Fay Williams

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background etc?

My name is Fay, and I’ve danced for around 14 years, so like majority of my life and I've always knew it was something that I wanted to do as a career. Dance was always a family thing, my nana always pushed us to dance, and she bought me my first pair of tap shoes and took me to class and from there I’ve just loved it. I started out with tap and ballet, and it wasn't really for me to be honest - it was very competitive, and I changed it freestyle and I still do freestyle now, but then I got back into tap and ballet when I went to college. I also studied dance at GCSE level and that really got me into dance as well and I knew that I want to continue it when I left, so I started looking around, just looking at different courses to see what was available and then I decided on Newcastle College.

How did you hear about Newcastle College? Did you attend an Open Day prior to starting at the College? If so, did you find it useful?

A lot of people at school were going to the open event and I just asked someone, ‘can I come with you?’, and I think it was on the day of the open event and they said yes so, I just went with them. I had looked online at the courses that the College did, and I thought maybe they'll do performance, because I actually had no idea. I knew I wasn't going to stay on and do my A-Levels because it wasn’t for me because I’m not very academic.

I remember speaking to tutors and hearing all about the course - it was so helpful.

What made you decide to come to the college and enrol on the course you selected?

It was probably the open event and speaking to the tutors, it sounded really exiting and something that I would definitely want to do. I got told I’d have to audition and that was something new because I’ve never done that before, but I did it and was successful so that was really good.

How would you describe the advice and support you received from college and your tutors? Have you had any support for our Central Support Team – Pastoral support?

It was really good, we have one-to-one meetings all the time with college, I think it was every term or every half term and it was always like asking like how you're doing, talk about the grades that we're getting, whether we're happy or not and they would actually would always put us first and always listen if something was not right. I always felt like I could tell them how I really felt because I knew something would change from it.

Do you have any tutors who have industry experience? If so, how has this helped you?

All of my tutors have industry experience, and it was really helpful. We had guest choreographers from the industry in every week and we had like an industry week at the end of every half term. They always let us do a question and answer at the end of every session so we could ask about their experiences etc which helped us prepare for the future.

Did you look into financial support available from the college? If so what were they and how did they help?

No

Have you overcome any challenges while on your course? If so how has the college helped you?

I would say yes, I was quite shy when I started the College and I would always stand at the back of the class and try shy away but all the people in my class were so encouraging (both the tutors and my friends) – we all have such a good relationship and we would really support each other and that massively increased my confidence. Each class would have its own challenges for example, we’d be doing a dancing class and then split into smaller groups and that would make my nerves go crazy and my heart would beat out of my chest but then everyone would be clapping and cheering, and it would make me feel so proud or even standing at the front of the class. As well, I ended up getting a small solo in the first show so that was definitely a challenge but I’m so happy I was able to do it.

What do you/did you enjoy most about your course?

In April I went to St Lucia with the College and that's definitely like the biggest highlight of the two years. We got to be involved in a production with a guy called Mox and it was open to the whole island. He taught us some Afrobeat's dancing, which only two of us had done, so we were really nervous to do it in front of the crowd. We had so many lovely beach days as well – it was amazing. Absolutely insane.

How do you feel that the course has/is benefitting you?

It’s given me all the skills that I need to progress, whether that's higher education or to start auditioning. It has made me try so many new things and I feel quite prepared to go into industry

Have you done any work experience or a work placement as part of your course?

We danced for the Eagles basketball team as work experience and we supported the players, we carried the flags out on the pitch, and we were interacting with some of the audience for example, some of the younger members would be take photos and would be dancing along on the side-lines with us – it was so sweet. With it not being on a stage it was so different for everyone, so it was good to be given that opportunity too.

What would you like to do when you finish your course? Would you consider studying a degree at Newcastle College University Centre?

In September I’m going to do the HE degree course for dance at Newcastle College University Centre. I auditioned for a few places, some schools in London, but I had sort of made the decision I didn't want to move away but I knew I wanted to keep dancing and that I wanted a degree. The University Centre was just the best choice for me.

What are your ambitions for the future?

My biggest dream is to dance in Disney. I feel like after my degree I’ll be ready to move away from home and if I got it, I don’t think I could pass up an opportunity so big.

What would you say to anyone thinking of studying a course with Newcastle College?

It's definitely something you should look forward to because Newcastle College opened so many doors and it always pushes you to be the best you can be. Don't give up when things get hard, because the course will have so many ups and downs - mine definitely did, but everyone's always there if you need to ask for help, there's always someone willing to help, even if it's a friend or a tutor they’ve always got a door open.

Top tips

1. Be yourself – don’t let other people influence change you
2. Be prepared for anything and be on time – my tutors always used to say 15 minutes early is on time and on time is always late
3. Put yourself first because at the end of the day, it's your career, so don't do something, just cause somebody else is
4. Make each moment count – two years will fly by
5. Always wear your lanyard because you won’t get far without it!