Meet The Team
Meet the team from Dance Notes. Between us, we have a great wealth of experience in creative dance education. We are here to advise and support you. So, should you need anything, please do get in touch.
Michelle Rochester
Chief Lessons Developer; CPD Facilitator; Teacher Support
Throughout her life, Michelle’s greatest love has been for dancing. She also has a passion for improving the lives of children. And through her work in schools, she has successfully combined the two.
Michelle has achieved extraordinary results, not only in Bath & North East Somerset but also with children around the county. The knowledge thus gained has been central to developing the structure and format of Dance Notes’ schemes. And our emphasis on pupil-led exploration comes directly from Michelle’s many years’ experience in schools.
As co-founder and producer of Dance Umbrella in Bath, Michelle has seen take-up of dance in schools form Primary through to Sixth Form blossom. She also founded the charity Make a Move, with which Dance Notes is affiliated. This originally set out to overcome scarcities of funding in schools for children with learning or behavioural difficulties. It has since gone from strength to strength, branching-out into mental and physical healthcare, as well as work within the private sector.
Tracy Alcon
Lesson Contributor (KS1 & 2)
Tracy’s passion for dance began at secondary school, culminating in graduation from the London Contemporary Dance School in 1991. While there she was privileged to study under some great contemporary pioneers, such as Jane Dudley and Robert Cohan.
Since graduation Tracy has participated in and taught just about every discipline and age group, from Bhangra through Salsa to Street Dance. She is additionally trained as a fitness instructor, specialising in Kickboxing and Pilates.
Tracy works as a freelance choreographer and full-time primary curriculum dance teacher. Here, she loves to motivate and encourage children to achieve their fullest potential. Tracy believes the greatest reward for her dedication to the art is witnessing children succeeding and having fun in the process.
Kara Herbert
Lesson Contributor (KS1 & 2)
Kara has been working as a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher since graduating in 2002, with a BA Hons in Creative Arts: Dance & Visual Arts. Also, delivering Make a Move’s dementia and schools projects, Kara has been a contributor to Dance Notes since 2013.
Alongside dance, Kara has been practicing yoga for 11 years. Over that time, her passion and interest to learn more has grown. She has qualified to teach Vinyasa Flow Hatha Yoga, a style which compliments her dance teaching beautifully. Kara is a professional member of Yoga Alliance and Foundation for Community Dance. She was also a key founding member of Bath Dance Forum.
Adept at delivering sessions to a range of individuals with varying ages, bodies and levels of experience, Kara always aims to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere for her classes. This, as well as challenging and embracing the needs of each individual, is exemplified in her lesson contributions to Dance Notes.
In her own practice and teaching, Kara is interested in exploring the connection between Yoga and dance, studying how each can help tap into the creativity within us.
Aviva Epstein
Lesson Contributor (KS1)
Aviva has always had a passion for performing. She has been lucky enough to experience a wide range of disciplines professionally, from years of classical dance training to musical theatre; even touring with a circus.
Aviva is founder of Fidgety Feet, providing classes and resources for Early Years dance & drama .
This grew from the realisation that there was little provision in these areas of learning for her own children. Building on that experience, Aviva has become a regular contributor to Dance Notes for lessons at KS1.
Natasha Tyson
Lesson Contributor (KS2)
Natasha began dancing at the age of four and hasn’t stopped since. Her mum says that before she could walk, Natasha was bopping up and down holding on to furniture whenever music was played.
Since graduating as a Primary teacher, Natasha has taught at the same school. However, her role changed to specialist dance teacher in 2016. Her aim is to instil a lifelong love of dancing, as well as moving to keep fit and healthy, in as many children as possible.
In addition to dancing, Natasha enjoys running and taking part in other fitness activities. She loves spending time with her family and taking holidays abroad. At the weekend, they often walk together along the beautiful sea front that is right on their doorstep.
Brian Madigan
Founder; Composer; Sales manager
Brian’s love for dance began as a music student in London during the late 1980s and early 90s. There he specialised in collaboration with Dance students, going on to become an accompanist for Graham Technique classes.
Later, Brian co-founded ‘The Hot Savoury Souffles’ dance-theatre group and continued to collaborate with dancers as they moved into work in education. With the introduction of Dance within the National Curriculum in 1992, Brian was then encouraged to offer his services to schools. And so, Dance Notes was born.
In addition to dance, Brian has composed for film, advertising, theatre and digital media. He also performs live on drums and percussion in a variety of musical settings and is active as a singer-songwriter.
Our creative partners: Make a Move
Planned & Delivered Child-Centred Learning Lessons for KS1&2 Meet The Team Your Videos