Danseur de ballet professionnel et professeur avec 10 ans d'expérience offrant des cours privés

En savoir plus sur Kate

• 1) What age did you start playing sport? Tell us about this time or moment in your life.

  I first started ballet relatively late (for a professional dancer) at 10 years old. I worked very hard in my first year, practising every day at home and I was delighted when I was accepted at the Birmingham Royal Ballet School at 11.

• 2) What are your favourite sports; those that you practice at a high level, a simple hobby, and a sport that you'd still like to discover?

  In terms of sports, I would love to improve at tennis and I have made it my goal this year to get more use out of my racquet. In regards to dance, I would love to take up salsa, but one of my favourite styles that I do for fun is Scottish Reeling.

• 3) What gives you the motivation and passion to pursue your sport?

  I feel I am most motivated by my own progress and by the areas I would like to improve. Perfection is impossible to obtain in ballet as it is an art form and subjective, however the pursuit of self-improvement can be a great motivator.

• 4) Do you have a sporting achievement that you're particularly proud of?

  An achievement I am particularly proud of, aside from dancing with some incredible companies and beautiful opera houses, has to be dancing at the Olympic Closing Ceremony in 2012. As a teacher, my greatest achievements have been watching the transformation of my students and seeing the positive effect on their wellbeing, confidence, strength, flexibility and appreciation of ballet.

• 5) How have your achievements and challenges made you a better sportsperson?

  My achievements and challenges have shaped who I am as both a dancer and teacher. I have learnt far more from my challenges, including patience and a greater understanding of how the human body works, but my achievements have made it all worth it.

• 6) If you had to go for a jog with a famous athlete, who would you choose? And what questions would you ask them?

  If I could go for a jog with any dancer it would be Sylvie Guillem. I have been mesmerised by both her technical mastery and artistic genius since I was 10 years old!

• 7) How do you help people stay motivated?

  I have quite a few tricks to help people stay motivated. First, I always try to bring energy to my classes and learn whether a student responds better to encouragement, constructive criticism or (in most cases) a combination of both. Making your hobby part of your routine is a great way to stay motivated and making your training as accessible as possible helps a lot too. This could simply involve putting out your dance clothes the night before, clearing a space that invites you to dance or even blocking out time in your calendar on a regular basis.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in sports?

  I believe my empathy towards my students, my upbeat nature and an understanding of teaching different levels and a range of different ages makes me a Superprof tutor.