About Us
Our History
Bury St Edmunds Ballet School started life in Spring 2016 as an Adult Ballet Class, based at Pakenham Village Hall, which Eleanor took over teaching, and an established dance school in Bury St Edmunds which she took over in September 2017.
When we celebrated our 5th birthday in 2022, we changed our name from Pop Up Dance to the Bury St Edmunds Ballet School to reflect the school's evolution into an established provider of high-quality dance tuition within Bury St. Edmunds.
The result is a wonderful dance community for the West Suffolk area!
Our Ethos
We encourage our students to develop an appreciation of dance in an environment where the contribution of everyone is respected and appreciated.
Our classes provide a safe space for our students to be the best version of themselves, helping them develop the personal and social skills which will benefit them throughout their lives.
Children are encouraged to understand their personal boundaries and we support them in advocating for themselves.
The school has robust safeguarding policies and all teachers are DBS checked
Eleanor & Rachel
Eleanor and Rachel met as students at the Royal Academy of Dance in London in 2009 and became fast friends once they discovered they lived down the road from each other! After several years of developing their individual careers, they finally began to work together permanently at Bury St. Edmunds Ballet School in 2019.
They are both passionate about making dance an inclusive and accessible practice, often challenging the unwritten rules and stereotypes surrounding ballet and advocating for the rights of all dance students to receive a safe, mindful dance education that promotes emotional wellbeing above all else.
Both Eleanor and Rachel are subscribed to the DBS update service and details to check this can be provided upon request.
Eleanor
MSc (Psy.) BA (Hons)
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dance in 2013, Eleanor had a successful freelance teaching career both in the UK and abroad. She is eligible for Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance, and holds her Advanced 2 with the exam board. She also has her Diploma in Dance Education from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, and level 2 qualification with Acrotrix.
She now runs Bury St. Edmunds Ballet School and recently completed her MSc in Psychology, passing with Distinction, in which her thesis topic was investigating how dance improved the emotional well-being of Key Stage 2 children for which she received 80%. She also teaches for the Cambridge Ballet Club and recently directed their full-length production of Coppelia.
In her spare time, Eleanor enjoys hiking and wild swimming - alongside taking dance classes herself to maintain her technique.
Rachel
MSc (Dance Sc.) BA (Hons) RAD:RTS
Rachel also graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance in 2013 and teaches Wednesday classes, private coaching and show choreography, alongside running the office for Bury St. Edmunds Ballet School. Rachel is a qualified sports massage therapist with her own business. She completed her MSc in Dance Science in 2020, passing with Distinction and achieving a distinction in her thesis concerning injuries in adolescent dancers.
Rachel has continued her dance training, including working towards her RAD Advanced 2 Ballet examination. She enjoys Tudor re-enactments in her spare time..
