‘Dream’ dance academy for Abi
AFORMER St Cuthbert’s High School pupil has realised her childhood dream by launching her own dance and cheerleading academy despite suffering from the painful back and spine condition scoliosis.
Abi Mellor, 21, from Littleborough, opened AM Elite Academy this summer inside Moss Mill on Kingsway, having dreamt about owning her own dance business since the age of eight.
The dance coach, who achieved the highest possible qualification in her BTEC in Sport from Bury College in 2015 and in dance from Oldham College in 2017, suffers from the same painful condition as Princess Eugenie.
Unlike the royal, however, she hasn’t had an operation to correct the curvature of the spine as the condition hasn’t progressed to a stage where surgery is recommended.
Abi said: “I don’t really think about my scoliosis too much as I’m so used to putting up with backache as I’ve been dancing since I was aged three and only discovered I had the condition by chance aged 16.
“I’m delighted to be able to open my own academy and to realise my childhood dream, especially after I was told by one doctor that I’d better think about another career path because I have scoliosis. If my condition worsens, then I may consider surgery in the future but I wouldn’t say it’s held me back in any way – if anything it’s made me more determined to succeed.”
Abi conducts all the training sessions herself, with the help of an assistant coach, three evenings a week and every Saturday morning in addition to her day job as a dance development officer for Dream Big Sports – which sees her deliver daily dance sessions in schools in and around the Rochdale area.
Dance classes on offer at AM Elite range from cheerleading, Pom dance, lyrical and jazz, hip hop, technique and tumble classes and are open to everyone aged from four upwards.
Abi says she is the only dance teacher in Rochdale to offer Pom dance classes in this unique style, which is a cross between cheerleading and technical dance – originating from the United States.
Abi has also recently been re-selected to represent England at the ParaCheer Pom World Championships in Florida in 2019.
She was part of the successful team which scooped gold in the 2018 International Cheer Union this summer.