking for high quality teaching from a passionate and dedicated teacher, you will find no better school.”

- Hannah Adjoa-Smith (mother of Zak and Ella)