Dansicality - The Team

Meet The Team

From an early age, Anna-Louise Mederson-Desborough attended training in Ballet, Tap and Jazz at the prestigious Richmond Academy of Dance. This led her to enrol at Surrey University, where she studied a broad range of dance styles, choreography and improvisation. At the same time, she continued her education at the Academy and gained teaching qualifications from The National Association of Teachers of Dance.

Having achieved a BA Hons in Dance studies in 2001, Anna-Louise was recruited by Richmond Adult Community College to run their Dance department. Dansicality was formed when she realised that while all kinds of dance were widely available to adults in the community, there was less choice for children. The demand for Dance grew rapidly, particularly when it became recognised as a valuable component of physical education in schools.

After five years working at the college, Anna became aware that what had begun as a sideline was becoming a full time job in itself! She left the College to devote her full attention to the company and has never looked back…

Vickie Mehta came on board in 2005. She had studied alongside Anna at the Academy in Richmond and had also acquired NATD qualifications. She went on to obtain a Diploma in Dance at the University of London and qualified as an Exercise to Music Instructor with the YMCA. She has extensive experience teaching dance and exercise to children and adults across London.

Marie-Carmen Mederson-Kearon joined the company in 2008. She followed her sister Anna-Louise’s steps through the Richmond Academy and successfully passed the NATD exams. She has since taught at the Academy for many years, while simultaneously meeting the demands of a full-time career in the city. Dance has, however, remained her number one passion throughout and she is delighted to be able to finally give it her full commitment.

Lynsey Dargue (BA Hons) (ANATD)

Lynsey began Ballet at the age of 6 and trained to professional level, supplementing her Ballet training with classes in Tap, Modern Stage Dance and National.

She began teaching dance at the age of 14, as maternity cover for the Richmond Ballet School Principal and continued as student teacher until her departure for university. After a brief sojourn working as a marketing manager in the city, her true passion for dance resurfaced and Lynsey returned to teaching dance full time in the autumn of 2008, after completing her NATD qualifications at The Richmond Academy of Dance.

Nadia studied many dance styles when she was younger but, like so many, work and family commitments did not allow her to continue her training. Nadia has started classes again as an adult and has quickly regained her dance knowledge. She is now our Teaching assistant during the Baby and Class syllabus sessions and is currently working towards gaining her own teaching qualification. Nadia is a fantastic addition to Dansicality as she has a great natural flair for teaching. Her big smile and calm disposition is just what is required while teaching our younger, rather excitable dancers!

Arlene joined Dansicality in 2009 and is part of the team that runs our supported learner adult sessions. Arlene has worked in the orthopaedic unit at Kingston hospital since 1993 and is a fully qualified nursing care assistant. She therefore has a lot of experience that is particularly useful for providing support in the Weekly DanceAct sessions. Arlene has also been our backstage manager in every independent Dansicality performance. We are very lucky to have such an amazing and versatile person on our team.