Kathleen

Born and raised on an island in beautiful British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada, I received my high school Dogwood Diploma with full Honour Roll status. I then moved to New York to pursue a performance diploma in Musical Theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Not quite finished with my theatrical pursuits, I received a BFA from the University of Victoria (major: Theatre, minor: English) followed by my BEd (both with Distinction and winning academic scholarships throughout). Alongside my second bachelor’s degree I ran my own successful theatre company: Haileing Love Productions.

I worked for seven years in Canada, teaching first at an Integrated Arts Primary School (where dance, drama, music and art were used to reinforce core academic learning). Moving up to the High School, I was recruited to develop curriculum for the Dance and Musical Theatre programs (while also teaching junior academics). Joining with other dance educators across the lower mainland in evening courses at Simon Fraser University, I received a Graduate Studies Diploma for Dance in Education.

Leaving these programs in a solid place, I moved to the UK to pursue a master’s degree in Musical Theatre: Creative Practice from ArtsEd, London. Soon after completing my studies, I taught across London in a variety of school settings, learning the English National curriculum. The English and Canadian curriculum are very similar, so I found it easy to work across sectors (state, public and private schooling), preparing children for independent entrance exams.

Beginning at the age of 16, I have been fully qualified to teach Scottish Highland Dance (and later tap). My life’s balance always brings me back to a blend of the arts and education. Harnessing creativity (both mine and my student’s) enables me to be a nuanced teacher, melding theory with practical application and moving people to a state of confident independence.

I believe it is the role of the teacher to guide a student through skill-building to creative independence. An individual approach is needed for each student, because their needs vary greatly. One area of strength is my ability to instil self-confidence in children. As a student myself, I was an extremely tactile, experiential learner, always needing to see a process in action. This is something I bring to my teaching whether it be algebra or grammar. Guaranteed there will be a hands-on, humorous approach sprinkled with seemingly 'random facts' and slightly bizarre mnemonic devices.

The two overarching concepts I embed in every lesson are patterns and connections. No matter what 'subject' we may be covering, there will be many opportunities to find links with previous knowledge and thus create much deeper understanding of the material. Learning is not an isolated activity and my primary goal is to guide children to begin extending their own learning.

Currently, most of my time is spent training our new cockapoo puppy.

I am a judge, a dancer, a director and a seamstress.

In 2010 I passed my adjudicator’s examinations to become a judge for the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing. I am privileged to travel the world, judging dance competitions and giving masterclasses alongside running a Scottish Highland dance studio in London. When the opportunity arises, I don my kilt and perform. Most recently, this was with the early music group Ensemble Hesperi, performing a tour of England.

While still in University, I started my own theatre company to produce musicals over the summer break. This grew into a passion, and ultimately led me to relocating to London to complete my MA degree. I spent four summers in New York directing and choreographing ten shows with a youth education program.

Growing up with a needle in my hand, I continue to embroider. When a theatre project arises, I both design and build the costumes as the movement of the fabric is often a key element often overlooked. These early tactile experiences, together with my dancing, developed my mathematical understanding of patterns and geometry.