Elena’s top 7 and half dance costumes

As cheesy as it sounds I can’t remember a time in my life that I haven’t danced. I went to my first ballet class aged 3, first performance on stage aged 4 and completed in the dance festival circuit from the age of 5 to 18. 

Throughout my life, I’ve studied ISTD ballet, tap, jazz and modern with a brief stint in Bharatanatyam, classical Indian dancing, when my family moved to Italy when I was 8 years old.

I went on to study drama and Italian at university but always kept up with the dancing. In 2012, I had the opportunity of a lifetime by performing at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony. It was just a year later when I met Fiona and we started working together.

Being involved in so many dance shows and competitions has left me with a rather large dance costume cupboard and more importantly some amazing photos. With so many great pictures of florescent leotards, tutus and sequins, here are my 7 and half top outfits which I couldn’t not share.

Costume one 'I can sing a rainbow'

Elena: Age 4

This photo is a true 90s classic - lilac leotard with puffy sleeves with my matching purple cycling shorts. This outfit was for my first ever performance at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham with my dance school Central Stage School of Dance and Drama (Now Dance Studios) where we sang ‘I can sing a rainbow’ and where I remember singing too loudly and feeling mortified!

Costume two 'The Butterfly Catcher'

Elena: Age 6

Now in love with the whole concept of dressing up and performing I took part in my first dance festival. These are dance competitions run throughout the country. I entered the ‘character’ section where I acted out being some sort of victorian butterfly catcher and was placed 4th much to my delight at Loughborough Dance Festival.

Costume three 'Squirrel Nutkin'

Elena: Age 8

Flying high from my previous success, I continued dancing in festivals and when I was 8 I was placed twice on one day! 3rd for my ballet solo and 2nd ‘character’ number where I acted out Squirrel Nutkin at Nottingham Dance Festival. The costume included my mum dying my ballet shoes brown, some papier mâché acorns and a mighty headpiece. Unfortunately you can’t see the impressive squirrel tail I also had!

Costume four and five - 'Ballet and Bharatanatyam' Elena: Age 10

At the age of 8 my family moved to Italy for 3 years due to my dad’s job. I was quickly enrolled in a local dance school ran by an English ballet teacher. I soon became involved in dance shows and even learnt classical Indian dancing with my American dance teacher. I particularly love this classic silk indian outfit which I keep always keep.

Costume six - University of Kent

Elena: Age 20

The teen photos are always the most cringe which I can’t quite bear to share but I can just about cope with this one from my second year at uni so skipping forward 10 years here is me performing in the annual show in a lyrical number that I choreographed (obviously!) and dresses from Primark which I customised for everyone. Each dress was just £1!

Costume seven - 'The Lennon Head' at the London 2012, Olympic Ceremony. Elena: Age 24 

At the age of 24, I decided to audition for the Olympic Ceremony and I was cast as a ‘Lennon head’. The section was to the track 'Imagine' where the dancers performed with giant jigsaw pieces coming together to make John Lennons face which then suddenly broke apart to reveal the one and only George Michael in the centre! It was the most magical experience with some amazing people and not to mention a string of celebrities including the Spice Girls (the 10 year old within me was delighted to be backstage with them!) Following this experience I was completely reignited by love for dance and performance which pushed me into going along to Fiona’s jazz class which lead to a completely new chapter in my life...

…. oh and of course here is half costume, my first Charleston photoshoot with Fiona but it is just the headpiece so technically it doesn’t count as a full costume but still a nice memory of where the Charleston adventure all started in 2013.

Fiona's Story - From Irish dancing to Charleston

I was born in Portsmouth, the second eldest of four children. We are all loud, lively and prone to bursting into song.  Needless to say it was a vibrant and somewhat raucous household. 

