The Dance Shed Teaching Team

Melissa Fensom  

RAD RTS, AISTD  

Melissa began dancing at the age of three and went on to train professionally during which time she gained the RAD Student Teaching Certificate in 1992 with distinction and the highest mark in the school, the ISTD Teaching Certificate for Modern Dance, was awarded the Cup for Modern Theatre and took principle roles in the school’s annual shows.  Melissa’s excellent teaching ability was recognised very early on and she was invited to be the assistant to a highly renowned choreographer during her last two years of training.

She enjoyed many years of work as a professional artiste dancing, acting and singing often taking the principle and title roles in a range of shows in the UK and Europe alongside many well-known and popular stars of stage and screen.  

Mia has recently moved back to Plymouth after training at Laine Theatre Arts and is now pursuing her passion in teaching and choreography. Before going to college, she trained in the South West as well as attending The Royal Ballet, Elmhurst, and Ballet Boost Associates with a short period of training with Elmhurst Ballet School at the age of 11.

Mia has trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, Street, Commercial, Musical Theatre, Singing, and Acting. At Laine Theatre Arts she began her ISTD Tap DDE qualification with the brilliant Allison Forrester and is working to complete this by Spring 2025.

Sarah has been performing since the age of 8, beginning with private singing, acting, and LAMDA exams.
In 2017, she secured a place at the prestigious East 15 Acting School in Essex, where she earned a
BA Hons in Acting and Community Theatre. Since graduating, Sarah has collaborated with various professional acting and theatre companies, performing in Murder Mystery events, Musical Theatre productions, and straight-acting plays. Some of Sarah's credits include performances in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Shrek the Musical," and "Avenue Q" with Plymouth Theatre Company.

During her time at Drama School, Sarah had the opportunity to perform in touring Theatre-In-Education shows and audition for touring and Disney productions.  In 2022, Sarah founded her own singing and acting business, 'SA Singing and Acting Coach,' where she privately teaches singing, acting, and LAMDA exams.

In 2023, Sarah decided to further hone her knowledge about voice, vocal technique, and care by training to become a Speech and Language Therapist, hoping to graduate in 2026. She aims to specialise as a theatre voice SaLT specialist, focusing on vocal care for singers and performers.

Sarah is ecstatic to be working with The Dance Shed and can't wait to bring more 'Musical' fun to classes.