Staff
Philippa McMeechan – Principal
Philippa’s early training was with Alexandra Barnes and Kathleen Yates, and in this time she studied ISTD Imperial, Cecchetti and RAD ballet, in addition to Modern, Tap, National and Repertoire. From 1980 – 1985, Philippa was awarded scholarships with the Cecchetti society to attend weekly classes in London, following which she furthered her training at the Central School of Ballet in London, dancing the 2nd year Contemporary solo at the annual performance at the Embassy Theatre in 1986. She went on to tour nationally with Ballet Central, performing a wide range of classical and contemporary ballets.
In 2003, Philippa was invited by the Head of St Edmunds College to join the Prep school as the dance teacher. Following this in 2004, Philippa joined the staff at Duncombe School where she currently leads the Early Years and Key Stage 1 dance programme. Philippa has also worked for the renowned Vacani School.
Having established The Buntingford Dancing School in 2002, Philippa’s aim is to combine the roots of her early training with other dance forms and theatrical experiences to inspire her young pupils.
Philippa holds the Fellowship qualification of the ISTD, their highest level teaching award, and is an approved tutor for the DDE teaching qualifications. In 2019 following successful recruitment and training Philippa became an ISTD Examiner, and now combines her teaching commitments with examining throughout Europe. Philippa is also a Associate of the IDTA.
Lily Bown – Teacher
Lily started as a pupil with us in 2002 when we first opened and is now part of our teaching team. She has been teaching dance and performing arts for 6 years and teaches at various dance and performing arts schools and colleges. Lily teaches Ballet, Commercial and our Adult Tap and Ballet classes. She has a Higher National Diploma in performing arts and a Professional Certificate in Education. She also has her ISTD Intermediate grades in Ballet, Tap and Modern. Lily is currently working towards her Diploma in Dance Education with the ISTD and training to be a personal trainer alongside teaching.
Reiss Hinds – Teacher
Reiss started his training at 16, attending Westminster Kingsway College before continuing his training at the prestigious Urdang Academy, graduating in 2013 with a BA (hons) in Musical Theatre and Dance Performance. Reiss has built up a career across many platforms, including TV, film and stage; credits including Disney’s ‘Cinderella’, Olivier Award winning West End musical ‘In the Heights’ & ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. To maintain his dance training, Reiss trains with various dance company’s including Latin Hip Hop group ‘Empyrean’ and Hip-Hop Theatre company ‘Birdgang’. Whilst still active within the industry, Reiss has been focusing on teaching and spreading what knowledge he has obtained throughout his career for the next generation of artists.
Josie McMeechan- Teacher
Josie began dancing at Buntingford School of Dance from the age of 3 taking weekly classes in Ballet, Modern and Tap.
At 16, Josie continued her training via a scholarship at Bodywork Dance Company where she studied Dance and Musical Theatre. Josie was offered many opportunities with the college including being selected to dance on the main stage at Move it dance convention 2 years in a row. She graduated from Bodywork with a level 6 diploma in professional dance in 2020.
Josie is currently studying for a BA Hons in Professional Practice, Arts and Creative Industries at Middlesex University.
Soon after graduating from Bodywork Josie began her teaching career. As well as teaching the Modern/Jazz and Dance Mash classes for Buntingford School of Dance, she is also a dance teacher at St. Edmunds College.
Charlotte Smart – Teacher
Charlotte started dancing at the age of 3 until 18, when she went on to train at Merseyside Dance and Drama Centre. Here she gained her ISTD DDI and DDE teacher training qualifications in Ballet and Modern, as well as Advanced 1 Ballet, Advanced 2 Modern, Tap and National and Gold LAMDA Musical Theatre and Acting. After Graduation Charlotte went on to complete various professional dance contracts including companies such as TUI and Disneyland Paris. Charlotte then returned to her home island Guernsey to begin her dance teaching career. During her last 6 years of teaching she also gained her Intermediate and DDE in Classical Greek, Module 1 in Acrobatic Arts and RAD RTS. She decided to relocate to the UK in 2024 and is thrilled to be sharing her passion of dance whilst Teaching for the Buntingford School of Dance. Charlotte is continuing her teaching studies and training for her DDE Tap and Licentiate Modern. Outside of dancing Charlotte enjoys running and travelling.
Lucinda Stanley – Teacher
L.I.S.T.D. Cecchetti London
Lucinda is an experienced ballet teacher with 24 years of experience behind her name. She has been a dedicated proponent of the Cecchetti Method and has used her knowledge and love of this method to bring dance and joy to both young and mature students.
Her initial training was with Ms Audrey King, Johannesburg, South Africa. After completing her vocational examinations, she trained and attained her Associate with Ms Gail Myburgh, Johannesburg, South Africa.
She started and managed a very successful private studio in Kwazulu-Natal for over 17 years and after relocating to Johannesburg in 2014 she taught for Gail Myburgh School of Ballet. Lucinda was awarded her Licentiate in 2016, having been coached and mentored by Ms Gail Myburgh and Ms Robyn van Beek.
She has recently relocated to Hertfordshire, United Kingdom with her husband, and is loving teaching again and being exposed to the Cecchetti work within the UK.
Carys Thomas
Carys has danced ever since the age of 3 but she absolutely fell in love with ballet right from the start. Carys trained and took her professional RAD ballet exams in Intermediate and Advanced 1 gaining distinctions in both. Carys successfully auditioned and became an associate at Tring Park for the Performing Arts Classical Ballet Academy in 2014 and trained there for 4 years. Carys is currently working towards her DDE teaching qualification in Cecchetti Ballet and successfully gained a scholarship to take part in the Cecchetti Ballet summer school for teachers 2021.
Zoë Eaglesfield – Administration Manager
Zoë has a BSc in Management & Systems Science and worked in administration for several years before taking time out to be at home with her three children. Among her administrative duties, Zoë handles all the enrollments and new registrations, alongside manages the waiting lists, invoicing and much more and is the first point of contact for most people contacting the school.