Teaching
Anna has years of experience in the dance sector, and is a Fellow of the IDTA.
Choreography
Anna is one of the North’s long standing professional female choreographers.
Adjudicating
Holding all Theatre branch Fellowships, she is well placed as a professional adjudicator.
Anna Olejnicki BA (Hons)
Fellow of International Dance Teachers Association
(Distinction in Ballet, ModernJazz, Tap, Theatrecraft & Freestyle)
Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher
Member Equity UK
Anna began her dance training at a local dance school in Doncaster, and began her professional career working as a dancer and choreographer for fashion shows and commercial events, after this she became a dance tutor before founding Hype Dance Company Limited, a dance education company in Sheffield in 2004.
Her work has taken her across the UK, and overseas, including regular work with Jennifer Weber (USA), Renegade Dance Theatre (Germany), and The Royal Ballet School here in UK.
Dance theatre credits include; You Hearing Me, Altered Equal, Routes, Dali’s Guest, Savage Beauty and short dance film Beautifully Savaged.
Her teaching work ranges from classes both syllabus and non, IDTA teacher training, professional mentoring, and work with the professionals of British Ice Skating Squad. She teaches Jazz and Ballet regularly within Hype Dance Company’s Academy in Sheffield.
In addition to teaching, Anna is an assessor for The Royal Academy of Dance on their Certificate of Ballet Teaching practical teaching module, a lecturer for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance and at Momentum Vocational College, London.
She is a festival adjudicator for the Theatre Dance Council International and Miss Dance, and registered teacher with the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Training.
Anna was shortlisted for an O2/Grazia Magazine Entrepreneur Award for innovation in business.
Teaching Dance & Mentoring
Anna has years of experience in the dance sector, and is a Fellow of the IDTA. The knowledge she has is invaluable and she regularly teaches, lectures and is a mentor to fellow dance professionals.
Anna has worked with many dance companies delivering educational work across many genres which include Danceworks UK, Robert Hylton Urban Classicism (UK), Decadance Theater (USA), Renegade Dance Theatre (Germany) and continues to work with the The Royal Ballet School Outreach & Access (UK) on their PRIMARY STEPS programme.
She is a registered teacher with the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT), and undertakes regular CPD training to develop her own knowledge and teaching practice.
Teaching
Anna teaches regularly within Hype Dance Company’s Academy in Sheffield, as lead Jazz dance tutor (IDTA and free work) and also as a guest for many schools, colleges and community groups across the country working with children, young people and adults. Her teaching work ranges from IDTA and RAD Syllabus classes, free work to support grade work, creative dance and choreography.
Anna established and taught on four programmes to develop local dancers: HeX – an intense week of hip hop dance, Hype-D a junior company to the professional one at Hype Dance Company and ACCENT a series of CPD for Yorkshire-based dance artists and ARC a pre-vocational training programme for local dancers aged 11-16. She is heavily rooted in educating in its widest sense, about dance – not just teaching.
Anna is a guest lecturer at Momentum Performing Arts College, and the ISTD in London.
Her close connection to the industry allows her to prepare people for the business, as well as further vocational training
Mentoring
Individual, personal mentoring can be arranged for any aspect of the dance sector, including;
- Teaching qualifications training with IDTA
- Running/establishing a company
- Creative approaches to teaching dance
- Freelancing in the dance sector
- Styling for dancer performances
- Teaching observations
- Life coaching
Mentoring can be arranged to suit each individual, face to face, on the phone, Skype with some people having regular contact, or others as and when they feel they need support and guidance. Group training can also be arranged.
Anna also offers private dance tuition for audition preparation, technique development, competition work and those looking to increase their knowledge alongside regular classes. These classes are held at Hype Dance in Sheffield.
She is part of The Royal Academy of Dance education faculty as a Practical Teaching Supervisor on the Certificate of Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS).
The life of a dance teacher can at times be so isolating – however, meeting and working with Anna has not only given me the opportunity to ask for advice but also to share good practice and develop me professionally
Choreography
Anna is one of the North’s long standing professional female choreographers – below are the most recent professional productions
Beautifully Savaged (Film)
Beautifully Savaged is a short dance film produced in partnership with Brett Chapman that highlights mental health pressures and was developed from the previous theatrical production.
This film is an essential resource to anyone working with people to unpick behaviours, thoughts and human responses to the things in daily life that can often result in self doubt.
Co-choreographers: Reo Kennedy & Chris Brayford, funded by Arts Council England.
