Faculty

Kate Simmons won the Espinosa Scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. On completing her training there she joined Festival Ballet in 1978 and performed corps and soloist roles in most of the company's repertoire including Romeo & Juliet, Giselle and Etudes.

In 1984 she returned to the Royal Ballet School and completed the Teachers Course, before opening the Kate Simmons School in Warrington. In 1989 she opened the Upper School to provide full-time vocational training for professional dancers and teachers. The school now provides performers and teachers worldwide.

Miss Simmons is an international guest teacher and choreographer most recently teaching in Canada and the USA.

Gillian Hurst trained at Bush Davies and the Royal Ballet School before embarking on a teaching career specialising in the Cecchetti method and Spanish dance. A senior international Cecchetti examiner, she is in great demand as both a guest teacher and performer of Spanish dance.

Tracey Moss trained at the Legat School and at Kate Simmons School. From 1980 to 1991 she performed in cabaret shows in the U.K. and abroad and in professional pantomimes. Tracey has been at Kate Simmons Dance from 1984 and as well as teaching for both Junior and Senior programmes, she also choreographs the Junior programme productions in addition to the tap pieces for AllegroDance and the Senior productions.

Mr Pierre-Louis trained at S.E.L.Tec and the Laban Centre. He then moved on to perform with such companies as Transitions Dance Company, Theatre of Motion and Dance Franchise. He started his teaching career in 1987. He has taught in many well known schools including Walsall College of Arts, Merseyside Dance and Drama, Everyman Theatre, Greenwich Young Peoples Theatre, Dance Exchange Birmingham, Wirral Metropolitan College, Coventry University. He is currently employed at Kate Simmons Dance and Walsall College of Arts.

Angela trained at the Laban Centre and graduated as a member of Transistions Dance Company. She has worked with various independent choreographers such as: Lea Anderson, Claude Brunachan, Duncan McFarland, Karen Greenhough and Mary Evelyn. As an artist and teacher she has taught in several dance institutions; Millenium, London Studio centre, Laban, Rambert Education and John Moores University.

Her company, 4Tet debuted in a collaborative project at the Lowry.

Yukie trained at the Yuko Date and Kawazoe schools in Japan and the Royal Ballet School. She then danced with the Japan Ballet Association, Tatsuo Kasuya Ballet Company and Images Dance Company. Yukie was assistant to the Director at London Studio Centre and taught at the International School of Ballet in Canada. She then studied at Kate Simmons Dance to gain her Cecchetti Associate exam and has now returned to teach classes for both the Junior and Senior programmes.

Tracy has worked in the UK and worldwide as a dancer for leading choreographers and directors in all aspects of theatre, television and commercials. She was dance captain and subsequently assistant choreographer to leading choreographers Phil Winston and Anthony Johns. Tracy then, for Stageworks Worldwide Productions became resident director and company manager on Mystique and dance coach for the award winning Cirque Ballet Eclipse. It was then a natural progression for her to start her own work as a choreographer in which she has developed her own unique Jazz style. Tracy has choreographed all over the world including international shows for Number One Casinos and various productions and ensemble pieces for Principal cruise lines. In the UK, Tracy has choreographed many large scale productions ncluding Pantomimes, Fashion show and Corporate events. TV credits include Bring it on for CBBC.