Many of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older sister as were my first dance lessons. She was in the habit of starting classes and dropping out so to get my parents would send me along in her place. When I was eight I decided I wanted to learn Irish dancing, my Dad is Irish and I loved the dresses. Back then they were beautiful hand sown designs and you didn’t have the tacky wigs which have sadly become standard. I competed in regional and national competitions until I discovered Jazz in Pompey…

Fiona in her 80's leotard and leggings!

Portsmouth Youth Dance were auditioning for a new dance toupe, I attended wearing a swimsuit as I didn’t have a leotard and to my surprise I got in! The drama centre where we rehearsed became the centre of my universe. It was here I meet my future husband Tom aged 11! The friendships from that group have lasted a lifetime and it’s all thanks to Donna Bish, my slightly scary dance teacher who I love. She whipped me in to shape and had some success in getting me to stop talking!

Tom and Fiona at Portsmouth Youth Dance

Tom and Fiona dancing at their wedding

I kept on dancing all through university and during my ten year career at the BBC. The styles I liked were Jazz, Street, Bollywood and African. I found an amazing teacher Francis Angol who leads they way in contemporary African dance.  It was while working on a dance show for Angol that I had my road to Damascas moment. I was suddenly sent to Thailand for some filming and had to miss out on the performance I’d been rehearsing for. I realised how much dance meant to me and decided it was time to make it central in my life.

I moved to Brighton with Tom and I signed up for a course in street dance at Brighton city college. It was a real eye-opener being a 30 something in a class with 18 year olds but it gave me the confidence to start running my own classes. It was in January 2013 Elena came into my Jazz class I had just been asked to put together a little Charleston Troupe and she was up for getting involved. We had no idea then what would develop from that small performance but we must have recognised something in each other. Through our passion for dance, creativity and Charleston we began plotting and the rest as they say is history. 

Fiona and Elena's first performance in February 2013.

I’ve recently been reading about the roots of jazz dance in America and it emerged from a fusion of Irish Jigs with African American dances. So I guess my journey from Irish dancing to Charleston was meant to be.

Fiona

Ragtime Dazzle Dazzle Highlights

MyCharleston’s Brighton Fringe event, Ragtime Razzle Dazzle was a great success as we danced and partied through the afternoon. The ambition this year was to shift the emphasis from performance to participation, so we couldn’t be more pleased when we received a review saying, “It was the most glamorous and inclusive dance event at the Spiegeltent”

Dance Taxi

The “Dance Taxis” were a big hit as they created real engagement from the moment people entered the space. We gave everyone a dance card with a list of moves to learn. They could then hail a ride and a dance taxi showed them the essential moves. I think this old time tradition which goes back to the time of the Savoy, has definitely got some mileage at a modern day dance event. You only need to show people a few moves to make them feel more confortable about getting up and having a dance.

This year’s band went for an early jazz style and kicked off with a New Orleans inspired walkabout. It was a daring bit of theatre for us as we processed behind the sousaphone player, singing, clapping and dancing. Would people join in or just look at us blankly? We had barely passed the stage when I looked back and saw a full crowd of people had joined the line and were joining us in voice and movement. That moment was such a thrill to witness.

The afternoon flew by with some elements the same as previous years, we couldn’t loose the classes because that's the thing that brings everyone together on the dance floor. We dropped the ‘Strictly’ contest this year and that created a lot more space for dancing and enjoying the band. However, we still raised £100 for the charity Mind through the tips our dance taxis earnt. The dance off, as always was a big highlight, watching people go for it with absolute abandonment is such a joy. Thank you everyone for your giving it everything and a huge congratulations to Carol, this years winner. Thank you also to the new MyCharleston Troupe, watching all ten of them performing and dancing together in synchronicity has so much impact.

MyCharleston dance troupe

At MyCharleston we want to encourage anyone to give dance a go, we’ve never used the word ‘inclusive’ to describe ourselves but that's absolutely at the heart of what we do. Watching the two hours of footage from the event, everyone looks so happy but of course that's not all down to us. The Charleston community is such a vibrant collection of people who all seem to have two things in common, a sense of fun and a love of dance.  

