FH STORIES | JACKIE MORTIMER, THE DANCING QUEEN!

Jackie Mortimer and the Instep Dance Company have been synonymous for over 40 years, with thousands of young dancers from our area having learnt the benefits of and the love for dance with Jackie and her team.  The company is recognised for playing a major role in the development of community dance work in our area.

“Dance teaches teamwork, creativity, resilience and well-being, all transferable skills in any walk of life, and at Instep in particular it creates a family based on love” Jackie says.

Despite retiring from teaching 10 years ago, and reaching 70 next year, Jackie’s love of her art and her dancers shines through.

THE INSTEP STORY

Back in 1980, Jackie taught PE (including dance) and English at what was St. Leonard’s Girls School, across the road from Brockhill Park School which was boys only.

As the girls left at 16 in those days, many wanted to continue dancing, so Jackie started a dance club, which was soon joined by girls from Southlands (now The Marsh Academy).

When St Leonard’s was amalgamated with Brockhill, dance was a compulsory subject – for the boys too.  “There was some resistance from the boys at first” Jackie admits, “but they soon came to appreciate the physicality and discipline of dance, and often started to like it more than PE.  For some it was also a place where they could get noticed for the right reasons, and this led to improvements in other academic areas too.”

LET’S DANCE!

Feel the need to get your dancing shoes on, or get the kids on the move?

Thursday evenings are community classes at Instep, held at Brockhill Park Performing Arts Academy which is in partnership with the company.  Dancers come from over 15 establishments to learn here – primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities.

Pre-school, Infants, Junior, Workshop and Street classes are all on offer for school age dancers, with no auditions required.  Demand is high, so there may be a waiting list.

Companies 1, 2, 3 and 4 are for more serious, committed dancers, and entry is by audition for 10-18 year olds.

All the dancers come together for a series of fantastic shows, at Christmas and in the summer, which is a chance for everyone to enjoy the work of other classes and celebrate their achievements.

A FINAL WORD

We asked Jackie whether any one group was more difficult to work with than another.

“With the Pre-School group it can be like herding cats, that toddler attention span!  And with the Vivekamayas, who have the benefit of often extensive life experience, they question us – often rightly too!

“But we love them all” she says.  “It’s all about the relationships between us all, mutual respect, trust, warmth, nurturing and building forever friendships.”