The Plus Sized dancer, my Star Steppers experience.

Written by Ella Delaney

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out” – Dr Seuss. This is the single handed biggest lesson my dance experience at Star Steppers has taught me. The idea of standing out had always seemed like the most horrendous thing to me growing up and it was only when my talent and passion for dance was recognised by Laura-Jayne at Star Steppers that I realised it’s such a blessing to be different.

I started my Star Steppers journey at roughly 4 years old, I could not give you an exact age because being a Star Stepper is all I remember. My very first dancing memories begin at around 6/7 years old; packing up my school bags and running out of my class on a Friday afternoon, desperate to get to my dance session with all of my friends. I have vivid memories of feeling an overwhelming warmth whilst I was dancing. Now I recognise this as my immense passion for dance, dancing was when I was happiest. As I got older, my passion only grew, however, so did my issues with body confidence. I can only thank Star Steppers for helping me embrace my body and the idea that I don’t always look like everyone else in the room. We are all created differently and Star Steppers has truly taught me this is okay and in fact should be celebrated.

As a plus sized woman life can seem difficult sometimes, not necessarily always physically, but emotionally. The idea of not looking ‘perfect’ or ‘like everyone else’ can take a massive toll on a person, especially a young woman. Coming to terms with not being societies ideal standard of beauty was tough for me, particularly throughout my years at secondary school. It is truly only within the last year and a half my body confidence has grown. I put this down to my shift in social media influence, my transition out of a relationship – in turn my growing relationship with my friends; but also down to dance and Laura-Jayne’s influence on my self image. My time at Star Steppers has undoubtedly shaped the love I have for myself. The dance world is notorious for body shaming and creating hostile relationships with a dancers

body. I can’t begin to describe how different my experience within the dance community was in comparison to all of the horror stories you read. The Star Steppers slogan really explains it all – dance with a difference. I was celebrated. For the first time, my differences were celebrated. Yes I didn’t look like most of the little girls in my classes but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I could dance and I had such a passion to do so. An example of Star Steppers promoting inclusivity would be that I never thought about not being able to fit into a costume; I was never put at the back due to me being plus sized, etc. As a child it was so important to me to be like everyone else and little things like this made such a difference to little me that just wanted to fit in. Everyone was treated equally; it didn’t matter whether you

However, this does not diminish the fact Star Steppers has taught me some amazing dance skills along the way. I am so proud of the improvements I’ve made from when I walked through the Star Stepper doors 15+ years ago. People often say I have a ‘natural talent’ for dance but realistically many, many years of hard work has been put into my passion for dance. I’ve been pushed to be the best I can be the whole time. Over the past 5 years specifically, the level to which myself and my fellow Star Steppers have improved has been at such an accelerated rate, the quality of content to which we are producing is really impressive – if I do say so myself. As well as dance skills I have developed, Star Steppers has massively evolved my skills in many other areas. I started teaching dance at roughly 16 years old; the skills I have developed through this I am going to use into my career and the rest of my life. I am so grateful for such an amazing opportunity to not only teach my passion to others; but to also learn invaluable life lessons along the way. I’ve learnt skills such as communication with peers, as an authority figure and to customers and parents; I’ve learnt how to work to a deadline and harvest my creativity; I’ve learnt how to solve problems on the spot; and I’ve learnt how to adapt my skills to different situations – for example, learning how to use certain technologies and software’s throughout the pandemic. These skills will stay with me for life and are going to be so important when I move on from university into the working criminal justice system.

My experience teaching has ignited a fire within me to work with children, specifically children of which I can make a significant difference with. Seeing the difference Laura-Jayne has made on so many children’s lives is exceptionally inspiring to me; honestly she has been a fantastic role model to not only me but many children who really needed a strong, kind, compelling female figure in their life. Star Steppers has massively shaped me as a person; I have learnt some amazing dance skills within my 15+ years at Star Steppers but the life skills I have learnt set Star Steppers apart from any other dance school I could name.

I think Star Steppers is so special. It sounds cliché but I really think that Star Steppers is more than just a dance school. The variety of services provided is absolutely incredible; not only is the level of dance content ever improving and developing, but the care put into every single child to ensure they all thrive at their optimal ability is amazing. Laura-Jayne truly cares for every one of the children who dance at Star Steppers and I have witnessed first-hand how this can impact someone throughout their entire lives (this is the reason I have stayed for so long). I am the person I am today because of Laura-Jayne; the lessons I have learnt through watching such an amazing role model will stay with me forever.

I’m Ella Delaney and this is my Star Steppers story.

*This blog post was written by Ella Delaney (previous Star Steppers and now dance teacher).

**This post was written during the pandemic in July 2020 and has been reshared.

***Laura-Jayne (mentioned in this blog post) was the original Principal and founder of Star Steppers (est. in 2005).