MyCharleston Stories: Isabell

We are very excited to welcome our new intern Isabell to our team who will be working with MyCharelston for the next three months and helping us with all things social. Isabell has travelled over from Germany especially for the internship and as tradition we always like our readers to get to know our team so here is our 60 second interview with Isabell:

Isabell in Scotland.

1. Where did you grow up?

In a small village near Hanover in Lower Saxony.

2. Why did you want to do your internship in the UK?

Because I love travelling and when I was in England in 2016 I fell in love with this place. I also think that it’s a great opportunity for me to learn new things every day, for example about British culture or life and the work, but also about me. 

3. What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?

On Netflix the film ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’, because I loved the books, and so I needed to see if the film is at least as good as the book.

4. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life?

Wie Ich, by Kraftklub

You Will Be Found, from the Musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ 

Isabell and her exchange student.

5. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? 

To speak Portuguese, because then I could understand the family of my Brazilian exchange student.

6. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? 

Thanking my parents by buying them a trip to anywhere they would like to go, because they made it possible that I were able to travel to Brazil, Scotland and England in the last two years and now England again for three months.

7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

Canada, Sweden and New Zealand. 

8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? 

Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter. 

Isabell photographing in Germany.

9. What's your favourite indoor/outdoor activity? 

Indoor - reading and writing

Outdoor - photographing

10. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?

Cleaning the cage from my budgies.

11. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?

Walt Disney, because I grew up watching Disney movies and I still love them. I admire him for his creativity and for what he did.

Isabell with her sister at the "Erntefest" in her hometown.

12. Where has been your favourite place to visit?   

The Iguazu Falls in Brazil.

13. What three traits define you?

Kind, creative and helpful.

14. After your internship what is next for you?

I'm going back to Germany to study.

15. What one thing should an English Person try, or do, in Germany?

They should definitely try German bread and Lebkuchen. And they could visit a "Erntefest", which is basically a harvest festival which preserves old traditions, with dancing and a pageant. 

16. What are you looking forward to the most during your stay in Brighton?

To explore Brighton and its surroundings, to get some good photos. But also to meet new people.

How we became entrepreneurs by accident

MyCharleston was an idea that came about after performing together at a 1920s show in Brighton. From that moment, we fell in love with Charleston dancing and decided to collaborate to make a video showcasing the dance talents of our home city, Brighton and Hove.      

To get film participants we began running Charleston dance classes in January 2014. This was a nine-month passion project squeezed in between Elena’s full-time job and Fiona going through IVF treatment. However, it paid off. The film was a huge success and within two weeks was featured by the Evening Standard and received 40,000 views. As the video went viral the demand for the classes grew and each new course sold out. At that moment we realised we had stumbled across a gap in the market - nobody in the local area was running Charleston classes and there was a huge demand for it.

Pooling together our dance backgrounds and individual skills our hobby turned into a lifestyle business. After three years of running the company in-between Elena’s full-time job as a Marketing Manager for an events company, Fiona giving birth and two house purchases, we joined the NatWest Accelerator in 2017 to gain the skills needed to scale the company. Over the past year, Elena has quit her job, and this has allowed the business to undergo a complete transformation. We are no longer restricted to working on the business in the evenings or weekends. Within six months, the company rebranded, launched in five cities, four teachers have been trained and the business became sustainable. Our goal is to franchise the brand and empower other women to run their own businesses.

Elena and Fiona at Firle Vintage Fair.

The business was born from our passion to dance and perform but also, we also wanted to create something which gave us a sense of fulfilment and a connection to people in the community. MyCharleston fulfils us by enabling us to teach adults new skills, help improve people’s mental and physical fitness along with providing exciting and fun social occasions to transport people back to the 1920s. Ultimately, we make people happy which is incredibly rewarding. 

