The principals and co-founders of Images School of Dance, Sarah Hewitt and Hayley Taylor have known each other for many years. Their lives have followed remarkably similar tracks, culminating in the creation of their much loved dance school. Here is their story....

Hayley and Sarah first met at their local dance school when they were 9 years old. They both shared a love and talent for all styles of dance and were very quickly paired up to dance together as a duet at All England Dance competitions and as partners during their dance exams. The partnership didn’t end there… they very quickly formed a strong friendship and became inseparable, despite being at different academic schools.

They continued to dance together and to be best friends, often joking that one day they would open a dance school together. Their paths separated briefly at the age of 16. Sarah went on to accept a full scholarship to train at the Arts Educational School, Tring Park and Hayley was awarded a full scholarship to study at London Studio Centre, two of the most prestigious dance colleges in the country.

They kept in touch, but with such full schedules, training to be professional dancers, they were unable to see very much of each other. After finishing their training, both Hayley and Sarah chose to pursue the teaching side of the art form they both loved so much and in 2004, both enrolled onto the same Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies course with the Royal Academy of Dance. After 2 years of hard work, they both passed their ballet teaching exams with flying colours and were awarded the much esteemed RAD Registered teachers status, attending their graduation ceremony together in 2007.

They then both went on to work alongside each other, teaching freelance for various dance schools in and around London, choreographing and working on dance shows and organising examination sessions together. In 2009 they both stepped onto the property ladder, completing on their separate property purchases within days of each other.

Between them, Sarah and Hayley have coached students who have gone on to gain places at The Royal Ballet School, Sylvia Young, London Studio Centre, Tring Park, Laine Theatre Arts, Stella Mann, Bird College, Italia Conti, Central School of Ballet, London Junior and London Senior Ballet and The Royal Ballet Associate programmes, as well as having students who have performed in various musicals in the West End and with some of the most respected professional ballet companies.

They continued to pass on their love of dance, through teaching, until the end of 2012 when they both went on maternity leave. Hayley gave birth to her son, Noah, in December 2012, and Sarah brought her son Zachary in to the world 8 weeks later. It was during their many coffee mornings whilst the babies were napping (yeah, right) that the concept of Images School of Dance was born. They worked very hard to get everything ready and finally launched their dance school in September 2013, a dream which they had talked about for 20 years, that has now become a reality. And the rest… as they say… is history!