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Nicky Bentley |
Pioneer of dance who taught stars
NICKY Bentley, a dance teacher and choreographer to the stars who worked from a Covent Garden studio for more than 25 years, has died aged 48.
She was best known for developing her own inimitable style of street jazz, attracting a wide variety of students to her classes at the Pineapple Studios and choreographing artists including Cliff Richard, S Club 7, Lulu and the Sugababes.
Bentley was born in Bristol before journeying to London in the 1980s. She cut her teeth under the erstwhile Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips and kept teaching, despite obvious discomfort, right until her death from cancer.
Her deputy Mark James, who carries on her legacy by teaching the same street jazz classes at the studios, says she will go down in history as a pioneer. While he said it would be improvident to name names, there are more than a few “wooden legged” celebrities who can be grateful to Bentley for making them look fleet-footed in a music video dance routine.
Former students will miss the diminutive dancer for her offbeat humour and (in)famous Christmas-themed classes, where she would insist on everyone dressing up before carrying on the party at nearby Cosmos restaurant. It wasn’t unheard of for her raucous routines to continue through to dessert. A huge Michael Jackson fan, Bentley was a face at many of Covent Garden’s eateries, nipping across to Frank’s in Neal Street for a pre-class bacon sandwich and finishing off her sessions with a burger and cigarette in Maxwell’s.
Other notable Pineapple alumni include Status Quo and Hayley Westenra, both of whom were subjected to her sweat-inducing dress code – legwarmers and dance pants on top of Lycra.
Bentley was a keen antiques enthusiast. She was a familiar face in the Surrey antiques shops near where she lived, and it was a brave person who interrupted her favourite armchair viewing, the Antiques Roadshow. Bentley is survived by her composer husband Mark Sayer-Wade, and her four children Tobias, Joshua, Storm and Fabian.
JAMIE WELHAM |
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Your comments:
She was a fantastic teacher... will be greatly missed.
Anita
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