I have spent my life in many different rooms, that have been turned into places where magic has occurred. From cold damp church halls to a concrete floor garage in Ethiopia, to freezing rooms in Lithuania and the highlands of Scotland, to marble floors in Peru, entrapped in a hall with sweltering heat in South Africa, to a derelict building and to perfectly build dance studios with correct heating for the body, safe sprung floors and pristine clean.

This journey of many spaces began many years ago. As a child I entered a musty old hall having been enticed through the doors by the sound of music floating through the air beckoning me to enter. With deep affection I recall the room filled with little girls fluttering around as small cygnets, attired in their tutus, scrapped hair in small buns, pink ballet shoes adorning their feet, as they await their transformation into noble and glorious swans. The music played on the honky donk piano filled the room, played by a little old woman still wearing her coat and hat. Joining this flock of children, I took my place clutching a chair, an imaginary barre to hold me steady through the exercises. I could feel the music flow through my body as a cascading waterfall transporting me to another world.

And so, I had my first ballet lesson. I was unaware that my destiny had been written, and my journey into the world of dance had begun, and would last all my life. I began to discover and learn that one has the power to transform a space into a place of creativity, to bring it alive, to make it a safe place to discover our inner being. I love the idea that we can change the atmosphere in a room just by our presence. A room can be a where we can gather, share common interests, and have the capacity and potential to change a life, just as mine was changed. That for a brief moment in time any space can become a dance studio.

From the beginnings in that musty old hall, a multitude of rooms have become my home.