Our Former Students
Our wonderful students have gone on to dance in a wealth of dance companies all over the world, fulfilling their dreams of making a career out of their passion for dance. Many of our students have embraced careers as teachers of dance, and others have carried on their dance as a hobby, whilst going on to study at University. We are so proud of all of their achievements, and so touched that they chose The Lodge for their dance training!
Alastair Crosswell
Alastair trained at The Lodge, before graduating to Bird College. Since completing his training his credits include; Neil Kellerman in Dirty Dancing (Dominion); Cosmo Brown inSingin’ in the Rain (Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto); Dialect Coach in Singin’ in the Rain (Sadler’s Wells, Japan, UK Tour); Gypsy (Royal Exchange, Manchester); The Choir of Man (Australian tour); Jersey Boys, ; Remembering Fred (London Palladium/UK tour); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Singin’ in the Rain (Kilworth House); Seussical (West End/Hong Kong); The Sound of Music (London Palladium); The King and I (UK tour); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium); Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet (Royal Opera House); Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Dominion).
Emile Gooding
Emile trained at The Lodge School of Dance, before graduating to The Royal Ballet School, both White Lodge and Upper School. Before attending The Royal Ballet School, Emile performed in 'Matilda The Musical' in the West End, and following this, he performed the title role of Billy in the Uk and Ireland tour of 'Billy Elliot the Musical. During his time at the Royal Ballet School, he was awarded the Valerie Adams Award for Exceptional Musicality, the Marie Taglioni Handshake Award as well as the Gailene Stock award for Exceptional Progress. He was then selected for The Royal Ballet Company corps de ballet. Most recently he has been performing with the company in 'Mayerling', followed by a Wayne McGregor Triple Bill, in which Emile danced in featured roles.
Erin Birtwhistle
Erin Birtwhistle trained at The Lodge School of Theatre Dance up to the age of 17, where she also gained her DDI in Modern Theatre Dance. She then continued her vocational training at The Urdang Academy in London, obtaining a Diploma in Musical Theatre and Dance.
Since graduating, Erin has travelled the world as a Dancer and Ensemble Supervisor with AIDA Cruise Lines. In addition to performing and managing company shows, she has also created and choreographed a variety of productions for stage and events.
Katie Mulligan
Katie Mulligan, is finishing her final year at Laine Theatre Arts.
From age 12-18, Katie was a student under Miss Sarah at The Lodge, before she headed to Laine’s to complete a 3-year course in Musical Theatre.
Since joining Laine’s, she has made her professional debut performing in ‘NINE: The Musical’ and has further performed at The Royal Albert Hall in ‘Sandi Claus is Coming to Town’, Bromley’s pantomime of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and been a lead role in her third year musical ‘The Wedding Singer’.
She is now about to head into the industry with an exciting performing job where she will be performing in High School Musical, in both London and Manchester.
Sereina Mowlem
Sereina trained at The Lodge under Miss Sarah, before graduating to Central School of Ballet, London.
Whilst training, she performed with the English National Ballet Company in productions such as Swan Lake (The Royal Albert Hall), Le Corsaire (The London Coliseum) and Nutcracker (The London Coliseum), in which she played the role of 'Young Clara'.
In 2019 she decided to take her love of Health and Fitness to a new level by enrolling at YMCA Fit in central London and training as a Level 3 Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. Alongside her Personal Training business, she also teaches Tap to both adults and children, and trains dancers from schools such as Elmhurst Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School and The Vaganova School.
Adi Othnay
Add is a recent graduate of The Lodge School of Dance, who went on after graduation from The Lodge, to train at Laine Theatre Arts. Following her graduation into the industry, Adi has danced with CYD Josh Denyer, Ryan Lee Seager Pantomine of Aladdin, Lizzi Gee Crossroads Pantomine of Peter Pan, Nine the Musical at the Lowry with Hope Mill Theatre, Sisco Gomez and Johnny Bishop at SuperWeekender, Model for JD Sports, Promotional videos for Megan 2:0 with Universal Pictures
Corinne Holt
Corinne has been dancing since 3 years old and even from that young age wanted to become the best she possibly could be, challenging herself to reach her potential, She trained at The Lodge (formerly Beryl Jarvis) and taught at prestigious dance academies to achieved her dreams of becoming an elite dancer for movies, music videos, award shows, tv shows, commercials, stadiums, arenas, and theatres.
"From there I went on to train with the best of the best to hone my skills even more, challenging my limits
and seeing just what my body is capable of I
become a stunt woman working in Hollywood
films like Marvel!"
Isabella Barbieri
Isabella Barbieri trained at the Lodge School of Theatre Dance up to the age of 17 before graduating to The Urdang Academy.
Since graduating, Isabella has performed in short films and immersive theatre shows in central London, as well as appearing in commercials for SPOTiCAR for ITV movies, Calvin Klein and Meta. She also plays one of the main characters in Haunted: The Audio Drama currently releasing its third season.
She has also had one of her short stories published in an anthology, and has performed her own stand up comedy (which she can now safely say was a lot of fun but also terrifying!) Since 2024 she has an MA in Creative Writing.
