08/10/2026
MEET MISS ZOË🩷
…the driving force behind Strickland Cook Theatre School. ✨
Miss Zoë’s love of dance began at just 2 years old, when she started training with her mum, Pamela Strickland. By the age of 16, she had gained Distinctions in all her IDTA & RAD examinations, become West Yorkshire and North of England Champion in Ballet, Tap & Modern, and reached the finals of Miss Dance of Great Britain.
Her passion for performing soon took her beyond the competition stage, with leading roles in productions including Annie, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Me & My Girl, Crazy for You and many more.
At just 16, Miss Zoë successfully auditioned for the prestigious Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, where she trained for three years and graduated with Distinction. During that time she performed in the Royal Variety Performance 1992, working alongside choreographers Arlene Phillips and Anthony Van Laast, appeared on Belgian television and performed alongside David Essex in Robinson Crusoe.
Her professional career then took her around the world for 10 years, performing with Princess Cruises, Costa Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Premiere Cruises and Phantasialand Germany.
After her professional performing career, Miss Zoë returned to West Yorkshire, gained her IDTA teaching qualifications and began teaching at Bradford Grammar School and Fulneck School, as well as working as a choreographer for Pulse Radio Station’s Roadshows and Party in the Park.
Then, in 2001, came the beginning of the Strickland Cook Theatre School we know today.
Miss Zoë joined her mum in the school and, by the end of that year, had opened her own studios in Halifax Town Centre. Over 25 years later, we’re still here! 💗
Since then, Miss Zoë has built the school into the wonderful community it is today, with students achieving TDCI national and regional championship titles and finals, World Performer finalists, IDTA Theatre Awards nominees, finalists and winners, Ken Dodd Award winners, Classique de Danse winners and nominees and Carl Alan winners and finalists as well as going on to train at top London theatre schools and work professionally in the West End and around the world.
Among the many highlights have been The Miss Dance of Great Britain Winner 2016 and the Classique de Danse Young Performer Winner 2021. 🏆
Miss Zoë has also co-choreographed Huddersfield Light Opera Company’s annual pantomime for 25 years, giving so many of our students the opportunity to perform on stage each year, and has choreographed productions including Cats, Shrek, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
She has twice received the prestigious IDTA John Knight Fellowship of the Year Award, in 2022 for Fellowship Ballet and again in 2025 for Fellowship Theatre Craft.
She is an experienced adjudicator, regularly judging festivals and competitions across the country, and in summer 2025 reached another very special milestone when she was appointed an IDTA Examiner. 🩰
But for all the awards, achievements and accolades, there is something that Miss Zoë is most proud of:
Creating a happy, safe and friendly environment for hundreds of children over the years. ❤️
And we think that says everything about what Strickland Cook Theatre School is all about.
🌟 SHOWCASE 2026 🌟
As we get ready for our Showcase, we asked Miss Zoë:
🎭What are you most looking forward to?
Seeing all our beautiful students having a wonderful time on the stage and seeing all their hard work come together.
💞And what is her advice for our dancers?
Just to enjoy every minute and make lots of very special memories!
And after more than four decades in the world of dance, we think those are pretty perfect words from the lady who has dedicated so much of her life to giving young dancers the opportunity to do exactly that. ✨
We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know a little more about the people who make Strickland Cook so special.
And finally, a huge thank you to Miss Zoë, for the years of dedication, passion and love she has poured into the school, and for creating a place where so many children can learn, grow, perform and make memories.
Now it’s time for our dancers to take centre stage… Showcase 2026, here we come! 🌟
