ZOE PATTERSON - principal
AISTD MB; BA (HONS) DANCE EDUCATION; DIP PERFORMING ARTS (STREETDANCE TEACHERS)
Zoe began dancing at the age of 4 taking classes in ballet and jazz. She continued right up through each of the grades to professional status, and was awarded a place at Inchicore College at 15 to train full time in Teacher Training and Professional Dance resulting in an NCVA Level 2 award in Performing Arts before returning to Secondary school to complete the Leaving Certificate. Her training then took her to Liverpool at Merseyside Dance and Drama Centre, leaving with her first Teaching Diploma in Modern Dance awarded by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.
On returning to Ireland, Zoe began a professional career as a backing dancer, touring Ireland and participating in many high-profile events, such as music videos, support act for Mary J. Blige at the RDS, the Childline Concert at the Point depot, O2 Party in the Park, the Rose of Tralee festival and Irish Entertainment Awards, Belfast, to name a few.
However, Zoe soon found her calling in teaching and in finding a great deal of work in primary and secondary schools, returned to education herself and began a BA (Hons) in Dance Education, specialising in Dance within the National Curriculum, with the Royal Academy of dance, validated by the University of Surrey. It was during this time that Zoe set up her first few classes. As the school grew, Zoe took it to the next level and expanded from 2 days per week to 4, to 6 adding Jazz and Creative Dance classes and became the FYI Dance Club, FYI being the school’s mantra: Fun, Young and Inclusive... That learning should always be Fun, that the growth and development of the Young people of our community should be nurtured, and to always be Inclusive regardless of the students’ age, gender or status.
In 2010 a new class ‘Streetdance’ was added after Zoe was offered a place on the World’s first ever ACCREDITED Streetdance Teacher’s Course, developed by Andy Stone of Urban Strides based in London. Zoe became the first person in Ireland with an accredited Streetdance Teacher’s Diploma.
In 2013 Zoe co-founded Wicklow Youth Dance Company (formerly Intensions YDC), a non-profit youth company as an outlet for the highly talented youths of our community to pursue and experience pre-professional training, choreography and performance opportunities.
In 2014 Zoe was the first Irish person to be awarded a place on Dance UK’s Mentorship Programme which awards places to teachers who are viewed as ‘future leaders in their field’. This mentorship allowed her to gain an insight and access to top teachers and dance companies in Ireland and Northern Ireland and forged a new relationship with Youth Dance advocates “DuDanceNI”. Both Wicklow Youth Dance Company and Senior dancers of FYI Dance Club have travelled to Belfast to perform on stage as part of the annual youth dance festival “Unanimous”.
In 2016 Zoe began her training in Physical Literacy after attending a seminar designed to explain the effects of Primitive and Postural Reflexes on children’s learning. This lead Zoe to pursue the first 3 modules of the Child Centre Method to better her understand how physical movement from an early age, or lack thereof, can impact how well a child learns. Zoe was one of the first group of students to qualify in the complimentary Physical Literacy Programme SIMPLE (Sensory Integrated Movement Programme For Learning Enhancement) and ran a pilot programme for adults in 2017 and then the full programme for children in 2018. This programme has had a huge influence on Zoe’s teaching methodologies including a new programme combining Dance and SIMPLE to create the “BRAIN GROOVES” programme which is currently being delivered in over 10 primary schools in the Co. Wicklow area.
Zoe also teaches dance for children with autism in local ASD units as well as a Saturday class for children with additional needs which combines dance, physical literacy and games to promote motor planning, brain and body functioning and control, balance, memory and above all, a place to dance, have fun and meet other families and make new friends.
To ensure that FYI Dance Club continues to grow and provide high-quality lessons and choreography, Zoe finds the best way to connect with students is to remain one herself, always looking for ways to enhance her teaching practice, gain new qualifications and stay emerged in all things dance, learning and brain development.
Zoe sees her teaching as an on-going development, that there is always something more to learn.
On returning to Ireland, Zoe began a professional career as a backing dancer, touring Ireland and participating in many high-profile events, such as music videos, support act for Mary J. Blige at the RDS, the Childline Concert at the Point depot, O2 Party in the Park, the Rose of Tralee festival and Irish Entertainment Awards, Belfast, to name a few.
However, Zoe soon found her calling in teaching and in finding a great deal of work in primary and secondary schools, returned to education herself and began a BA (Hons) in Dance Education, specialising in Dance within the National Curriculum, with the Royal Academy of dance, validated by the University of Surrey. It was during this time that Zoe set up her first few classes. As the school grew, Zoe took it to the next level and expanded from 2 days per week to 4, to 6 adding Jazz and Creative Dance classes and became the FYI Dance Club, FYI being the school’s mantra: Fun, Young and Inclusive... That learning should always be Fun, that the growth and development of the Young people of our community should be nurtured, and to always be Inclusive regardless of the students’ age, gender or status.
In 2010 a new class ‘Streetdance’ was added after Zoe was offered a place on the World’s first ever ACCREDITED Streetdance Teacher’s Course, developed by Andy Stone of Urban Strides based in London. Zoe became the first person in Ireland with an accredited Streetdance Teacher’s Diploma.
In 2013 Zoe co-founded Wicklow Youth Dance Company (formerly Intensions YDC), a non-profit youth company as an outlet for the highly talented youths of our community to pursue and experience pre-professional training, choreography and performance opportunities.
In 2014 Zoe was the first Irish person to be awarded a place on Dance UK’s Mentorship Programme which awards places to teachers who are viewed as ‘future leaders in their field’. This mentorship allowed her to gain an insight and access to top teachers and dance companies in Ireland and Northern Ireland and forged a new relationship with Youth Dance advocates “DuDanceNI”. Both Wicklow Youth Dance Company and Senior dancers of FYI Dance Club have travelled to Belfast to perform on stage as part of the annual youth dance festival “Unanimous”.
In 2016 Zoe began her training in Physical Literacy after attending a seminar designed to explain the effects of Primitive and Postural Reflexes on children’s learning. This lead Zoe to pursue the first 3 modules of the Child Centre Method to better her understand how physical movement from an early age, or lack thereof, can impact how well a child learns. Zoe was one of the first group of students to qualify in the complimentary Physical Literacy Programme SIMPLE (Sensory Integrated Movement Programme For Learning Enhancement) and ran a pilot programme for adults in 2017 and then the full programme for children in 2018. This programme has had a huge influence on Zoe’s teaching methodologies including a new programme combining Dance and SIMPLE to create the “BRAIN GROOVES” programme which is currently being delivered in over 10 primary schools in the Co. Wicklow area.
Zoe also teaches dance for children with autism in local ASD units as well as a Saturday class for children with additional needs which combines dance, physical literacy and games to promote motor planning, brain and body functioning and control, balance, memory and above all, a place to dance, have fun and meet other families and make new friends.
To ensure that FYI Dance Club continues to grow and provide high-quality lessons and choreography, Zoe finds the best way to connect with students is to remain one herself, always looking for ways to enhance her teaching practice, gain new qualifications and stay emerged in all things dance, learning and brain development.
Zoe sees her teaching as an on-going development, that there is always something more to learn.
