Talk of the town: Kim Findlay, Stagecoach Performing Arts, Croydon
By Alice Fuller
A dancer turned businesswoman defeated more than 300 people worldwide to win an award for her contribution to a performing arts school.
Kim Findlay, principal of Stagecoach Performing Arts Shirley in Croydon, was awarded the Franchisee of the Year Award at the recent annual Stagecoach Conference in Towcester, Northamptonshire.
Kim, who has been principal since 2015, said: “I am privileged to work with a great team of teachers at Stagecoach Shirley who are really dedicated to the students, who in turn are passionate about our classes.
“This award is a testament to all their hard work, and we look forward to building on our successes to date.”
The former actor and dancer from New Zealand turned her childhood passion for performance into a successful business.
She has grown Stagecoach Shirley from running a handful of weekly lessons to operating a packed timetable with more than eight classes a week.
She is now on track to double the size of the business in five years.
The students from Stagecoach Shirley have participated in West End performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre.
They were also part of a world record set for the largest number of simultaneous performances of one show when the Stagecoach network put on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in multiple locations across the world in July 2018.
Stagecoach Performing Arts Shirley is part of a network of more than 1,800 extra-curricular performing arts schools worldwide.
To find out more about Stagecoach Shirley, visit www.stagecoach.co.uk/shirley
