Welcome to Avenue Dance Company
Our Core Values
Fun
We encourage fun classes where students are guaranteed to leave with smiles on their faces! With no exams, we work on learning moves and dances for performances!
Passion
As coaches, we bring the knowledge and passion of Street Dance and Musical Theatre to the classes. We have extensive training in the areas we teach and most of all, we’re passionate about passing on our knowledge onto the younger generation, spreading the passion and love of dance!
Positivity
We encourage a friendly and positive environment where students can leave their worries at the door and lose themselves in an hour of good vibes!
Confidence
With learning and practising new moves and dances, students will naturally become more confident in a new skill. We watch some students begin their first class completely shy and with encouragement and a “can do attitude” from our coaches, they soon blossom into confident young individuals!
Inspire
We aim to inspire the younger generation to move more and dance more, keeping up with the coolest Street Dance moves and the latest Musicals. We want to inspire children to “Never miss a chance to dance”.
Lauren Jayne
Our Director
Lauren has been a dancer her whole life, since the age of 3, training in Ballet & Musical Theatre at Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead before going on to successfully perform in musicals such as “Billy Elliot”, “High School Musical”, “Beauty & The Beast” and “Fame” around Berkshire & London.
In 2010, Lauren began training in Street Dance with Urban Strides – The Street Dance Specialists and performed at huge venues such as the London 02 Arena and The Royal Albert Hall.
Lauren has been passionate in teaching authentic Street Dance for 8 years and in August 2016, completed her Level 4 Diploma in Performance Arts Awards (ADPA.)
The A Team
Nellie Baker
Nellie graduated in 2018 with a BA Hons in Urban Dance from the internationally recognised University of East London. She is trained, and enjoys training others, in a variety of genres including Ballet, Modern and Contemporary. Nellie has a passion for Street Dance; styles such as Hip-Hop, Popping, Locking & House. Nellie is now an administrator for Avenue Dance Company, helping support the daily running’s of the company alongside Director Lauren Jayne as well as being a busy Mum of two!
Jaime Elizabeth Leishmann
Jaime-Elizabeth has recently graduated from Wilkes Academy of performing arts. She’s competed all around the country in all styles, winning major titles. Her further training led to performing with companies such as Vanquish Entertainment, BCDCY and Urban Strides. Performing at different theatres and events further developed her love for the industry and made her excited to share her knowledge with the next generation. Jaime joined Avenue Dance Company in September 2021 and teaches Musical Theatre classes in Windsor.
Lauryn Young
Lauryn started dancing at 4 years old. She started taking exams in Street Dance and Freestyling in 2015 which then led her to join Sanders Street, where she performed around Berkshire in a Street Dance crew – where she then met Lauren Jayne. Lauryn started teaching alongside Lauren Jayne and has been a supporter of Avenue Dance Company since the day we first launched! Lauryn has been teaching with us officially since 2019. Lauryn teaches Street Dance classes in Windsor.
Sophie Morton
Sophie began dancing at the early age of two with weekly lessons in Ballet & Tap. By the age of nine Sophie starred in the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for three months which led to performances in Whistle Down The Wind, Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat & Abbamania. Sophie also went on to intense training in Dancing, Singing and Acting, learning from West End Stars such as Phantom Of The Opera’s Michael Xavier, Wicked’s Kerry Ellis, and Holby City’s Ramin Karimloo. Sophie went on to perform at West End Live with West End stars and their productions at Trafalgar Square. Alongside performance training, Sophie also attended Dance College taking her DDI teacher training exams and from the age of 18 was fully qualified to teach ISTD Modern Grades up to Grade 5. In September 2015, Sophie received a scholarship (DADA) to train at the prestigious Hammond School of Performing Arts in Chester, studying musical theatre for three years and graduated with a Level 6 Diploma in Musical Theatre. After graduating from Hammond the summer of 2018, Sophie signed with an agent and worked professionally as a vocalist and fitness Instructor for Brittany Ferries between France, Ireland & Spain, TUI Gold in Majorca, and The Stage & production house in Scotland. More recently Sophie has been doing some TV work on some really big TV dramas and films! In 2020 Sophie set up The Sophie Morton School of Performance Guidance. A private school offering training for dance exams, audition & performance preparation, acting through song, monologue technique and drama school entries. Sophie joined us in January 2022 and teaches Dance Curricular PE.
