Our People

We are proud to be a world class centre of excellence for the training and education of classical ballet dancers where graduating students are prepared to secure contracts with national and international ballet companies. Teachers come from successful professional dance backgrounds and teach with passion and commitment.

Jessica Ward

Principal

Jessica trained as a contemporary dancer and choreographer at Trinity Laban and went on to perform with their resident company, Transitions, among other freelance projects. Having sustained an injury during her dance career, she took the opportunity to pursue her other passion – teaching. She taught dance in a number of schools and colleges as well as holding senior appointments in London Secondary Schools before joining Elmhurst Ballet School as Principal in 2010.

Jessica has always had a passion and interest in choreography and has enjoyed creating work for a number of youth companies including the award winning team at The Grange Opera.

In her role as Principal, Jessica is the Chair of the national Music and Dance Scheme school’s head teachers group and is involved in a number of other networks to support the development of Elmhurst, including being a committee member of the Society of Heads. Jessica is a Team Inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Ofsted have described her as a ‘highly effective leader’. In 2021, Jessica also joined the New Adventures' Board of Trustees.

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Governors
President, Vice Presidents and Artistic Advisors
Senior Leadership Team
Middle Leadership Team
Artistic Team
Elmhurst Young Dancers Team
Academic Team
Music Team
Boarding Team
Health and Wellbeing Team
Development Team
Support Team
Research and Performance

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Prof John Bryson

Kirsty Cartwright

Pearl Chesterman

Sarah Evans OBE

Jenny Hardy

James Harris

Chair

Brandon Lawrence

Alison Matthews

Prof Matt Wyon

Michele Lawrence

Ian Lowe

Carlos Acosta CBE

Vice President

Sir David Bintley CBE

Artistic Advisor

Maina Gielgud

Vice President

Desmond Kelly

Artistic Advisor

Wayne McGregor CBE

President

Dame Merle Park

Vice President

Sir Peter Wright

Vice President

Lucy Caddick

Director of Finance and Operations

Robert Parker

Artistic Director

Manpreet Sambhi

Assistant Principal- Academics

Sabina Storrod

Director of Business Development

Sara Wells

Vice Principal

Denise Whiteman

Director of Dance Training

Sarah-Jayne Blackwell

Dance Project Co-Ordinator and KS4 Leader

William Rowsley

Houseparent - Mortimer House, Progress Leader (Key Stage 3) and DSL

Kieran Grinnell

Facilities Manager

Simon Housley

Teacher in charge of Science and Head of Data and Assessment

Liz Innis

HR Officer

Michelle Lester

Teacher in charge of English and KS5 Progress Leader

Jennifer MacNamara

Head of Contemporary, Jazz and Related Dance Styles

Jeanette Mould

Cleaning Supervisor and Receptionist; Birmingham Young Dancers

Dudley Ray

Director of Music

Lesley-Anne Tulley

Head of Pastoral Care (Lower School), Houseparent - Fischer House and DSL

Nico Kolokythas

Head of Research and Performance

Joe Roberts

Teacher in charge of Languages and Staff Induction Lead

Tracy Cowper

Head of Upper School Boarding and DSL

Judith Coe

Head of Health and Wellbeing

Joshua Barwick

Ballet Teacher

Sarah-Jayne Blackwell

Jazz Teacher

Rachel English

Dance Rehabilitation Coach

Sonia Fajardo

Ballet Teacher

Ana Garcia

Flamenco Teacher

Gloria Grigolato

Ballet Teacher

James Grundy

Ballet Teacher

Nicky Linzie

Ballet Teacher

Jennifer MacNamara

Head of Contemporary, Jazz and related dance styles

Sandrine Monin

Contemporary Teacher

Robert Parker

Artistic Director

Michael Raynaud

Ballet Teacher

Indra Reinholde

Choreography Teacher

Lee Robinson

Ballet Teacher

Andrea Tredinnick

Ballet Teacher

Denise Whiteman

Director of Dance Training

Lei Zhao

Ballet Teacher

Denise Whiteman	Ballet Teacher - Birmingham
Ann Atkinson	Ballet Teacher - Sunderland
Sarah-Jayne Blackwell	Jazz Teacher - Birmingham
Alexandra Howarth	Ballet Teacher - Birmingham
Marion Lindsay	Ballet Teacher - Plymouth
Nicky Linzie	Ballet Teacher - Birmingham
Alexandra Sherman	Ballet Teacher- Birmingham
Andrea Tredinnick Danielle Kane Rosie Price	Ballet Teacher - Birmingham Ballet Teacher- Manchester Ballet Teacher- Birmingham
Laura Green	RAD Syllabus Tutor, Ballet Teacher- Birmingham
Sandrine Monin	Contemporary Teacher
Victoria Thornton	Ballet Teacher- Birmingham
Mary Walsh	Ballet Teacher- Birmingham

