Oxford School of Dance has been inspiring the love of dance for 50 years.
History
Judith Coleman emigrated from England to Canada with her family in 1969, moving into Thamesford in 1970. The following year, a group of parents discovered her dance and teaching background and requested that she teach their children. In the Fall of 1971, the School began what would become the Oxford School of Dance with ten children at Thamesford Public School and subsequently at St. Johns Anglican Church. Mrs. Coleman limited the growth of the School while raising her own young family and also to fulfill teaching commitments outside of the school. In 1986, Mrs. Coleman moved to Ingersoll allowing the School to expand with classes in her home on Oxford Street and at St. James Anglican Church.
In 1996, Mrs. Coleman found a more permanent home for the School at the former offices of the Ingersoll Cheese Factory on Victoria Street. Mrs. Coleman influenced many fine students over the years who have related to how the focus, sense of dedication and hard work instilled in them, helped with academic studies leading to their chosen career path. Several of Mrs. Coleman’s former students have gone on to establish dance schools for themselves. Students have danced professionally for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and European companies. Over the many years, students have also attended professional ballet schools including the National Ballet School, Royal Winnipeg School, Quinte, Alberta Ballet School and the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Mrs Coleman passed on ownership of the school to Victoria Banman (ARAD, RAD RTS) in 2014. The school has been a home to so many dancers over the past 50 years and continues to be renowned for its strong Ballet and quality dance instruction.
Submitted by Judith Coleman