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 After an early taste of dance aged eight to ten following his older sister to dance classes and a love affair with football during his teens, Andy followed up dance education rather late when aged 20 he auditioned for Millennium Dance in Hampstead. However, his passion for dance stayed with him all the way while growing up in the 90s. He developed a passion for Hip Hop and taught himself how to pop, break and wave, watching Michael Jackson videos repeatedly. By 15 Andy had a reputation as Hip Hop master at his school and started an enormously successful lunchtime class, which inspired his increasing interest in choreography. By 18 he was choreographing for school productions and various national shows and had established his own dance company, Urban Strides. He has performed as a backing dancer with various artists on The Smash Hits Tour, has been the principal dancer with international Hip Hop group Culture Shock Dance Troupe UK and worked with video choreographers for Justin Timberlake, Will Smith and others. One of his recent projects was the latest Hip Hop workout DVD Phat Moves. Sylvia Boerner caught up with him on one of his very rare days off
Realising he needed a “proper foundation” to his profession, “the science behind the art”, he auditioned for Millennium Dance. He turned up to the audition as a so-called “Hip-Hop dancer”, he remembers, with his tracksuits and trainers and was taken aback when asked to take them off for classical ballet training. “In my boxers?” was his astonished question. “The teachers naturally assumed I was wearing tights underneath!” he laughs. Despite that, he was taken on and offered a three-year scholarship.
Now his days consist of two hours of ballet training every morning followed by one and a half hours of contemporary and jazz, singing and acting amongst other subjects. Additionally, he still continues to run his dance business Urban Strides providing and teaching dance workshops in schools and communities around the UK for people from various backgrounds, ages and abilities as well as master classes. His latest project is choreographing and directing a new musical — Wonderland — and all that at the tender age of 23.
 What makes him do it? “I love enthusing people,” he says. “If I can inspire someone to become more confident in themselves, which so often happens by dancing, this is more important to me than money. The question I ask myself repeatedly is ‘Once I’m gone, how many people will be happier because I was born?’”
Despite always having extra work and a full schedule, he never stops looking for more, he says. “I saw this advertisement in The Stage, in which they were looking for dancers who could choreograph as well as teach. I went to the audition, wasn’t considered right for that particular job, but got called back after having had my Hip Hop moves filmed! It turned out, that Banana Split Productions were also looking for someone to front a DVD called Phat Workout. I thought ‘Why not?’”
“As I like to give people skills, it made perfect sense to me to break the moves down, and explain them step by step, so people could learn them, follow them accurately and then exercise properly. That’s why it was eventually called Phat Moves instead of Phat Workout.”
 His heart, however, is in Hip Hop and performing. “I have too many ideas,” he says, “this is why I got into the choreography side, which I love, too.” The mix of both and passing his knowledge and skills on, sharing it in his teaching, he considers an interesting learning curve. In his role as a teacher, he acts more like a mentor, he says. “People would come to my workshops repeatedly, and so a kind of relationship establishes. These people see me as a channel for professional work, I give them advice on courses, classes and possibilities that I know of through my involvement in the scene.
Andy’s love to nurture and pass his passion on, to enthuse and to inspire, might at some point in the future also lead him onto other things. He can imagine taking a step back out of the limelight and doing something like talent-spotting, he says.
Andy seems extremely driven and ambitious, but to a very healthy, content degree. “I haven’t set myself any time limits to achieve certain things,“ he says. “I set myself smaller goals and am happy with that. What I want most from myself is to keep doing what I’m doing and improving continuously. I believe in karma — good things will happen if you’re patient and prepared to let them happen. All you need is a bit of good luck and good preparation. This is what I’m doing at the moment. His positive, energetic, genuine outlook on life radiates enormous contentment. “I guess I was lucky, I’ve had such loving parents and a happy home.” Surely his parents must be equally happy with him.
Andy’s Phat Moves DVD is available now in all good stockists. Alternatively, call the order line number on 0870 787 043, and quote Phat Moves.
Review
 Phat Moves, which has been specifically designed to teach the latest street moves and tone the body at the same time, lives up to its promises. While divided in various sections (warm-up, level 1, level 2, cool-down) and a number of extra instructional information and tips in the form of text) making it a professionally structured fitness video, it uses funky choreography to teach moves ranging from Old Skool Hip Hop to the latest urban dance moves. These are individually introduced and explained in slow motion by choreographer Andy Instone and later put together into a small routine within each section. With a running time of 70 minutes this DVD provides a real body workout for anyone interested in doing some shaping up and burning calories at home as well as a good base of funky Hip Hop movement material.
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