Miss Hazel Saunders opened the first Danceworld classes in 1986. Whitburn and Bathgate branches were opened first and soon after the others followed. She has gained success after success with pupils throughout the years and has built up the biggest dance school in West Lothian, which holds a superb reputation for dance training.

Miss Saunders trained in Glasgow and furthered her training in London and Liverpool. She later decided to do a degree in dance (Licenciate qualification) where she was examined by two of Britain’s top dance examiners. She was awarded the result of ‘distinction’ and is now one of the few Scottish teachers to hold this excellent qualification alongside the many other dancer and teaching qualifications she holds in ISTD, RAD, SDTA and BATD.  Recently she travelled to Holland to become a fully qualified Zumba and Zumbatomics (Zumba for kids) instructor.  These classes are just in the process of being set up and we’re sure they will be a great hit with both adults and children. She is also a qualified SQA higher dance tutor.

Her successes include former pupil Sarah Heron from Whitburn who is head girl dancer at the famous “Moulin Rouge” in Paris. Leanne Fell and Samantha Solley both from Fauldhouse have danced all over the world and on cruise ships and appeared on MTV. Other pupils have won scholarships to major dance schools/colleges in Britain. Two of our pupils were given prestigious places at the “Dance School of Scotland”. The only fully funded full-time dance training centre in Britain. Last year, two of our former pupils (Reiss Dunn and Lauren Cunningham) represented SCOTLAND in the world hip hop championships in Florida, America. This is a fantastic achievement for them both.

SQA ACCREDITATION!!!!!

Miss Saunders and all her staff are now able to deliver the Intermediate 1 and 2 plus Higher Dance Qualification. We are in the process of putting in place all the necessary steps to become an accredited centre. This should be in place soon. This will mean that our pupils can be examined at Danceworld and gain SQA qualifications alongside RAD, ISTD etc etc. This is fantastic service for our pupils as a Higher in Dance can help them gain access to University places and Dance Colleges etc.

The Danceworld staff consists of:-

Miss Isobel McKinlay (A.R.A.D., L.I.S.T.D., A.I.S.T.D., M.B.A.T.D., A.S.D.T.A.) a highly respected dance teacher who has over 30 years teaching experience under her belt. She is very highly qualified in many associations and styles of dance. She was employed by Glasgow College of Nautical Studies alongside McNeil College of dance where she both lectured and was an accessor for NQ, HNC and HND in dance. She trained dance college students for many years in Glasgow and is responsible for many dancers/teachers obtaining qualifications in dance. Her experience and wealth of knowledge has been a great asset to Danceworld. She is also a qualified higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Miss Clare Smith was a former pupil of Miss Saunders when Danceworld began many years ago. From an early age she showed great promise and passed all her exams with flying colours. Miss Smith was a very gifted dancer who could have easily made a career as a professional dancer but chose to become a teacher instead. Her dance qualifications include ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, salsa and cheerleading. She is also a qualified higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Miss Heather Rankin was also a former pupil of Miss Saunders. Miss Rankin always wanted to become a teacher and worked hard to gain her teaching qualifications. She has a great way with children and has many great choreography ideas which all the pupils love.  Her dance qualifications also include Highland dancing alongside ballet, jazz, tap, cheerleading. She is also a qualified higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Miss Dyet was also a former pupil of Miss Saunders who was awarded a full-time dance college place at the Theatre School in Edinburgh. She worked extremely hard but had to pull out from a very promising career due to a bad knee injury. After a very slow recovery she decided to go to college and completed a child care college course. Miss Dyet came back to her old dance school for a visit, realised how much she missed dancing and began to help out in various classes. She worked very hard and became a fully qualified dance teacher and has never looked back. She is extremely popular with all her pupils and works really hard to make their classes really fun and exciting. Her qualifications allow her to teach ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, cheerleading. She is also a qualified higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Miss Kirsty Smith trained at Anniesland College in Glasgow. She did exceptionally well and gained qualifications at HNC and HND levels in Dance and also the qualification of Dance Artist in the Community. She then went on to do an honours degree in Dance at Telford College. She is now teaching students at Anniesland College and also does freelance work for Scottish Ballet. She runs her own dance school and also teaches for Danceworld. She is a fantastic hip hop and contemporary teacher which is a great asset for Danceworld. Her qualifications allow her to teach ballet, jazz, tap, break dancing and hip hop. She is also a qualified higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Miss Morven Murray was a former pupil of Danceworld who went on to full-time dance training at McNeil College of Dance in Glasgow. They were in partnership with Glasgow College of Nautical Studies.   She gained a HND in professional Stage Dance and also a HNC in make-up artistry. She then went on to dance professionally abroad. She was employed with Main Feature Productions from Menorca as a professional dancer. Once home, she added to her dance teaching qualifications in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and cheerleading by completing the qualifications to enable her to be a higher dance tutor and Zumba instructor.

Reiss Dunn was a former pupil of Danceworld who won a prestigious place at the “Dance School of Scotland” in Glasgow. This training centre is one of a kind. It is fully funded and offers training to gifted children in all dance forms. Reiss holds his Advanced 1 RAD certificate in Dance. He was fortunate to be taught by some of Britain’s best dance teachers and choreographers and danced in the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, the Kings Theatre in Glasgow and also the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. He has done training at Danceworks in London and also Sunshine Dance Centre in Liverpool for hip hop and break dancing. Although Reiss has training in ballet, jazz and tap his passion is hip hop and break dancing. Last year he was chosen to represent Scotland in the world dance championships in Florida. He was the youngest member of the team and loved every minute of it. He has formed “West Lothian Dance Crew” which has boys only hip hop and break dancing classes. Along with Marie Fisher they also have a girls section too. He has high hopes for the “Crew” and want to enter them for competitions soon.

Miss Marie Fisher was a former pupil of Danceworld from the age of 3. She excelled in all areas of dance and it was apparent from an early age that dance would become her career. She was accepted for “Dance for All” College in Edinburgh. She is in her last year at college right now and has been a teaching assistant at Danceworld for the last few years. She is wonderful with our pupils and has a great rapport with them. She also assists Reiss with all the break dance classes for boys and girls. They have worked really well as a team and have lots of talented youngsters in the “West Lothian Dance Crew”. She is also a fully qualified Zumba instructor.