Staff
Gail Neish
Gail Neish lead a very distinguished career as a dancer, choreographer and director working world wide in the theatre, on television, in films and on cruise ships.
She then turned her passion for dance into teaching. She was head of ballet at the Theatre School for fifteen years.Many of her dancers going on on to appear in shows such as Cats, Starlight Express and Phantom of the Opera in the West End, in English National Ballet, on television and in videos.
She created The Gail Neish Dance Studios in 1996. Many of her students have become successful teachers in their own right. Her joy of dance and enthusiasm is infectious.Her classes are very disaplined but full of enjoyment. She brings out the very best in each and every student.
She is a regular teacher at The GLDS in Ottawa Canada , and takes invited dancers over to Canada for intensive dance courses. She has been an adjudicator at championships and at the Princess Margaret Memorial awards in London. She is a much sought after Master Class teacher.
Gail Neish was made a Life Member of The Royal Academy of Dance in 2008.
Laura Bernals
Laura is a Registered Teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance and a Licentiate of the Modern Theatre and Tap branch of The United Kingdom Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dancing. She trained as a professional dancer at the Theatre School of Dance and Drama, Edinburgh, under Gail Neish and at the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts, studying all aspects of musical theatre.
Laura appeared in several stage productions throughout the UK and worked for both BBC television and STV. Subsequent years were spent performing and in charge of cruise ship productions combining her work with her passion for travel. Her next stop took her to South America where she choreographed extensively and devoted more time to teaching Classical Ballet, Jazz and Tap. She taught at the Academia De Ana Pavlova in Bogota, Colombia and was invited to choreograph for a renowned international festival in Cuba.
Laura returned to the UK in 1998 to work at The Leys School, a co-educational independent boarding school in Cambridge where she founded and developed the Dance department. In addition to teaching Classical Ballet and Tap to pupils ranging in age from 7 to 18 years old as Head of Dance she was responsible for choreographing the musical productions and introduced Royal Academy of Dance Ballet examinations entering pupils who all achieved excellent results. Other choreographic work includes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Duchess Of Malfi, The Two Gentlemen Qf Verona and The Tempest at The Arts Theatre Cambridge. Laura is delighted to be back home in Scotland and to be part of The Gail Neish Studios, working alongside Gail once more.
Vicky Fairfull
Vicky trained at The Theatre School of Dance and Drama, Edinburgh and thoroughly enjoyed her career as a professional dancer, with appearances in Pantomime at the Kings Theatre, Edinburgh; Theatre Royal, St. Helens; Tameside Theatre, Ashton-Under-Lyne and The Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen. Vicky also danced in Summer Season and throughout her career was a member of various dance companies in Scotland including The Electric Motion Dance Company and JazzArtUk. Whilst living in London she was a member of The Cooperative Dance Theatre, London. An entertainment tour for the troops in Belize, South America was certainly a highlight, working alongside Linda Lusardi.
Vicky concentrated on her teaching career when she moved to Blackpool and received her Teaching Diploma from the RAD, awarded with Distinction. Vicky taught and choreographed extensively for local dance schools in Chorley, Southport and Blackpool, becoming Dance Lecturer for Preston College and Blackpool & the Fylde College. Blackpool & the Fylde College offered Vicky a full-time position as Dance Lecturer as well as Personal Tutor, Key Skills Coordinator, Mentor and IT Champion, working for them for 8 years as well as studying and graduating with a BA in Education and Training from the University of Huddersfield.
Vicky moved back to Scotland 3 years ago and is delighted to be teaching for the Gail Neish Dance Studios.
Marie Bower
Zelie Jennings
Zelie Jennings started her training at an early age in London, she attended the Urdang Academy as a Junior Associate before going on to achieve a first class BA (Hons) in dance at Edinburgh’s Telford College in 2006.
Since graduating Zelie has worked with choreographer Ian Spink on small projects and was part of the Blue Horse Dance Company, Aberdeen. She performed with On the Runn Dance Company’s 2006 Fringe Festival showcase and was part of the ‘Olga the Brolga’ performance with Y Dance that was taken on tour around the UK. She most recently performed with Spinal Chord on their latest project ‘The Bluetooth Fairy’.
Zelie teaches for a number of Private schools, councils and is a freelancer for Y Dance which has given her the opportunity to teach workshops all over Scotland and for the BBC on their Blast Tour. She is now the head of modern for the Gail Neish dance school and is teaching hip hop, break dancing, musical theatre and street jazz classes for all ages.