As individuals we also have our own personal goals. Elena started collaborating with Fiona when we she 26. Although at the time she had a good career in marketing, she was influenced by successful female business owners and always wanted her work to be a true reflection of herself. The business drives her to be the best version of herself. She has proven she has great business skills by turning an idea into a great service which has had meaningful impact on the community. Elena has danced since the age of three and turning her lifelong passion into her work is a dream come true.

Fiona's passion for dance motivates her to create the best possible dance experience for all our customers, ensuring every product is inspiring. She is driven to deliver excellent customer service wanting each student to experience the many benefits of dance. Together, we want to grow the company because we believe dance is a joyful experience which can be shared by all.

Elena and Fiona in the studio

Elena and Fiona performing with Savoy Kicks

Rachel's Story - Swapping Pom Poms for Pearls

Dancing has been a part of my life since I was a child. Like many little girls they get taken along to ballet. I never really got on with it that well. My mum said she could hear the teacher from outside the studio telling me to stay still or stop talking. Despite the fact that I wasn’t going to be a prima ballerina I enjoyed it and wanted to attend. 

Rachel in her disco days

After a short time, a Freestyle Disco dance class started in the community centre very close to where we lived.  I went to one class and I was hooked, ballet was soon forgotten. The music I think was part of the draw, it was a real change from the sounds of the piano in the ballet studio. 

I quickly started competing and continued until I was 18. During that time additional dance styles were added in to the mix. Latin American, Ballroom, Rock n Roll, Street Dance, I even went back to Ballet! 

I enjoyed dancing so much that I really wanted to make it part of my career. I took a contract to be part of the entertainments team on holiday resorts over the UK this also took me to Canada where I choreographed shows and performed in weekly cabarets. 

Rachel's matching dress and pants set!

Dancing in nightclub podiums

Since then it has taken me in many wonderful and strange directions some of the more “memorable” ones are Cheerleading for BHAFC, A giant purple pyramid in a music video, danced at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End (pretending to be 16 when I was 21!) and too many nights dancing in nightclub podiums then I care to remember.

Rachel cheerleading for BHAFC

Dance jobs are often in unsociable hours, take a lot of rehearsal commitments and often being away from family. I made a decision after some disastrous contracts and missing many family events that it was time to get a “proper job”. 

I am actually quite good at my proper job, but after a while I wanted to reintroduce dancing to my life and one booze fuelled boxing day I started a google search and stumbled across a new Charleston class starting up in Hove. Elena tells me now that I was the first person to book on to the course and she did a little celebration dance when I did. 

The rest is history as they say. I've lucky enough to be involved in so many of the projects that Fiona and Elena have created, from the I Charleston Brighton film to the Speakeasy event at Brighton Fringe. I have lost count of the amount of performances I have been a part of.

Now I am teaching Charleston as part of the team in Worthing and you can often find me at the classes in Hove or flicking around with Savoy Kicks, Oh and I still have my proper job.  

Oh and in case you want to see it, here I am as the giant purple pyramid in a music video:

Elena’s top 7 and half dance costumes

As cheesy as it sounds I can’t remember a time in my life that I haven’t danced. I went to my first ballet class aged 3, first performance on stage aged 4 and completed in the dance festival circuit from the age of 5 to 18. 

Throughout my life, I’ve studied ISTD ballet, tap, jazz and modern with a brief stint in Bharatanatyam, classical Indian dancing, when my family moved to Italy when I was 8 years old.

I went on to study drama and Italian at university but always kept up with the dancing. In 2012, I had the opportunity of a lifetime by performing at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony. It was just a year later when I met Fiona and we started working together.

Being involved in so many dance shows and competitions has left me with a rather large dance costume cupboard and more importantly some amazing photos. With so many great pictures of florescent leotards, tutus and sequins, here are my 7 and half top outfits which I couldn’t not share.

