Rhythm Mix Dance Academy was established in 2004 by Lucy Manston, previous to RMD Lucy was a Dance Teacher at Feet First which was also a very successful dance school in Dorset.

When the principle of Feet First retired, the Upton and Parkstone classes were handed down to Lucy and that was when Rhythm Mix was born! 22 years on and the Upton and Parkstone classes are still running successfully!

As well as Upton and Parkstone, Lucy also opened up classes in Verwood, Kinson and Alderney.  As the classes grew and became very popular Lucy wanted to expand RMD and in 2006 Gemma White joined the school. Gemma had a previous dance history and was also studying Dance at University. In April 2007 Gemma took her Associate Freestyle Dance examination and helped teach the classes whilst Lucy was on maternity leave. Gemma then decided to open her own classes in the Wareham, Sandford and Bere Regis areas.

With each year that passed the dance school was growing more popular with many of the dancers starting at a young age and staying on through their teen years. Some of these dancers have progressed to becoming teachers themselves and expanded the dance school further. 

Hannah Perry qualified as a teacher in 2015 and taught the Upton classes and Alice Jones in 2016 and taught the Wareham and Parkstone classes.

Over the years, members of RMD have the opportunity to participate in an annual dance show that raises money for different charities either local or linked to a member of RMD. Over the past 10+ years, we are proud to say we have have raised over £10,000 for charities such as Piam Brown Ward, D-Code, LEAF, PHAUK, Brain Tumour Charity UK, Gully’s Place, CAMMS, Poole Charity Trust, Julia’s House, Naomi’s House, Cystic Fibrosis UK, Mosaic and Dementia UK.

Each year the show has a theme, previous shows include:

2005: 80’s 

2006: Disney

2007: 90’s

2008: Musicals

2009: Songs of Colour

2010: Songs of Names

2011: Motown

2012: Songs of Places

2013: Big Reunion

2014: Glee

2015: Never Forget (about an upcoming girl group of dancers who get caught up in fame)

2016: Once Upon A Time (Journey through different fairy tales as a little girl tries to find her way back home)

2017: Dance Through Time (Group of friends travel through time to learn about different eras of dance)

2018: Hudson St. Home For Girls – based on the 1982 and 2014 films, Annie

2019: Ease On Down – based on the 1978 film The Wiz and 2015 live version

2020: The Bare Necessities – Sadly got cancelled due to covid!

2022: A Night At The Movies – a celebration of the arts and our favourite musicals

2023: Music Legends – a celebration of amazing music legends

2024: Our 20th Anniversary celebration