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Katie Morea
Katie Morea is one of the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) Modern and Tap Syllabi creators, Modern and Tap Faculties international examiner, lecturer and an ISTD Modern Theatre Faculty Committee Member. Her choreographic skills and composition have giving her a recognized reputation for her creations and her teaching skills have placed her undoubtedly as a respected member of the dance world in the UK.

Katie was born in London and at the age of 6 she started to dance in her local dance school directed by Joy Spriggs in Enfield, north London and it was at the age of 7 (according to her own words) that she knew all she wanted was to dance and teach the rest of her life. She started her professional training at the Stella Mann College, continue with graduating with honors to the London Contemporary Dance School, Canterbury University and the Alvin Ailey School, NYC. This was further supplemented by courses at The Limon, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham Studios in NYC, as well as at Dance Centers in NYC for Jazz and Tap. She has worked with many inspirational teachers and choreographers throughout her training and career such as Jane Dudley (original dancer for the Martha Graham Dance Company) and Molly Molloy (jazz teacher and choreographer) and with teachers such as Muriel Ashcroft, Daphne Peterson, Pat Crail and Tereza Theodoulou all of whom guided her teaching development.

Katie has won awards, scholarships and development grants for her teaching and choreography, such as the Lisa Ullmann Dance Trust award, a scholarship from London Contemporary Dance School and development grants from Bird College and the London College of Dance.

After a varied performing career that included Pantomimes, Cabaret and Contemporary companies, she then pursued her main passions, teaching and choreography. Her teaching career began working with children in studio schools and community dance, before going on to work at professional colleges, where she has had the joy of teaching many of today’s professional performers, teachers and choreographers. She has taught at Elmhurst Ballet School, the London College of Dance, Stella Mann and Bird College; this has included teaching Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary and Choreography, as well as being Head of Contemporary and Composition and Dance Director for the Bird Theatre Company at Bird College. It was at Bird College that Miss Doreen Bird (Bird's College founder) and Sue Passmore nurtured Katie's choreographic abilities.

As a guest teacher she has taught and created pieces for many colleges such as the Brit School, the Centre, The Dance College, the Hammond School, London Contemporary Dance School, London Studio Centre, Merseyside Dance Centre, Performers College, Preston College, the Urdang Academy and many schools overseas, creating countless choreographies for graduation shows at professional colleges. She has also choreographed for a variety of organizations such as professional contemporary dance companies, Channel 4, the Bafta Academy and Move It.

As a young teacher she was chosen by Murielle Ashcroft, chair of the ISTD Modern Theatre Faculty for 25 years, to join a new creative team of young, talented teachers. From this embryonic collaboration, Katie became part of the creative team that devised the ISTD Modern Theatre Graded levels 1-6, part of the Advanced 2 Tap and most recently the Advanced 1 and 2 Modern Syllabi.

Katie continually increases her professional knowledge in many ways including travelling to NYC to update her with the training program at the Alvin Ailey School and at the Broadway Dance Centre and the annual ISTD Examiners’ training (where she is normally also a tutor for the course).

As a lecturer for the ISTD, Katie delivers the syllabi and trains examiners and teachers worldwide. She has lectured at the ISTD’s Chichester Teachers’ course for the last 17 years, taught and adjudicated for the ISTD’s Janet Cram Award and Star Tap Award and at many ISTD congresses. She has also taught for the Royal Academy of Dance.

Her professional activities regularly take her to work in countries such as Italy, Cyprus, Norway, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Greece, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Canada, Trinidad and Mexico.

Finally, Katie is also the Artistic Director of The Dance Summer School organisation, which provides intensive summer courses and the short courses, designed for dance students and dance teachers in the UK and abroad.

"...the day didn’t end there. Katie Morea came on to the stage and gave a brilliant masterclass to invited students from Laine Theatre Arts, Bird College, Performers, Arts Educational-Tring Park and The Centre Performing Arts College. Katie’s class was like a breath of fresh air. The pressure of taking a class in front of an audience of teachers, examiners and students is no enviable task but Katie achieved this so beautifully...."