A week after this year's biggest event, Dance Days, we're delighted to make an important announcement: dance business expert & Amazon bestselling author, Anne Walker MBE has become a Trustee of bbodance.

Anne is the founder of the UK's largest wholesale dancewear supplier and a tireless advocate for business training for dance teachers. A former Ballet teacher herself, she delivers comprehensive & creative business courses for dance teachers across the UK and internationally. Anne was honoured with an MBE for Services to Business in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Anne's appointment as a bbodance Trustee reinforces our commitment to providing well-rounded training for all dance teachers. As you all know, we currently offer comprehensive teacher training courses for Levels 4 to 6, delivered in London and online, and diverse Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions throughout the UK.

"bbodance is committed to the education, training, and enjoyment of dance. It is rare that an individual’s experience encompasses both the artistic side of dance along with a proven business acumen. This knowledge and experience is invaluable to teachers of all ages and I am simply delighted that we have someone on the Board of Trustees who is keen to help individual teachers and the organisation as a whole," stated bbodance CEO, Robin Bloor.

"I am thrilled and honoured to have been appointed a Trustee of bbodance. I have spent most of my career supporting dance teachers globally and continue to do so through mentoring and dance business seminars all over the world. This aligns extremely well with the huge support bbodance offers its dance teaching members via free online syllabi, comprehensive teacher training, and business support."

Anne's appointment came shortly before our annual flagship event for students and teachers, Dance Days, which she visited and taught at. This year's Dance Days was also visited by bbodance's latest Patron, Birmingham Royal Ballet First Soloist and former bbodance Scholar, Brandon Lawrence, who judged our first-ever group dance competition, the Dance Days Challenge, and marked the launch of our latest syllabi — Grade 3 Contemporary Dance, Grade 4 Musical Theatre, and Grade 7 Classical Ballet.

Dance Days returns to Birmingham in April 2020, the year our organisation turns 90.


About Anne Walker MBE

Anne Walker MBE opened her own dance school at the age of 17; by the time she was 21, she was teaching 150 pupils Classical Ballet, Tap, and Modern Dance. Noticing that most dance uniforms at the time did not fit students well and even disadvantaged them during exams, Anne started to create her own using the most advanced fabric on the market, Lycra. Demand for her colourful and creative leotards soon became so high among dance teachers and students that Anne had to expand her business, leading to the creation of International Dance Supplies, which is today a multi-million-pound company and global brand. Passionate about dance and business, Anne is now on a mission to mentor dance teachers across the world through inspirational business seminars and celebrate their achievements with the Dance School of the Year Awards, which she has founded and runs. Anne was awarded an MBE for Services to Business in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours and is proud to be an Honorary Member — and, now, Trustee — of bbodance, formerly known as the British Ballet Organization (the BBO).