Costume one 'I can sing a rainbow'

Elena: Age 4

This photo is a true 90s classic - lilac leotard with puffy sleeves with my matching purple cycling shorts. This outfit was for my first ever performance at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham with my dance school Central Stage School of Dance and Drama (Now Dance Studios) where we sang ‘I can sing a rainbow’ and where I remember singing too loudly and feeling mortified!

Costume two 'The Butterfly Catcher'

Elena: Age 6

Now in love with the whole concept of dressing up and performing I took part in my first dance festival. These are dance competitions run throughout the country. I entered the ‘character’ section where I acted out being some sort of victorian butterfly catcher and was placed 4th much to my delight at Loughborough Dance Festival.

Costume three 'Squirrel Nutkin'

Elena: Age 8

Flying high from my previous success, I continued dancing in festivals and when I was 8 I was placed twice on one day! 3rd for my ballet solo and 2nd ‘character’ number where I acted out Squirrel Nutkin at Nottingham Dance Festival. The costume included my mum dying my ballet shoes brown, some papier mâché acorns and a mighty headpiece. Unfortunately you can’t see the impressive squirrel tail I also had!

Costume four and five - 'Ballet and Bharatanatyam' Elena: Age 10

At the age of 8 my family moved to Italy for 3 years due to my dad’s job. I was quickly enrolled in a local dance school ran by an English ballet teacher. I soon became involved in dance shows and even learnt classical Indian dancing with my American dance teacher. I particularly love this classic silk indian outfit which I keep always keep.

Costume six - University of Kent

Elena: Age 20

The teen photos are always the most cringe which I can’t quite bear to share but I can just about cope with this one from my second year at uni so skipping forward 10 years here is me performing in the annual show in a lyrical number that I choreographed (obviously!) and dresses from Primark which I customised for everyone. Each dress was just £1!

Costume seven - 'The Lennon Head' at the London 2012, Olympic Ceremony. Elena: Age 24 

At the age of 24, I decided to audition for the Olympic Ceremony and I was cast as a ‘Lennon head’. The section was to the track 'Imagine' where the dancers performed with giant jigsaw pieces coming together to make John Lennons face which then suddenly broke apart to reveal the one and only George Michael in the centre! It was the most magical experience with some amazing people and not to mention a string of celebrities including the Spice Girls (the 10 year old within me was delighted to be backstage with them!) Following this experience I was completely reignited by love for dance and performance which pushed me into going along to Fiona’s jazz class which lead to a completely new chapter in my life...

…. oh and of course here is half costume, my first Charleston photoshoot with Fiona but it is just the headpiece so technically it doesn’t count as a full costume but still a nice memory of where the Charleston adventure all started in 2013.

Fiona's Story - From Irish dancing to Charleston

I was born in Portsmouth, the second eldest of four children, we are all loud, lively and prone to bursting into song.  Needless to say it was a vibrant and somewhat raucous household. 

Many of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older sister as were my first dance lessons. She was in the habit of starting classes and dropping out so to get my parents would send me along in her place. When I was eight I decided I wanted to learn Irish dancing, my Dad is Irish and I loved the dresses. Back then they were beautiful hand sown designs and you didn’t have the tacky wigs which have sadly become standard. I competed in regional and national competitions until I discovered Jazz in Pompey…

Fiona in her 80's leotard and leggings!

Portsmouth Youth Dance were auditioning for a new dance toupe, I attended wearing a swimsuit as I didn’t have a leotard and to my surprise I got in! The drama centre where we rehearsed became the centre of my universe. It was here I meet my future husband Tom aged 11! The friendships from that group have lasted a lifetime and it’s all thanks to Donna Bish, my slightly scary dance teacher who I love. She whipped me in to shape and had some success in getting me to stop talking!

