Interview
CLAIRE HITCHINGS
Step into the dance shoes of Lisa Scott-Lee We caught up with ISTD member, Lisa Scott-Lee, celebrated member of pop group Steps and Founder Principal of Dubai Performing Arts (DPA).
Dance has always been my first love and an integral part of my life.
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Here and Now Steps is thrilled to be launching their very own Musical, Here and Now, in November 2024. 8
Dance | Issue 501
Lisa discusses founding DPA, alongside her West End star husband Johnny Shentall-Lee, and the joy of preparing students for successful performing arts careers. Lisa and Johnny are both ISTD Associates and have helped students succeed in ISTD exams, fostering commitment and dedication, bringing a sense of accomplishment to both students and parents. What do you enjoy most about your daily life in dance? Dance has always been my first love and an integral part of my life, and also my career with my pop group Steps, as we are known for our famous dance routines. In 2022 Steps celebrated our 25th anniversary in the music industry and I believe that dance has played a big part in our success story around the world, as dance is universal and connects people and their emotions. It is also how I met my husband Johnny, when he auditioned for Steps back in 1999, and we toured the world with the likes of Britney Spears. Johnny was also a Professional Commercial dancer for Music stars such as Robbie Williams, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Diana Ross. We launched our Dubai based dance school due to our shared love of dance and the ISTD. Our children, Jaden aged 15 and Star Lily aged 14, have both just taken their Intermediate Foundation
Tap and Modern exams, during our DPA annual ISTD exams sessions, which makes us very proud. We are a family of dancers and singers. What does a typical day look like for you? The best thing about my life and what I do, is that there is no such thing as a typical day, and I am kept on my toes; pardon the dance pun! I feel blessed that dance is still a big part of my daily life, I am passionate about running our dance school and I regularly fly back to the UK for shows with Steps. What excites you most about your daily work? Seeing the excitement and passion in our students’ faces and giving something back to the dance community. Johnny and I are in a fortunate position where we love what we do, and we love passing on our knowledge and experience to budding dancers and performers. How has DPA evolved since its launch in 2014? DPA has enjoyed a wonderful growth since we launched in 2014, and we are proud to be a leading performing arts school in the UAE, where we have branches across Dubai. Johnny teaches daily at DPA and his Dance and Acro classes are very popular with our DPA students. Johnny also choreographs our DPA shows and annual pantos. We also have