A true depiction of the internal battle of mental health
Fashion Shows
Anna has been a commercial fashion stylist and choreographer for over 30 years.
Clients have included;
Leeds Corn Exchange, Jaguar Cars, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Whistles, Marshalls Yard Gainsborough, New Look, The University of Huddersfield Graduate show, Style Sheffield in 2017 & 2018, Sheffield Fashion Network.
Anna has worked with us over a number of years in many aspects of our business.
She is extremely hard working, a true professional, reliable, passionate and a great team member.
Dali’s Guest
Premiered at Barnsley Civic Theatre, December 2018
Dali’s Guest is an engaging collaboration of real life stories, dance, music and visual art inspired by the effects of cancer on the body and Surrealist visual art.
In 2015 Hype Dance received funding from Arts Council England to support 3 weeks of research and development for a new surreal Cabaret show.
Working alongside visual artists, dancers and choreographers the team explored ideas and issues that are close to the cancer patients we worked with. The show was developed into a full theatre production in 2019 featuring performer Joshua Hubbard alongside a community cast.
A heart-felt well done to everyone in Dali’s Guest for portraying the incredibly surreal “journey” through cancer with an impeccable performance.
Beautifully Savaged (Theatre)
Premiered Victoria Works, Sheffield in June 2019
This one-woman show looks at the battles of self image and mental health, through boxing and contemporary movement.
The show was developed after in depth consultation with young people, especially women and explores identity, belonging and frustration.
Very effective and emotional – choreographed wonderfully! Eye opening, creative and very on point…
Savage Beauty
Premiered at Pavillion Dance South West, May 2015
Savage Beauty is an outdoor performance produced by Hype Dance Company in collaboration with Ingle Boxing Gym and Spin Arts Management.
Inspired by the lives of world champion boxers, professional dancers and boxers meet in the ring to fuse Ingle Gym’s footwork patterns with contemporary hip-hop dance theatre.
Through high-energy and hard-hitting movement combined with the melodic rhythm of fists connecting with leather, the show exposes the guidance, influences and stories from Ingle Gym.
With moving voiceover from world renowned trainer, Bendan Ingle, the work hits you where you least expect it.
FANTASTIC performance! Great to see the sport of boxing transformed into the art of dance
Funded by Arts Council England.
Mode:DEFAULT
Premiered Festival of the Mind, Sheffield, September 2016
A commission from Festival of The Mind, Sheffield, to create a piece of dance theatre based on research findings from Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) on Alzheimer’s disease.
The research from SiTran has been used as a stimulus to create something that aims to physicalise some areas of the research, and present them in an abstract, inspiring, engaging way.
It was exactly how Dementia is – it brought back memories of my Mum. Thank you…
Funded by Festival of the Mind, The University of Sheffield.
Adjudicating
Holding all Theatre branch Fellowships, Anna is well placed as a professional adjudicator
Anna provided a very professional yet fabulously friendly and enthusiastic manner during her adjudication time at our festival. She played a key role in creating a great atmosphere and allowed all performers to experience an enjoyable festival. I would not hesitate to invite her back.
Anna is registered with the TDCI for their championships, and the IDTA for Miss Dance and Master Dance heats, and welcomes the opportunity to watch the incredible regional talent who are all competing to take part in these events.
She enjoys being part of the many dance festivals organised across the country as an adjudicator.
She makes all performers feel welcome and enjoys seeing the results of young people’s hard work with their dance teachers. An important part of this work is to balance giving feedback that’s relevant to both the performer and teacher to make any improvements for next time. She always offers encouragement both during performance and on written reports to support this.
We were very impressed with her professionalism in her delivery of conduct. Her extent of knowledge in all disciplines of dance was exceptional and the children responded very well to her comments. Miss Olejnicki was very well presented and a pleasure to have at our festival.
Clients
Anna has worked with a diverse range of clients including;
- British Association of Teachers of Dancing (BATD)
- British Ice Skating
- Derby University
- Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD)
- Momentum College of Performing Arts, London
- Morton Gledhill Agency
- The Royal Ballet School – PrimarySteps
- The University of Huddersfield
- Yellow Bus Events
- You & Us Events
The word can’t doesn’t exist in Anna’s vocabulary. She’ll do anything and everything to teach dance and help pupils believe in their own abilities – with a little bit of fun along the way!
Get in touch
Fill out the contact form below to make an enquiry
Address
c/o Hype Dance Company
60 Upper Allen St
Sheffield
S3 7GL