Teaching is next step for dancer
ATALENTED dance student is aiming to use her experience to inspire the next generation of performers.
Megan Hunt, 19, who has danced since the age of two, combines her studies at Edge Hill University with a teaching role at Megastars Performing Arts School.
She has already performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Shaftesbury Theatre, as well as at Disneyland Paris – and will soon be heading to Croatia with Edge Hill Student Unions’ Hillstart Dance Society.
But it is teaching where Megan sees her future and plans to use her dance degree to make a difference to North West students.
She cites treating each student as an individual as a main ingredient in her teaching style.
She said: “Each student has their own talent. Some take longer to pick up choreography or don’t have the best flexibility, but they work at it.
“Watching them get it right is amazing, and you feel like you have accomplished something yourself.”
“Stepping back and watching them perform your choreography is enjoyable because you get to see the behind-the-scenes work and see how they perform the piece.”
Megan, who notes lyrical and contemporary dance has her favourites styles, believes the perception of the art has changed immeasurably since she first began, mainly down to television.
She said: “More people are interested in entering their kids into competitions because of shows like Dance Moms. I also believe the likes of Strictly Come Dancing interests people into joining dance and trying out something new because it is entertaining to watch.”
And she offers the following advice to prospective students. “The main thing is passion. “If they are passionate about what they do they will be determined to make each performance the best they can, they will be committed and come to extra classes, they will perform from the heart and not just because someone has told them to.
“They will make each movement their own.”
Megan was selected for an Entrance Excellence award in 2018, being granted £2,000 towards her studies.