Emma Lainsbury
Emma graduated from Institute of the Arts Barcelona in 2021 where she received a BA Hons in Musical Theatre - training in all 3 disciplines: dance, singing and drama. From there, she became a Lead Vocalist with P&O Cruises - performing all across the world. Emma recently played 'Debbie' in 'Greatest Days - The Official Take That Musical' and she was a part of the inaugural cast for Nicole Scherzinger’s new dance show 'Schhh'. Emma enjoys teaching a weekly Street Dance club.
Bethany Denny
Bethany started dancing at her local studio when she was six and worked her way through ISTD and RAD exams in Ballet, Tap, and Modern. Along the way, she competed in lots of dance festivals, picked up some awards, and even helped break a world record in a Dance Beats "Dance-athon"! Bethany then went on to graduate from Brighton MET with a BA (Hons) in Dance and Professional Practice. Whilst training, she got to perform on the BBC as a dancer, and explored lots of different styles taking classes at Brighton Marina Studios. Bethany teaches Musical Theatre classes for Avenue Dance Company in Hook and is looking to expand in teaching further dance styles for us in 2025.
Alishia Stride
Alishia has been a dancer for over 17 years and is a graduate from the Roehampton and obtained a BA HONS in Dance. Alishia has trained in a multitude of styles since the age of 5 including Modern, Street, Commercial, Jazz and Contemporary. Throughout her dance career, she has accomplished a multitude of different achievements including Music Videos, Festival Sets, MOVE IT, Raver Tots and performing in Disney World Florida. A personal favourite was choreographing and directing an entire dance festival set which was alongside artists such as Fuse ODG, Cuppy and Hardy Caprio. Alishia has been teaching a vast amount of classes in numerous styles for just over 2 years. She loves teaching and finding ways to teach in a creative way. Alishia teaches a weekly afterschool Street Dance club and regularly teaches Girlguiding Workshops with us.
Emily Hudson
Emily has been a dancer for over 10 years, bringing her extensive performance and choreographic experience into the studio to inspire the next generation of dancers. Emily’s training is rooted in commercial, jazz, tap, and ballet, with strong technical foundations and a specialization in contemporary dance and musical theatre. She began her dance education at The BRIT School and further refined her craft at Roehampton University, where she earned a 2:1 degree in Dance, focusing on contemporary principles. Throughout her professional career, Emily has had the privilege of performing with global artists like Sam Smith and has worked as a backing dancer in commercial projects, including advertisements for Madame Tussaud’s. Her passion for choreography led her to direct and choreograph a production of Annie Jr., showcasing her creative vision. Emily joined Avenue Dance Company in September 2023, where she currently runs after-school Street Dance and Musical Theatre classes. She is dedicated to sharing her love for dance and aims to create a joyful and enriching environment for every student, encouraging them to express themselves confidently and passionately through movement.
Anna Gardener
Anna started dancing from the age of 6 at the ‘Bernese School of Theatre, Dance and Drama’ in Blackburn, Lancashire. At 18 she moved away to study Professional Dance at Creative Academy where she studied Jazz, Commercial, Contemporary, Modern, Tap and Ballet. Whilst studying, she performed at numerous events such as ‘Move It’ and ‘The Ideal Home Show’. She left Creative Academy with a First Class BA (Hons) Degree, Distinctions and Merits in her Modern and Ballet ISTD exams and a Diploma of Dance Instruction for Modern Theatre. Anna has now been passionately teaching a range of styles for 6 years and continues to spread her love of dance, especially also teaching a before-school Street Dance class with us!
Hannah Stock
Hannah Rose trained at LIPA Sixth form College and The Creative Academy, receiving her BA Hons Degree. She now teaches for local schools and clubs based in Windsor. Hannah’s main teaching objective is to create a supportive class environment where every student can develop socially and find opportunities to explore their own creativity through movement. She also provides technical direction and choreography in each session, so the students leave with a greater understanding of Street/Jazz techniques. Hannah teaches Street Dance clubs in Windsor with us.
