Rosie Stockley

Graduate – Diploma in Dance Teaching Studies

I started dancing as many young children did with a class in my village hall when I was about 4 years old. By the time I was 8, I was begging to add modern and tap to my ballet classes and thankfully my parents were fairly accommodating. Some great teachers and fellow dance friends inspired me along the way and I continued through my teens, attending a vocational dance and theatre school when I was 18. I always knew I would like to teach at some point so pursued that side of the art form as well.

The link with the RAD has been so beneficial in bringing me where I am today. I was studying for my DDTS whilst studying for my fitness qualifications, and finished it after my baby was born. The knowledge I gained was so useful for all parts of my teaching. Learning about the psychology of learning, community dance and anatomy is relevant in all areas of my current business. And as someone who is still a ballet teacher, the RAD has supported the development of my teaching practise on all levels.

MAMAWELL came about after the birth of my daughter, through a love of movement and desire to be able to optimise the body safely post-birth. I qualified as a fitness trainer as it was a passion that I wanted to formalise, and in doing so, learned a lot about the mechanics of the body and how to motivate people. After my pregnancy I really wanted to get moving in a beneficial and safe way, but I found there was so much poor and conflicting advice out there. I started the MAMAWELL postnatal boot camp in 2017 as a way of getting fit, doing cardio and resistance training, but being mindful of the changes the body makes during pregnancy, for example in the core and pelvic floor. I wanted to create a community of women that would encourage & support each other, ensuring no-one was suffering alone in the postpartum period. After a year or so of creating workouts for private clients and classes, I knew my business was ready to grow so I decided to create The MAMAWELL Method – an online postnatal fitness programme. Women all over the world are accessing it and using it to give them strength, energy and information in this mentally and physically challenging time.

My mantra is ‘optimise your life’. I truly believe that once we are housed, fed and clothed our physical and mental wellness are the next most important things. Wellness & fitness go hand-in-hand to support this goal, we just have to find the right combination to suit our needs. Whether we need to be strong for an active job, be able to lift a baby 100 times a day, have a strong core and back for sitting straight in front of a computer, want to climb a mountain, or need our brain to be firing extra sharply – movement and strength from within can be the key. My aim for myself and my clients is to live pain-free as long as possible, and optimising our health and fitness to fit our goals is a priority. Dance for me is an added bonus, because it keeps me happy and inspired – two outcomes which will keep me moving long after any other physical goals have been met. It has been so inspiring to me as someone who has always danced, but is now slightly removed from this vocation, how relevant and useful all my dance teacher training has been. The discipline, technicality and ways of motivating others are utilised daily in my current work.

The support and training I received during my time at the RAD, plus my subsequent experiences seeing how well regarded it is in the wider community gives me no doubt that I made the right decision to further my training with the DDTS. I also feel that it is a qualification that will always be worth a lot and that the opportunities for continued growth are endless with the RAD. I found it very inspiring to know that this could be just the start of a long journey of continued learning throughout my life.