About
Our ethos at Momentum Performing Arts is to encourage students to be the best that they can be whether they are training for the professional industry or for the love of performing and fun that it brings.
Alana believes children gain valuable life skills from performing arts training, which will benefit them in all walks of life. Alana's hope is that every student improves in not only their ability, but also their confidence whilst keeping fit and making friends.
Momentum Performing Arts is an inclusive and non-judgemental community which encourages children and young people to explore the arts.
Momentum Performing Arts aims to provide a safe and positive atmosphere for students to reach their full potential and challenge themselves fearlessly.
Our Team
Our teaching staff are all professionally trained and qualified with experience in a variety of styles.
The safety of our students is of paramount importance to us.
Every staff member is checked under the PVG Scheme and a first aider is always on location.
Below is a brief introduction to our team.
Alana Grant
Principal
Momentum Performing Arts was founded by Alana Grant. Alana trained in performance from the age of two then continued on to full time professional training. She has training in Musical Theatre, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Commercial, Lyrical, Latin and Ballroom. Alana graduated with an HND in Musical Theatre at the age of 18 and continued her studies to achieve a BA (Hons) in dance. Alana took an interest in teaching from the young age of fifteen and learned from experienced teachers and choreographers from around the world. Alongside performing and teaching Alana continued her education to achieve a Level 3 ABT in Teaching.
Alana has been teaching for over 11 years working with students from age 3 to 60+. She has choreographed and produced shows with performers of varying abilities, ages and backgrounds both in the UK and Europe.
Alana is excited to be inspiring and training students to unlock their potential and push themselves fearlessly.
Brett De Vos
Film & TV Teacher
Born and raised in South Africa, Brett is now in the UK. Being a true global citizen has given him a unique point of view which is prevalent in all his work. Beyond all else Brett is interested in making work that aims at positively contributing to society and individuals, pushing forward toward a future that is more accepting, inclusive and connective. He has a particular interest and resonance with the underrepresented – those on the edges of the mainstream. His work, therefore, celebrates diversity, inclusion and above all our common humanity.
Whilst fluent in many styles, Brett flourishes in the space between documentary and fiction: working with real people to find and communicate powerful and universal truths and insights.
His work connects viscerally with the audience, engaging them emotionally and bringing them into the moment/scenario. His stories are simple and clear, leaving room for interpretation. Viewers are driven to look inward to fill in the gaps & assess what kind of stories they tell for themselves and what their place in the world is.
Coming from a background in both performance and cinematography, Brett knows how to work with performance whether it be stylised or authentic within a distinctive visual framework.
Brett works closely with ‘real people’ in his process: weaving authentic narratives stemming from the truth and the experiences of real-life people. One of his strengths is putting others at ease: allowing them to open up, finding a golden nugget of truth and insight to communicate to the viewers. This gives him a unique and clear narrative voice that is real and raw, while simultaneously subtlety layered with meaning through subtext and abstraction.
Brett enjoys working with Momentum Performing Arts creating films and documentaries with the upcoming creators.
Zoe Miller
Musical Theatre Teacher
Zoe began dancing and singing lessons at the age of 3 years. She has performed in many theatres throughout Scotland and has participated in numerous dance competitions. Zoe graduated from college at the age of 21 having studied dance and musical theatre for four years. After graduating Zoe furthered her education by obtaining her ISTD qualifications enabling her to teach dance.
Zoe successfully auditioned for Carnival Cruise Line and went on to travel as a singer dancer for five years and for her final two years she was promoted to Cast Manager.
Zoe has extensive experience of choreographing and teaching dance to a range of ages and she continues to perform with a dance troop which tours Scotland. She endeavours to keep up to date with current dance trends by attending workshops across the UK and USA.
One of Zoe’s greatest pleasures has been to choreograph a number of competition dance pieces for students who went on to achieve first place in both commercial and lyrical style dance.
Zoe loves to watch people grow and excel themselves. Her favourite quote is “Confidence is key. Whatever you do, don’t ever give up”.
Eilidh Smith
Acting & Performance Teacher
Eilidh has been passionate about the performing arts since a very young age. Her love grew from attending dance and youth theatre classes from the age of 4 years old. She strongly believes in the importance of encouraging young people into the arts as it provides them with a wide variety of transferable skills such as confidence and creativity.
Throughout her teenage years, Eilidh spent a lot of her time volunteering in both dance and drama classes which is what inspired her to pursue teaching. She finds it incredibly rewarding to give back the skills and knowledge that she has been taught onto the next generation of young creatives.
Eilidh graduated with a First Class BA (hons) Degree in Acting after training for three years in Edinburgh. Since then, Eilidh has been fortunate to work professionally within the industry giving her a range of experience and knowledge she hopes to pass on to the students. She particularly enjoys physical theatre, new writing, ensemble work and devising. Eilidh loves to learn new techniques and skills, so she continues to train professionally through various courses and workshops. This means the students are given up-to-date insights and knowledge into the performing arts industry.
Rebecca Cairns
Assistant
After studying musical theatre for 4 years, Rebecca graduated with a BA (Hons) degree right here in the heart of Edinburgh! Coming from a small village in the highlands Rebecca has always had a passion for performing.
Before moving to Edinburgh she was an assistant teacher at her dance school for a few years, this is where her passion for teaching started. Rebecca is working professionally in the industry and aims to pass on her knowledge that she is continuing to learn since graduating to the students of Momentum Performing Arts.
