Meryl Stewart (Owner and Teacher)

I studied at a local dance school in Edinburgh as a child, during my time there I performed professionally in the Edinburgh pantomime productions of Jack and the Beanstalk and Mother Goose. 

I have also performed in many theatres across the UK; including The Usher Hall, The Kings Theatre Edinburgh, The Playhouse and The Royal Albert Hall in London at the first ever dance proms . At 16 years old I successfully auditioned for Bird College of Professional Dance and Musical Theatre in London. 

Since returning to Edinburgh eight years ago, I have been sharing my love of dance and performing  by teaching at various schools and studios across the city. I teach classes in many different styles, including Ballet, Tap, Modern, Contemporary, Commercial, Progressing Ballet Technique and Acro. I am a certified RAD ballet teacher, ISTD Member, Acrobatic Arts teacher, progressing ballet technique teacher, ID contemporary teacher and have recently graduated from Edinburgh University with a  Masters in dance science and education.  Alongside my dance teaching qualifications I am also a certified Level 2 fitness instructor and barre teacher. 

I started teaching in Dunbar in 2018 under Julie Friar who I recently took over the school from in July 2022. 

I started dancing at the age of 3 in East Lothian and trained until I was 18. I performed every year in summer shows and finished my childhood training by achieving an A for Higher Dance. In my early teens I joined my local dance company where I focused on jazz, commercial, hip hop and contemporary. I performed with various dance companies such as Errol White Dance Company, Tavazia Dance Company and David Hughes Dance as a part of the East Lothian Dance Company.

I successfully auditioned for Dance for All College where I studied Ballet, jazz, Modern, Commercial, Contemporary, Spanish, and achieved my HND in Professional Dance. I also started my teacher training there in ISTD Diploma in Dance Education for Modern Dance which I hope to complete soon. 

Since leaving college I have taught around Edinburgh and the surrounding areas and continued to gain experience and qualifications so that I am able to share my love of dance. I am so impressed with the level of dance at Dunbar and can’t wait to continue to teach and grow with the school.

I grew up in Aberdeen and was a pupil of Karen Berry at Danscentre Aberdeen, where I fell in love with dance, I then trained at Trinity Laban conservatoire of music and dance in London graduating with a first-class BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre in 2005. Upon graduation, I travelled throughout Austrailia, and taught dance in Melbourne. I returned to Aberdeen to take up a position at Danscentre where I completed my RAD and ISTD teaching qualifications. 

During my time at Danscentre, I taught all levels and dance genres, including assessing higher dance and other SQA courses, and coordinating the work in schools. This period also involved being a member of the worldwide team of teachers trialling the new RAD syllabi, as well as running the school's performance group, organising RAD exams and mentoring trainee teachers. 

In 2013 I moved to Edinburgh where I have enjoyed teaching for a number of dance schools, mostly working with vocational students, teaching ballet, contemporary and jazz, including full time students at Morningside advanced training. I run the vocational ballet scheme at Monument Dance Centre, as well as their contemporary dance classes. I also continue to deliver and co-ordinate the SQA dance courses at monument, from NPA to NC level, as well as working as a visiting assessor for National 5 and Higher and a maker for the written paper. In addition to teaching, I work for the RAD as a practical teaching supervisor, assessing trainee teachers on the RAD's certificate and diploma programmes. 

Further professional development has led to qualifications to teach progressing ballet technique, RAD silver swans and Zumba instruction. 

I love sharing my passion for dance; developing artistry, technique and exploring the many wonderful benefits of dance. I am excited to meet the pupil at Dunbar School of dance; thank you for having me