She looks back on her time at The Lodge as some of her happiest.
Serafina Barbieri
Serafina graduated to London Studio Centre, following her training at The Lodge School of Dance, and since then has appeared in a wealth of Musicals, including the following:
Year: 2025,Role: Mother and Ensemble in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA INTERNATIONAL/MIDDLE EAST TOUR, Year: 2025
Role: Corps De Ballet/Ensemble
Director: Stephen Barlow
Company: B.E.G. by arrangement with The Really Useful Group
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE, Year: 2022, Role: Production Cast Principal (Singer/dancer),Director: Patti Wilcox, NCL Company: Norwegian Cruise Line, SLEEPING BEAUTY, Year: 2021
Role: Ensemble, U/S ‘Sleeping Beauty’
Company: Lyceum Theatre Sheffield
Margherita Barbieri
Margherita was trained at The Lodge and is now a successful actor and dancer. She is best known for starring as Simone across both series of ‘Spellbound’ for ITV and Hulu.
She most recently starred in ‘Skylight’ with cinematographer Matthew Lewis (Adolescence), and won Best Actor at the London Global Film Festival for her short film ‘Starling’.
A passionate advocate for mental health awareness, Margherita is currently working with Voices with Impact on short film ‘The Last Pancake’, and has collaborated with Mind UK on a self-devised social media campaign.
Emma Bingham
Emma began her dance training at the age of 8 with The Lodge School of Theatre Dance under the direction of Sarah-Jane Bullock. She then went on to vocational training at Ballet West in Scotland where she received a first class honours in Dance.
After graduating she was privileged to work as soloist dancer with EBB Junior Company in Spain and Kayzer Ballet company in Portugal. Since then she has been based in the UK as a freelance dancer, teacher and choreographer. She has worked on productions with several companies including Constella OperaBallet, Dew Dance and The London Ballet Company.
Emma is grateful to be part of the staff team at The Lodge and pass on her passion for dance.
Eloise Mena-Jones
Eloise studied at The Lodge School of Dance) from the age of 12; I was completely supported in my love for theatre and encouraged to push myself in every single class, without fail! The drive for professionalism and hard-work within the school is one of its greatest qualities.
Eloise graduated from Bird College with distinction; she was awarded the Doreen Bird Foundation Award for Further Development and the Acting Award for her year.
Since graduating, she has worked with Simeon Qsyea (JLS, DV8) on the dance film project 'Fallen', which was released over Christmas, and was involved in a workshop for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical; she has also successfully auditioned for Sol Dans Company.
At college she enjoyed playing Maggie Jones in 42nd Street, amongst other roles, and performed in a diverse range of dance routines; she also worked hard as a dance captain.
As a child Eloise was in the Original Cast of Billy Elliot the Musical in London, and also appeared on Strictly Dance Fever as part of the company.
Angus Fisher
"Since September 2025, I have been training at one of the UK’s leading Musical Theatre colleges - ArtsEd. It has been such a rewarding and challenging year working with industry leading teachers and creatives and I have learnt so so much! The fantastic training at the Lodge has set me up so well for full time college, having completed all my dance exams at the highest grade and being taught discipline and hard work. Miss Sarah always cared deeply and ensured I was dancing the best I possibly could and I wouldn’t be the performer I am without her! This year, I have also received an award from the Wayne Sleep Foundation, enabling me to afford the cost of living in London, I have entered in the UK Young Dancer competition, and I was also selected to perform in an event celebrating Gillian Lynne."
Gracie Hunt
My first year at performers college has been incredible! The training is fantastic gaining knowledge from multiple professional disciplines which was strongly backed up by my training at The Lodge. I have had many opportunities to start working as a professional and get to know creatives from all over the country. I couldn’t be more grateful for my time at the lodge and making memories that will last a lifetime! I can’t wait for my show term and second year at performers college spending time with my friends and learning more about the industry.
Tamsin Hinson
"Last summer, I started my full-time dance college degree at Wilkes Academy and honestly, I’ve been loving every second of it! It’s been such an exciting journey so far. I’ve been introduced to new styles and teachings, which has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Wilkes has been such a welcoming environment. During my first term, I worked towards practical etudes in all disciplines and applied everything I’ve been learning into my integrated performance module. I’ve also learned loads about the musical theatre world and the incredible people who have shaped it into what it is today. I’m so grateful for all the support and training I had before starting this journey. It truly helped prepare both my skills and my mindset to grow and make the most of every opportunity!"
Lois Rigby
Lois trained at The Lodge School of Dance from a young age, and despite being an incredibly talented dancer, she decided to graduate to further her academic studies in 2025 and secured a place at University, taking her dance training into the University club and competition circuit.
"University has been going really well. I settled in quite quickly and I've got some really good groups of friends! Exam season starts next week so May is going to be very full on and then I'm moving out of halls, first year has gone so quickly! At the end of last semester we did three dance competitions and we won 2nd twice and 1st once. I have had an amazing year!"