Tom and Fiona at Portsmouth Youth Dance

Tom and Fiona dancing at their wedding

I kept on dancing all through university and during my ten year career at the BBC. The styles I liked were Jazz, Street, Bollywood and African. I found an amazing teacher Francis Angol who leads they way in contemporary African dance.  It was while working on a dance show for Angol that I had my road to Damascas moment. I was suddenly sent to Thailand for some filming and had to miss out on the performance I’d been rehearsing for. I realised how much dance meant to me and decided it was time to make it central in my life.

I moved to Brighton with Tom and I signed up for a course in street dance at Brighton city college. It was a real eye-opener being a 30 something in a class with 18 year olds but it gave me the confidence to start running my own classes. It was in January 2013 Elena came into my Jazz class I had just been asked to put together a little Charleston Troupe and she was up for getting involved. We had no idea then what would develop from that small performance but we must have recognised something in each other. Through our passion for dance, creativity and Charleston we began plotting and the rest as they say is history. 

Fiona and Elena's first performance in February 2013.

I’ve recently been reading about the roots of jazz dance in America and it emerged from a fusion of Irish Jigs with African American dances. So I guess my journey from Irish dancing to Charleston was meant to be.

Fiona

What's in a name?

Its happened, we've changed our name! Elena and I began four years ago with the name ‘I Charleston Brighton’ and it will always have a special place in our hearts. But to understand why we changed I Charleston to MyCharleston you need to know the story of how we began.

Elena and I performing Charleston together for the first time in 2014

The First I Charleston flyer design

Elena and I became instant fans of Charleston when we performed in a Charleston troupe for a one off show in 2013. We decided we wanted to continue Charleston dancing and whilst looking for a project we discovered 'I Charleston the World.’ These charming films showcased dancers doing the Charleston in iconic locations around their city. So we decided to put Brighton on the map! The problem was no one was running regular Charleston classes in Brighton, so we brushed up our moves, made a flyer and I Charleston Brighton began.

We had no idea what it would develop into but from the first class we ran in January 2014, we fostered a group who were up for filming, learning, performing and socialising. So many of the students from those early classes are now dear friends and collaborators in the much larger business we’ve become.

Elena’s dynamite ability to market, organise and draw people together for the sheer love of dance was a huge part of our success. She gathered the momentum we needed for the film, with interviews on TV, Radio and publications. The film got over 42,000 hits and the Lord Mayor of Brighton came to the launch. By then all this dancing had made me very large and pregnant and on New Years day, January 2015, I had the child I’d waited seven years to conceive, I called him Charleston – not really but I was tempted!

Lucian ‘Charleston’ Creed 1st Nov 2015

Elena and I being interviewed on Juice Radio 

The classes expanded and we now had a performance troupe, drawing talent from those early classes. Over the next three years our classes grew and other exciting opportunities came our way such as breaking world records, flashmobs, performances, festivals and speakeasy events. But all this had to fit around full-time jobs and motherhood. We would conduct our business over lunch breaks, evening calls and a lot of chats in car parks!

This summer we decided to throw everything at growing our classes into an actual business after we were accepted on the Entrepreneurial Sparks programme. So many people had told us how much they loved Charleston and wished there was something similar in their area, so we thought lets take our classes to other cities.

Like any new venture it’s been a whirlwind but so interesting and rewarding. One of our first new products was a ‘Dance in a day’ where we took the best moves, music and routines and combined them into a three hour workshop. The response has been phenomenal although the best quote was from I guy who’d been dragged along by his partner and was over heard saying ‘It’s actually alright'.

So there’s the story but why the rebrand? I Charleston Brighton was directly inspired by the ‘I Charleston the World’ project, so it wasn’t our creation. We had also found there was much confusion as to weather it was a small ‘i’ as in apple products or a good old fashioned capital I. We loved the name so much but by simply changing the ‘I’ to a ‘My’ we kept the essence whilst making it personal to all the people who have essentially created our business; Yes you, the dancers who come and embrace this silly wonderful dance every week in class. So whilst we are very happy to have a growing business and love the new designs it is essentially you who have created MyCharleston and for that we thank you.

Fiona