THE TEAM

Kat was awarded a scholarship to study Musical Theatre at Mountview Academy Of Performing Arts earning her a BA Hons in Performance and graduating with a 2:1. 

In addition to running Freedom Academy Kat is also a professional actress. She has appeared in many productions on stage both in the west end, on tour and also on screen. 

She can been seen in numerous TV commercials for products from Dominos pizza to Tescos!  

Kat is in high demand as an audition coach and has worked with many children on west end shows such as “Matilda”, “School of Rock”, “Les Miserables” and “The Lion King” as well as TV series including “The Voice Kids”, “CBBC" and “ITV”. 

She is also a LAMDA coach and her extensive experience on the subject lead her to be invited to write a piece on Choral Speaking which has been published in the LAMDA prospectus.   

Kat has a vast amount of experience teaching children with special educational needs and holds her level 3 Safeguarding and First aid certificates.  

Kat is always on hand to chat to students and parents. She prides herself on knowing every child who attends Freedom Academy personally and says "we are just like one big family!"

Chloe Started off her teaching career at the age of 15 where she assisted the baby classes in ballet, tap and modern at the dance school she attended. This is where her passion and love for teaching started.  When Chloe was 19 she went on to train at The Centre performing arts college where she studied musical theatre.

 Chloe has gone on to teach at many schools across London.  Trained in ISTD styles she also teaches drama, street dance, commercial, jazz & contemporary.  She's choreographer and mentor for Ignite youth dance company in collaboration with Theatre Peckham and CTC dance company.  

Chloe has also danced professionally since graduating, working for P&O Australia & Carnival cruise lines performing around the world. She has also done a UK tour and performed at Edinburgh Fringe festival. Chloe was dance captain for Cinderella pantomime at the Courtyard theatre.  Most recently she starred in a campaign in collaboration with Biffy Clyro and Warner music ‘There’s Always a Space for the Arts’.  

Chloe has had the pleasure of teaching dance at Freedom academy for the past 2 years and loves the close knit family community.

Jo trained at Rose Bruford College on the BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship course. She has since worked professionally as an actor, actor-musician and musical director.

Acting credits include: Where Is Peter Rabbit? (Theatre Royal Haymarket & International Tour), Dick Whittington (Theatre Royal Winchester), The Tempest & Red Riding Hood (The Garage/All-In), Alice In Wonderland (Derby Theatre), A Scarecrows Wedding (National Tour), A Midsummer Nights Dream (Red Rose Chain), Gatsby (Union Theatre Southwark), Princess & The Pea (International Tour).

Jo loves spending her Saturday mornings at Freedom Academy & has a subtle mission to remove stress & add smiles to all things singing! She very much enjoys watching the wild & wonderful moments of spontaneity & creativity that fill the space each weekend.

Lauren trained in Musical Theatre, studying at Reynolds Performing Arts.

 
She has 8 years' experience performing in the UK and overseas in different shows and has taught in a number of different Schools to the ages 3-18, teaching; street dance, ballet, tap, contemporary, gymnastics, yoga, pilates, cheerleading, zumba, singing, drama and musical theatre. 

Lauren is an enthusiastic and positive person, which is reflected in her teaching.  She loves to inspire her students and finds delight in the growing confidence and progression the children display. 

Yolanda is a formal member of award winning Hip Hop Dance Company BoyBlue Entertainment and Got to dance Finalist group Boadicea Ltd. •

 Her credits include GWI Street Dance Weekend Championship winner, Got to Dance Semi Finalist 2010 on sky1 television and the Street Dance Movie 3D. 

Yolanda performed as one of the professional dancers of 2012 London Olympics and has appeared at numerous Breakin Convention shows at Sadlers Wells including Breakin Convention New York @ Apollo Theatre. 

She has also been Assistant Choreographer for Project Rebel: BoyBlue Entertainment at Edinburgh International Festival, Assistant Choreographer of sold out 5* play Guys and Dolls performed in Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, and was a teacher and artist of Emancipation of Expressionism AQA DANCE. 

Most recently Yolanda was dance captain for the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Pageant at Buckingham Palace. 

Leonie has been dancing since she was 13 years old, prior to which she trained as a gymnast. 

She studied her A-levels at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance and then went on to attend London Studio Centre, where she studied for her BA in Theatre Dance. 

During this time she was a part of the performance team, that would go on to represent the college at various dance festivals and performances, including the new Wimbledon theatre in 2019. 

In 2021 Leonie was a member of Intoto, a well-respected contemporary dance company that collaborated with many well known choreographers within the industry. 

Upon graduating, Leonie has been teaching at many London dance schools, sharing her passion for dancing to the younger generation of dancers, as well as teaching adult dance classes.

Nifemi joined Freedom Academy as a student in 2012 at the age of 15. Whilst attending Freedom Academy she had the amazing opportunity to participate in many different competitions such as the Jack Petchey Glee Club Challenge, an episode of “Keep it in the Family” featured on ITV as well as various LAMDA exams. 

During her time at the University of Portsmouth, she was a part of the University Gospel Choir (PGC) performing on the BBC hit show “Pitch Battle”.  Nefemi also performed for the Royal Family during the Commonwealth Day in 2018. She's also had the privilege to work as a background singer on shows such as “The Voice” and “The X Factor” and was on tour for the Sister Act Live Choir tour. 

Being an ex-student at Freedom, Nifemi's favorite thing about teaching is seeing how the children are able to grow and develop their skills with every term, as well as how much they enjoy singing with each-other and creating different drama pieces.

  Romi started Freedom Academy at 8 years old, and has grown over the years from a student to now having the pleasure of teaching at the school. 

Along Romi's 13 year journey with Freedom Academy she has been able to compete in competitions, both in theatres and on TV, complete multiple LAMDA exams and meet and work with amazing industry professionals. 

However, teaching the Early Years children has been the most rewarding part for Romi. 

"Helping young people grow in confidence and seeing their talents develop is an amazing experience, and a lot of fun!"

 Lynda studied Vocal Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, gaining her Masters in 2010, before studying Opera Performance at the Advanced Performers' Studio in Hammersmith the following year, working with leading directors, coaches and conductors from the world of opera and musical theatre. 

Lynda founded Big Bang Music and More, a teaching studio originally based in Hackbridge, Wallington; teaching voice, piano and general musicianship to students of all ages and backgrounds, and also taught classes to children from birth to 5 years based on the pedagogy of Kodaly. 

A keen choir director, Lynda conducted the choirs of Croydon Music and Arts for their Spring season in 2019, and stepped in for Carshalton Choral Society as an occasional conductor. 

Lynda is a member of Corra Sound, a vocal ensemble championing female composers; and sings regularly with Carshalton Opera, most recently as Papagena in their production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute; and as Sandman and Dew Fairy for Hansel and Gretel. 

Previous roles in opera include Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at RCS; Female Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia for St. Andrew’s Opera; Governess in Britten's The Turn of the Screw; and the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. 

Lynda was soprano soloist for The Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2009, leading the Massed Pipes and Drums. 

Lynda has two young children and a trio of chickens in Caterham, Surrey 

  Summer studied a level 3 extended diploma in performing arts at college and achieved a distinction star. 

She then went on to train at Emil Dale Academy on their foundation course. 

Summer  has performed with The National Youth Music Theatre in their 2022 and 2019 seasons in the casts of “Chess” and “Growl”. She has also had professional experience working as a scare actor at Tulley’s Farm Shocktoberfest in 2019.

Summer has worked as an assistant at Freedom Academy previously and is delighted to be working with the early years again but now as their teacher!