Amy Gallagher – performing and teaching dance in the Caribbean and Europe

Amy Gallagher graduated in 2019. She has worked as a dance teacher, professional dancer, dance artist, and dance captain; for Club Med, Haven, TUI Magic Life and Mark Cameron Dance. She’s worked in the Caribbean in Guadeloupe and the Dominican Republic, and in Europe, in Greece, England and Scotland, as well as teaching for dance schools around Scotland.

Amy also has trained in Mental Health First Aid with Mental Health First Aid England, and has Zumba and Strong Nation Instructor Licenses.

Photo of woman with shoulder-length hair and wearing a polo neck top, smiling

What have been your career highlights or favourite moments so far?

Performing my first professional production show in Club Med Guadeloupe and working with the loveliest entertainment team at TUI Magic Life in Rhodes.

How did you feel when you got the news of your first job as a professional dancer or dance teacher?

I felt so lucky to have achieved a contract so early after graduating and eager to start travelling.

What is a typical day like for you?

Long!! At Magic Life we would begin rehearsals at 10 am and prepare costumes and props for the show in the evening. We would always have a team meeting at 12:30 and afterwards we would do rehearsals with the extended entertainment team.

After lunch I would teach one or two fitness classes to a group of guests. We would eat our meals as a big group of entertainers which was the best way to build connections and get to know each other!

We would get backstage 1.5 hours before the show to do make up, hair, warm up and get into costume. The shows lasted 45 minutes – 1 hour. Afterwards we would quickly pack up and get ourselves ready for the evening programme where we would go to the main bar to chat and dance with guests until 11:30pm

Do you have some audition tips for our full-time students about to graduate DFA College and embark on their careers…?

Build as many connections as you can! You won’t always be the best dancer in the room, but you can always be the kindest and the hardest working! It sounds so cheesy but as humans we always remember how a person makes us feel and first impressions count for a lot.

Come to an audition prepared, be kind, be polite and know if it doesn’t work out, it’s not the be all and end all – rejection is still part of the journey to success!

What advice you would give young dancers who are auditioning for dance college?

Remember the panel are looking for potential not perfection. Try and not compare yourself to anyone else in the room and soak up as much as you can from the day! Be grateful for every piece of feedback and breathe!

Thank you! Thinking back to your time at DFA College, what did you love most?

I loved the variety of styles we learnt as well as singing and musical theatre.

How did your training at DFA prepare you for life and work as a professional dancer and/or dance teacher?

Dancer en pointe, posing outside a building

I am so grateful for the variety of dance styles I studied at DFA, nothing really scares me anymore on a contract. If a choreographer needs a dance style that I haven’t done before, I know I can use my past experiences and knowledge and give it the best of my ability!

DFA also gave me the mindset to be able to adapt and pick up choreography quickly which is vital in a performing contract.