Sam Varndell

Sam set up Spin Theatre Academy in April 2015 and is proud to have watched it grow from just 5 students.

Growing up, Sam took ballet, tap and modern exams to an advanced level achieving distinctions along the way. At age 18, Sam got offered a scholarship place at London Studio Centre upon which she achieved a BA Honors in Dance and Theatre.

Following her degree, she went on to perform on a UK tour with Spirit Productions. During her time performing, Sam filled her spare time with teaching opportunities and started to further her career as a dance teacher, a path she loved from the moment she was a student-teacher.

Sam went on to qualify as a dance teacher by taking her Level 4 in Dance Teacher Training with the British Ballet Organisation. Since then, Sam has also gained her DDI, and more recently her DDE in Modern Theatre with the ISTD gaining over 90% in both practical exams. Sam is also a fully licenced Zumba and Zumba Kids instructor.

Claire Deards

Claire has been with us since 2019 and has been an inspiring part of our team ever since. Claire trained at London College of Music where she took the course in Musical Theatre and graduated with first-class honours. She made her theatre debut in ‘The Luck of the Draw’ at The Drayton Arms Theatre in London. Not only does Claire dedicate her time to teaching, she regularly performs with the Beaconsfield Musical & Operatic Society which is currently working on a production of ‘Legally Blonde” where Claire is playing “Vivienne”. Claire has a passion for teaching and really enjoys passing on her wealth of knowledge to our students. She also offers private singing tuition.

Emma Woods

Emma is a National Award-Winning Children’s Character Entertainer from Kent. She trained at The National Youth Theatre and The London Theatre School as well as attending summer schools with The Royal Ballet. Emma has a BA honours degree in Dance and Performance. Growing up, she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, latin, ballroom, street and contemporary dance styles, taking exams with both ISTD and IDTA exam boards. She is a choreographer for various Musical Theatre companies and competition teams, and once appeared on the Royal Variety Show as a cardboard cutout. Her recent roles have included Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Morticia in The Addams Family and most recently Serena in Legally Blonde. When not performing on stage she is a theatre manager, and has also worked as a technician and dresser for various UK tours such as Dirty Dancing, The Wedding Singer and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.

Jenna Coneely

Jenna is currently studying Politics, Media studies and Drama at Henley College. Since the age of 7, she has been extremely passionate about Musical Theatre. From then onwards she began to take part in her school musicals once a year, appearing as Debbie in Billy Elliott, Jenny Lind in Barnum, Johanna in Sweeney Todd and most recently, Roxie Hart in Chicago. In the near future, Jenna hopes to attend a performing arts school where she can study musical theatre to help improve her skills; hoping to become a singer eventually where she can share her love of performing with the world.