Steppin’ out for the stars of tomorrow

Professional singer, dancer and actress Shelley Otway was delighted to ‘step out’ of the spotlight and focus on the stars of tomorrow when she launched her theatre school.

Having danced professionally for 15 years, she retrained as a fitness instructor/personal trainer but both careers were equally gruelling on her body – so she decided to combine both her loves of performing and teaching and Steppin’ Out Stars of Tomorrow was born.

“I knew everything about the performing arts and wanted to tap into my creative side, so I took all aspects of what I had learnt and channelled it into a new business.”

The school grew from humble beginnings. Shelley said: “Despite spending a fortune on advertising, we launched with just 15 students.” But through hard work, determination and a lot of networking, they now have 300+ members.

Suitable for children aged three to 17, the school helps develop and encourage a love of performing arts, build confidence, build friendships and improve social skills.

With the support of an amazing team of talented teachers and a highly experienced principal they have weekly classes in Wokingham and Woodley in jazz, tap, Snging, musical theatre, singing, commercial, street dance and they stage an annual show in a professional theatre.

In just 18 months of the opening her students had performed at Disneyland Paris, Formula 1, The Olympic Stadium, Wembley Stadium and London’s West End. And several children have appeared in West End shows, television programmes and adverts.

And while Shelley thrives on this aspect of her business, for her it is about more than simply commercial success for her students. “For some they come for the social side of the school with like-minded people. They may not have had these opportunities at their school, or it helps build confidence.”

Shelley lives in Shinfield with her fiancé Rob and her daughter 10-year-old Aiyana who also attends classes. She is still very passionate about her work and loves the area in which they are based. “The area around Shinfield and Wokingham has been great for me personally and for business. It has been a good place to network, and I am really happy with the way the business is developing.” local paper. I give my support to Nick Marr and his team - people just love the feel of newsprint,” he added.

Her motto is ‘Smile, because when you smile you sparkle and when you sparkle you’re successful’ – and judging by her success, Shelley must have been smiling and sparkling quite a lot!

Local newspapers are important for encouraging social, political and economic participation and improving the efficiency and decision-making of local and state governments.

Alok Sharma Conservative MP said: “The whole team must be feeling very proud to put a printed newspaper together at this time and I wholly support this – it’s great to see something new.”

Pauline Jorgensen

And Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “We are lucky in Wokingham to have a robust and independent-minded local press. Local newspapers are crucial to a healthy democratic process. I am delighted that My Wokingham will launch soon and wish the whole team every success.”

Rt Hon Sir JOHN REDWOOD MP

Finally, The Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP, D.Phil, FCSI, Member of Parliament for Wokingham, concluded: “I wish My Wokingham every success in serving our Wokingham community. People do like to read about local events, about business services and successes, and how to help local charities. Many of us enjoy living in the area and like working with our neighbours to put goodwill and shared events into the calendar.” www.johnredwoodsdiary.com

Twitter: @johnredwood