McQuade Stage School

 Viv Furzer  (A.B.A.T.D) (Principal)  Viv qualified as a dance teacher many years ago and opened her school in 1979 with a handful of pupils encouraged by an old friend Jean who assured her she would be able to make a success of it!  30 years on she is now the Principal of 2 schools in Dagenham and Chafford Hundred respectively, and also Theatre Production classes in both areas.  Viv sets an extremely high standard and boasts that her pupils have gained 100% exam passes over these years.  She says ‘It’s the most amazing feeling to see McQuade Stage School pupils on stage performing in front of a full theatre and everyone in the school makes me so proud.  I have the most fantastic teachers who are extremely dedicated to the school and I am very grateful to each and every one of them for keeping our classes performing to the high standard of which we have always been accustomed, but most of all for making it friendly and personal!

Sarah (A.B.A.T.D) ( Teacher/Administrator/  Manager Grays & Chafford Schools)  Sarah not only teaches at our school but is responsible for the music and administration for our performances and exams.  She has been dancing since she was 2 years old and is now  19  Sarah has been trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary and Drama where she has played several lead roles including Cinderella, Annie, Rizzo and Baby.  She can be seen dancing in the Harry Potter Goblet of Fire ballroom scene where she spent several weeks rehearsing with the stars and had a fantastic time, even though Alan Rickman trod on her toe and scared the daylights out of her!  McQuade Stage School is a huge part of her life and is where she spends a lot of her time with her friends and pupils alike.  She says ‘Dancing is my life’. The future years will no doubt see Sarah taking over the school and becoming the Principal. 

 Bonnie (A.B.A.T.D)  ( Manager/Teacher - Dagenham School)  Bonnie has been with McQuade Stage School for many years.  She came to the school at the age of 20 and has been here ever since!  In this time she studied and acquired her teacher’s diploma and is the assistant manager of our school.  Apart from teaching many classes, Bonnie's role includes overseeing and supervising all of the other classes and teaching staff.  As well as working at McQuade Stage School Bonnie also has a school of her own and runs both of our schools along the same format.   She has proven an amazing asset to our school and revels in every minute!

Tessa (A.B.A.T.D)  (Teacher)  Tessa has been with our school for over 20 years and is the senior teacher at our Dagenham school.  Starting with McQuade Stage School as a beginner and progressing to a fully qualified associate she thoroughly enjoys teaching and the buzz of the annual shows.  Trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern and Jazz, she is looking forward to opening a school of her own in the near future.  Tessa says ‘Dancing and Teaching is all I have ever wanted to do!’

Grace  (Class Assistant)  Grace is now 18 and has been dancing for a while now.  She has been trained in Ballet, tap modern and street.  She has a great passion for dancing.  Grace adores assisting in classes and thoroughly enjoys being in and around our school at every opportunity!  She hopes to continue her dance exams all the way through to taking her Teachers in a couple of years.  Grace helps in our Monday classes in Chafford Hundred and our Saturday classes in Grays.

Carla (Class Assistant)  Carla is 19 and has been dancing at the school for 15 years, trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz and Street.  She loves assisting in all of the classes as dancing is a great passion of hers and is looking forward to taking her teachers exam next year!  Carla helps in our Thursday classes in Dagenham.  

Paige (Class Assistant)  Paige has been one of our class assistants for 3 years.  She has been dancing with us for many years and her training has included ballet, tap, modern and street. She is 17 years old and very passionate about dance!   Paige loves the classes in which she assists and is an extremely dedicated and popular young girl.  All the children adore Paige as do all of the teachers.  Paige helps out in classes in our Dagenham School.