Meet our team

School Principal Amanda Keating
Trained: Ballet West and The Urdang Academy.
Performance Credits: Swan lake, Nutcracker, Coppelia, Canon (TV Advert), Into The Woods. MOVE IT (Main stage opening year).

Amanda's passion and focus has always been teaching and over the last 7 years Amanda has built up her reputation with excellent exam results. She has entered hundreds of students for examinations in ISTD Ballet and Modern, LCM Musical Theatre and LAMDA Acting and Verse and Pros as well as preparing students for their Dance GCSE and A-LEVEL. Her skills lie in tutoring aspiring performers and helping them to gain the credits to achieve vocational college and university places in Dance and Musical Theatre. Her affiliation with the Vocational schools allows her to keep current with industry's ever changing requirements. This is why she has enjoyed such success, with her students gaining College and University placements at the most successful Schools, such as The Urdang Academy, London Studio Centre, Central School of Ballet, The Place and Laine Theatre Arts to name a few. Her past students have then gone onto working in the Industry, in shows such as Matilda, Once the Musical, Billy Elliot and Matthew Bourne's Junior company. 

School Director  Daniel Keating
Trained: Self taught.
Performance Credits: X-Factor, BRITS, MTV Tour.

Daniel was born and raised in Dunstable, before moving to London in his early 20s to train as a dancer. With a focus on Breaking, or B-Boying, he has gone on to dance in lots of places for lots of people. He started at the world-famous Ministry of Sound nightclub, where he was a resident for two years. In 1999, at the Millennium party at the Dome, Daniel was one of 50 Ministry of Sound dancers performing in front of more than 50,000 people at the stroke of midnight. 

From there, Daniel has travelled throughout Europe, performing in front of thousands of people. His dancing credits include dancing for Jamarique, DJ Sonique, Top of the Pops, MTV, MTV Club Tours, the BRIT Awards, X Factor, Cher Lloyd, Cheryl Cole, Plan B and Take That. He’s also been recruited to perform at numerous private, celebrity parties, for stars including Jack Black, Uma Thurman and Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. 

Daniel has been teaching dance for the past 22 years in many schools across southeast England, including plenty in London. 

Operations manager
Harriet Mitchell
Trained:  North Herts Centre for the Arts, The Academy of Live & Recorded Arts (ALRA), London South Bank University (2010-2012)

Harriet worked for the national theatre company, HQ Theatres and Hospitality from 2012 to 2018. Initially, as the Administration Manager for Wycombe Swan Theatre, she progressed to Hospitality Sales & Operations Manager at the theatre, overseeing the large events which took place there. Still within HQ, in 2016, she joined the Marketing Department for the live music venue Watford Colosseum, marketing large music events including Noel Gallagher’s one-off gig in 2018. Having jointly owned a hospitality business with her husband, Harriet has since joined The PAD in 2022 and now operationally oversees all the activities at The PAD’s home, PAD Studios.

Parent Liaison & Ballet teacher  Emily Lyons
Trained:  The Performing Arts Depot and BodyWork Cambridge.

Performance Credits:

Classes:

ISTD TAP & Modern   Sam Grassick

Trained:  Bird College

Performance Credits:

Rat pack (UK Tour), Cruise ship performer, featured tap dancer for a music video.

Hip Hop, Street & Breakin  Ryan Hughes

Trained:   ZooNation Dance Company

Performance Credits:

  • ZooNation productions, ‘Into The Hoods: Remixed’ & ‘The Mad Hatters Tea Party’. 

  • Original West End Cast of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’.

  • UK/LA Tour with ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’.

  • Performance on the Late Late Show with James Corden.

Commercial Montana Darby

Trained:  Stella Mann College Performing Arts.

Performance Credits:

Channel 4’s Alan Carr Chatty Man, The Last Leg, Blind Date with Paul O’Grady, Party House, Nick Helm Heavy Entertainment, Betway Premier League Darts UK & Europe Arena Tour, Got Talent, Ministry of Sound, The Goldwell Colorzoom Hair Show, Trolls 2 Universal, NAS Sports Awards, Choice Hotel Awards.

Montana Darby is a professional commercial dancer, model, choreographer and teacher. Montana trained at Stella Mann College of Performing Arts where she graduated with a National Diploma in Musical Theatre and Dance in 2011.

Montana has featured in music promos for artists such as Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis, Skepta, David Morales and many more. She has also featured on photographic campaigns for surf and skate brands, O’Neill and Roxy and camera brand Hassel blad.

As well as performing, Montana also has a huge passion for teaching and choreography and guest teaches at many vocational and performing arts dance schools across the UK including Dancebox Studios & Theatreworks, Tring Park, Stella Mann College, Bedfordshire University and here at the PAD.

ISTD Tap & Modern  Becca Stubbs
Trained: ACS Dance Centre – College of Teacher Training. Bird College of Dance and Performing Arts Pre-Vocational.
Performance Credits: Becca began dancing at the age of three and has never looked back. She completed many dance exams in IDTA, RAD and finally her vocational qualifications with the ISTD. It was from here that she wanted to pursue her teaching training within this exam board.

Becca first began to take her training seriously by completing a BTec Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing Arts Dance, at Amersham College, then continuing studying at Bird College of Dance and Performing Arts. After deciding to pursue teaching above anything else, Becca completed 3 DDEs in Ballet, Tap and Modern. She is now beginning study towards Licentiate in Tap.

Becca began her teaching career by running her own school, The Dance House, for two years before bringing her students across to On Pointe Dance Academy where the young dancers have gone from strength to strength under the varied and experienced teaching staff. She now has a permanent role within the both schools as a teacher, as well as being Course Manager for The PAD. Becca is very keen to help both schools grow within the community and delighted to be able to help offer so many young people a place in a positive and growing dance community.

Acro   Liam Swattridge

Trained: Performers College and Dance Teachers INC.

Performance Credits:

Silver Medallist x3 IDO World Tap Championships, FA Cup Final performance, Cuban Fury Film, Got To Dance Series 2, BBC Dance Proms, ISTD Dinner Dance and Make Way feature film.

ISTD Tap, Ballet, Modern & Stage School 
Stephaine Jones

Trained:  Bird College (2007-2010) & Middlesex University (2014-2015)

Performance Credits:

Stephanie started dancing at the age of 6, at the Sarah Goffe Theatre School which later became Leanne Hughes Theatre School. During this time, she danced competitively and also performed in various productions.

At the age of 16, she was awarded a DADA to attend Bird College, and graduated with a diploma In musical theatre in 2010. Afterwards, Stephanie danced with various companies and also did various commercials, she then was given the prestigious honour of dancing in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics with Darcey Bussell.

She completed her Degree in professional practice at Middlesex University in 2015.

Stephanie still teaches at various schools, in which students that she has taught have gone on to various dance establishments such as Bird College, Laine Theatre Arts, Stella Mann, London Studio Centre and The Royal Ballet School White Lodge.