TNA Family

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Zaynah started at TNA, under the principal Miss Tia, towards the end of 2020. They were based in Digbeth which was ideal because it was local to me. So we used to walk it there and then I used to go up the road to moms studio and wait for her to finish.  At this time I was walking unaided but still a little wobbly so this was a perfect location. Zaynah enjoyed commercial dance which was probably because she had attended Sticky Toffee street dance classes before TNA, for about a year from the age of four.


First TNA Dance.

Towards the end of the year Miss Tia saw the temporary closure of the dance studio due to COVID.  The lockdown wasn't in affect yet, but there was no mingling, so they couldn't have an audience for the Christmas show. Classes still went ahead via zoom, which was good and bad for various reasons. They had worked so hard for the show and we were sad nobody could go a see it. They did however broadcast it via zoom but like with the classes it had some down points. Zaynah was awarded Best singer by Charm who was the schools singing teacher. This made me so proud and she was very happy and excited.


 
Then in April 2021 Miss Tia was forced to permanently move TNA from Digbeth as the studios were planned for other developments. Also the area became a Clean Air Zone which meant certain cars have to pay a penalty to enter the area.  Some people without compliant vehicle's would have to pay approx. £800 per year in charges. The new location was King Edwards School, Edgbaston which was further away and we needed to get buses. 

I was noticing that even though I was still managing to navigate the transport without falling over it was getting more challenging especially coming home without Zaynah, after dropping her off.  Also on Thursdays I stayed and waited the two hours for her to finish, so with going to work, getting Zay to dance and not getting home until after 9pm, it was a really long day for me. The tiredness had a knock on effect for the rest of the week and that meant I was getting increasingly more unsteady. 

Then in August the school was set to move again, even further away in Bartley Green. I think this location gave Miss Tia the opportunity to grow the school because it was a church hall, so not only could the fees be lowered but it meant private lessons etc could be offered.

I could not see a way to get Zaynah there, consistently and this possibly meant the end of Zaynah's dancing dreams. TNA is a family with a no man left behind policy and I was overwhelmed with the support to keep Zaynah as part of the team.  Enter my saviour, Jenny, who's daughter is also a member of TNA. As It wouldn't be going massively out of her way to collect and drop off Zaynah so it seemed like the ideal arrangement. Especially since Summer is Miss Tia's sister so chances are she will always be going to dance. I would still do the dance run occasionally on the times Jenny couldn't, but only on Saturday's which was the long day.

However this was not TNA's forever home and Miss Tia had her sights set on remaining in Bartley Green just further up the road at a different King Edwards school. I think it might have been based there before moving to central Birmingham.  This time Jenny could do the full run on Mondays but could only bring her home on Saturdays. Which meant I would need to get her there on Saturday mornings. The only problem I was experiencing back ache, my legs randomly gave way and I was experiencing an overactive bladder. Which meant I literally went just before we left out when we got into town after about 20 mins and I was bursting by the time I got to dance. The issue I faced was getting back home without wetting myself especially if the bus was running late. My mom had already taken over the school run for me as me health worsened, so she could see I was struggling and offered to do Saturday morning's dance run. I still went with Jenny on Monday's and after dropping the girls off we went to Sainsbury's for a bit of a shop but sometimes to eat in the café and have a wee.

Now everything was all settled Zaynah could concentrate on comps, ballet exams and the next Christmas show.  Zaynah has found another set of people who love her and she loves them.



Tap Competition 2023


Triple Threat Award given at 2022 Christmas show








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