Our Story
Carrie May Performing Arts was at the core of Wheathampstead for many years. Carrie May herself grew up going to the old Wheathampstead branch of this dance school, joining around 2000. The school has been through many successful owners and many different names over the last two decades, but the core premise has always been about students of all ages enjoying themselves through dancing and performing arts.
Carrie May fulfilled her childhood dream and took over the Wheathampstead branch in May 2018 and after its successful launch she purchased Tring in September 2018, both teachers have been with the school since 2018. Since taking over, they have taken every opportunity they can to do performances at events such as Summer Festivals and Christmas Light Switch-on’s. "When I took over, the school only ran Ballet, Tap, Modern and Musical Theatre classes. We started Pre-Vocational classes and Stretch & Conditioning in January 2019 and Acro classes in September 2019. We hope to add other classes in the future!"
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The teachers at Carrie May School of Performing Arts are the heart and soul of the school, they have been with the school since 2018. They have a wide range of dance & performing arts training, combined with years of performance experience and a love of teaching children, they make the perfect team.
Our Teachers
Carrie May
Tap, Modern & Jazz, Musical Theatre, Acro and Stretch & Conditioning.
DDE Tap & Modern, Acrotrix Level 1, Alixa Flexbility Module 1, 2 & 3, Level 4 Diploma in Music Theatre Performance (Singing)
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After studying dance at this very dance school since the age of 3, Carrie went on to become a teacher and then took over the school in May 2018.
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Carrie has been dancing since around the age of 3, going to various dance classes and theatre schools. She gained a DipLCM (Level 4 Diploma) in Music Theatre Performance at age 17 and completed her Level 3 Performing Arts Diploma in 2018. She has since gone on to gain her DDE in Tap and Modern and continues to regularly take new courses to allow her to teach her students new skills in new ways.
Caroline Manning Smith
Ballet & Pre-Vocational / Competition Team
DDE Ballet, Tap and Modern, BA Hons in English Literature & Film
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Caroline taught dance at the University of Kent whilst studying English Literature there and absolutely loved it. After graduating, she began studying for her I.S.T.D dance teaching qualifications in Ballet, Tap and Modern Theatre which she successfully passed.
Caroline has also qualified with Acrobatic Arts (Module 1) and has taken Advanced 2 exams in Tap and Modern and Advanced 1 in Ballet. She is now working towards her Advanced 2 Ballet.
