Arabesque Dance Academy was founded in 2006 by Lucy Cartwright. Lucy has had a passion for dance and performing arts from a very young age. She started dancing at the age of 3 at the Floreen School of Ballet in Portsmouth, and continued her traning at Footwork Dance Studio when she moved to Derbyshire in 1995. It was here that she got her first taste of teaching. At the age of 15, she auditioned and gained a full scholorship to attend The Urdang Academy in Covent Garden, London. Whilst in her second year, she gained her teaching qualifications in the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (I.S.T.D) and the International Dance Teachers Association (I.D.T.A). After graduating, she performed in many galas and charity functions. She was the fairy Godmother in a performance of Dick Whittington in London and was the principal soloist ballerina in Semele, an opera performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. During her time at The Urdang Academy and up until she moved back to Derbyshire, she taught in a dancing school in East London, with 600 students. Whilst she was still training, she taught students at The Urdang Academy wishing to take their teaching qualifications. When Lucy moved back to Derbyshire in Jan 2006, she decided to open her own school, Arabesque Dance Academy. It opened first in Bonsall, and then Heanor, Kilburn and Ripley As a result of her success in Schools, Lucy was nominated for Sports Coach of the Year 2008 and finished runner-up. Lucy hopes to develop a love of dance, together with fun and enjoyment in all her classes. Arabesque now runs mainly out of the new studio at Kilburn Methodist church, chapel street,Kilburn, but still runs classes at The Memorial Hall in Wirksworth on Wednesday evenings. In February 2016 Arabesque hired 2 new teachers. Miss Charlotte and Miss Hannah. They are both excellent teachers who bring their expertise to the school.
