Profile: Amy & Luke Hunnings

Amy & Luke Hunnings Fancy Footwork

Their paths crossed at the Deepings School, they fell in love and went off to study but. unlike many couples whose story ends there, this golden team stayed together during those years and now with their home and hearts in the Deepings their talent, enthusiasm and warmth is touching hundreds who come into their orbit!

Amy is the one not born and bred in Deeping; her family moved here from Werrington to make it easier for her to pursue her dance classes when she attended Deeping School of Dance with Principal Miss Hills on Saturday mornings. This is where her enduring love affair with dance was born, which grew over the years until at 16 she went off to dance college in Leeds, later travelling to Hong Kong where she had a brief affair with performing but realised that she was a home bird at heart and returned to establish her very own dance school, Inspire Dance.

Starting out at the Deepings Community Centre in 2011, the school grew in baby steps. But as we all know enthusiasm is contagious and now the school has in excess of 170 students! Inspire Dance also employs two other teachers, Imogen Barnes and Charley May, both of whom are from the local area too, as it continues to grow.

Making sure that she is fully qualified in all disciplines and with Charley and Imogen attaining their second level teaching qualification, Amy wants to ensure that her students have the opportunity to compete, to excel in exams and are given plenty of opportunities to perform. Which was why she was thrilled when Inspire Dance was one of eleven dance companies asked to perform at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End. They danced to a packed house: three performances in acro, based on cirque du soleil style, a Street Dance piece and a contemporary piece ‘Stranger Things’ based on the hit Netflix programme. All pupils were invited to audition and 28 were selected to perform, aged between 7 and 16, accompanied on their adventure to London by the School’s four teachers, Amy, Imogen, Charley and maternity cover teacher Mikayla Bessent. ‘It was a fantastic showcase,’ enthused Amy ‘and the girls did not disappoint, danced incredibly and behaved like young professionals.’

As well as ballet, tap, acro and modern, the school also teaches street and musical theatre, soon to be joined by AQA Dance GCSE course for pupils going into years 9, 10 and 11. They have been very proud to see some of their dancers audition for professional parts, such as Emily Comber in the musical School of Rock. Pupils such as Isabel Martin and Ella Dunnett have also performed at the Cresset in Oliver. But the school emulates Amy ‘s own approach to life and living and works as a family-orientated team. As well as being competitive and aiming to become highly accomplished there is time for lots of fun and laughter too.

Great excitement greets the annual show in November which takes place on a professional stage at the Corn Exchange in Stamford. There is no extra payment and all students have a costume and a dance in which to perform. Seats are crammed full of expectant family and friends eager to see the prowess of their offspring and to kick off the Christmas celebrations! The summer holidays are the only time when the school is properly closed but Amy and Oscar (2) and baby Isla are not likely to be treated to a long holiday overseas as this is when the football season starts and husband Luke’s passion springs into action! Football has always been Luke’s go-to recreation and on his return from Sheffield Hallam, where he studied Criminology, he resumed his commitment to the local game, playing for Peterborough Northern Star, Blackstone’s and for the last three seasons he has played for the first team at Deeping Rangers. No stranger to awards, Luke won the Lincs senior shield with Blackstone’s and the Hinchingbrooke Cup with Peterborough Northern Star in 2015. This year at Ranger’s annual awards he achieved a clean sweep of trophies: Supporters’ Player, Players’ Player and Managers’ Player. Everybody’s favourite, Luke is a great support to Amy, the rock which has enabled her to strike out on her own and create the extremely successful business which Inspire Dance has undoubtedly become.

Having initially been keen to enter the police force, Luke has worked with offenders overseeing their reentry into the job market. Now a project manager at Thomas Cook, he tries not to miss the Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon matches and when daughter Isla was due, Amy was under strict instructions to avoid a Tuesday evening delivery!

Here’s to the continued success to the Deepings’ golden couple!

Update from Nurseryman Colin Ward

Late Summer and all our South African perennials are coming into their own. Many types of Agapanthus, Crocosmia, Kniphofias, Dieties bicolor and a personal favourite Gladiolus papillo which is not what you would consider from first glance a Gladioli. modest downward bell shaped flowers of cream, peach and slate purple. Has been reliably hardy for us and bulks nicely. All of the above plants very tolerant of the heat and dry conditions we are experiencing. Next month sees the Plant Fair here at the nursery on September 16th. The Fenland Group of The Hardy Plant Society will be meeting the day before with Kevin Hughes doing the talk on progress at Cally Gardens which he took over earlier this year should prove to be very interesting. The meeting will be 2pm for 2:30 start. Kevin will also be stopping over for the Plant Fair on the Sunday some very unusual plants will be for sale.

Friendly tea room. Tel 01778 343340 Junction of Outgang and Linchfield Rd.

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