Dance Teacher focus: Michelle Ramsey from Urban Dance Project

We spoke to street dance specialist Michelle Ramsey, founder and director of Urban Dance Project. Her passion for urban dance styles started when she first moved to London to attend dance college. What made you decide to start Urban Dance Project? I wanted to create a place, to pass on everything I had learnt from days in the industry, a place to encourage people to try new things, a positive place, a place of opportunities, whether that be learning a new skill, a competition, a show, or even paid work. What types of dance do you specialise in? I am trained in all styles, but we specialise in the more urban styles, such as street dance , commercial, breakdance and contemporary, we will also be introducing some drama classes in November. What qualities do your instructors bring to your classes? We are all very positive and supportive, and bring out the best in all our students, boasting their confidence in dance and other things. What makes Urban Dance Project different to other dance schools? Unlike most schools, we encourage students to take as many opportunities as possible, including masterclasses with industry professionals, to learn new skills, we even have had classes in parkour, audition for youth dance companies, and grab every opportunity. What has been your biggest achievement? My biggest achievement must be the success of urban dance project, we are like one big family, and everyone is so positive and supportive of each other, we have grown from strength to strength. In the first year we were nominated for business newcomer of the year by radio wave and this year for kids choice award. We also run a agency - urban dance project the agency, supplying dancers for work, whether that be dancing, modeling, promotions and acting, we now cover most of the uk, getting work for dancers in between there contracts and training. You offer classes to all ages, what advice would you give to beginners who want to learn how to dance? I would tell everyone to give it a go, maybe try a few different classes and styles to find out which one is for you, everyone started somewhere and went to that very first class. We are very welcoming to everyone at UDP. What do you love most about dancing? Dancing is everything to me, it's a way to express yourself, it's a positive thing and most people love to dance, behind closed doors or in a studio. I honestly don't know what I would do without dance. I am dance :-) dance is me :-)