Elizabeth Ahmed	EAL/EFL Teacher
Helen Beddows	Teacher in charge of Art
Nadine Elliman	Teacher of Maths (casual)
Danielle Grieve-Carter	Teacher of English
Claire Hardeman	Teacher of Science
Simon Housley	Teacher in charge of Science, Head of Data and Assessment
Katharine Perl	Teacher in charge of Drama
Rozalyn McComish	Teacher in charge of History and RE, Health and Wellbeing Teacher
Siham Mohamud	Teacher in charge of History and RE (Maternity Cover)
Joseph Roberts	Teacher in charge of Languages and Staff Induction Project Lead
Michelle Lester	Teacher in charge of English and Progress Leader
Manpreet Sambhi	Assistant Principal- Academics
Lucy Wensley	Teacher in charge of Geography
Helen Pollard	SEND Lead
Liz Woehrling	Laboratory Technician

Asty Allen	Pianist
Peter Allsopp	Accompanist for the Sunderland Young Dancers Programme
Andrew Bland	Pianist (casual)
Jiayi Chen	Pianist (casual)
Stephen Crewes	Pianist and Accompanist for the Birmingham Young Dancers Programme
Martina Cuevas Cuevas	Pianist (casual)
Felicity Davies	Singing Teacher
Yijiao Feng	Pianist (casual)
Peter Flower	Pianist - Music Resources Co-ordinator
Margaret Green	Accompanist for the Plymouth Young Dancers Programme
Roman Kosyakov	Pianist (casual)
Chia-Yuan Kuo	Pianist (Casual) and Accompanist for the Manchester Young Dancers Programme
Yen Lee	Pianist
Elaine Li	Pianist
Dominic Mason	Pianist
Zhijun Ni	Pianist (casual)
Mikael Pettersson	Head of Accompanying and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Pianist Placement Scheme Coordinator
Dudley Ray	Director of Music
Miriam Taylor	Cello Teacher
Bogdan Suciu	Pianist (casual)
Ana Wheeler	Pianist (Part-Time)
Venesca Yapson	Pianist (Casual)
Yin Yu	Pianist (Casual)

Claire Allen	Houseparent-Hetherington
Gemma Amphlett	Deputy Houseparent-Casual
Dr Sue Barbour	Houseparent-Park
Tracy Cowper	Head of Upper School Boarding and Houseparent- The Elms
Diane Fox	Deputy Houseparent- Casual
Sean Graham	Deputy Houseparent- Hetherington
Naomi Maze	Deputy Houseparent- Park
Raluca-Ioana Mihaila	Deputy Houseparent (across all houses)
Amy Nock	Deputy Houseparent- The Elms
Charlotte Pitts	Deputy Houseparent- Fischer
Will Rowsley	Houseparent- Mortimer and Progress Leader (Key Stage 3)
Debra Smith	Deputy Houseparent- Mortimer
Lesley-Anne Tulley	Head of Pastoral Care and Boarding (Lower School) and Houseparent- Fischer

Dr Parveen Bangher	GP
Judith Coe	Head of Health and Wellbeing
Rachel English	Dance Rehabilitation Coach
Samantha Gavrovski	Physiotherapist
Izzy Greaves	Soft Tissue Therapist
Kirsty Haywood	Healthcare Assistant
Janet Hinds	Healthcare Assistant
Emma-Louise Hodgson	Independent Student Advocate
Hayley James	Registered Mental Health Nurse
Dr Wakeel Jamil	GP
John Needham	Independent Student Advocate
Hannah Windows	Registered School Counsellor

Sabina Storrod	Director of Business Development
Zoe Baxter	Head of Fundraising
Alice Gibbins	Development Events Executive
Katie Butcher	Social Media Executive (Part-Time)
Louise Gale	Graphic Designer
Simon Harper	PR Advisor

Awais Ali	Finance Officer
Riffat Ashraf	Cleaner
Susan Bailey	Cleaner
Sarah Bastock	Purchase Ledger and Accounts Officer
Jacqueline Ellis	Cleaner
Kirsty Graham	School Receptionist/Administrator
Kieran Harkin	Catering Manager
Charlotte Hooper	School Receptionist/Administrator (Mornings)
Liz Innis	HR Officer
Sian Martin	Laundry Assistant (part-time)
Patricia McDermaid	Cleaner
Nathan McLaren	IT Technician
Moubarack Mougamadou	Cleaner
Shabina Nawaz	Cleaner
Halimo Omar	Cleaner
Renata Ratajova	Executive Assistant
Daniel Stevenson	Weekend Locking-up Attendant
Paul Stevenson	Residential Caretaker
Beata Strizikova	Administrator (casual)
Natalie Timbrell	SIMS & School Administrator
Rachal Torrance	Registrar
Lina Valiukaite	Cleaner
Francesca Wareing	Cleaner

Trudy Bayliss	Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach (Placement)
Michelle Dwarika	PhD Student
Nico Kolokythas	Head of Research and Performance
Raluca-Ioana Mihaila	Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach (Placement)
Bogdan Suciu	Strength and Conditioning Coach
Rosie Tong	Strength and Conditioning Coach

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