Neriah started at John Ruskin College in September 2007 teaching Dance and coordinating Enrichment Dance. Her enthusiasm and natural flare for teaching shone early as did her bubbly and quirky personality and passion. Over the years she spent at John Ruskin she managed to bring together young people with different personalities and abilities and create amazing dancers. Her students were all very different and only Neriah could bring them together under the banner of dance, friendship and determination. Many of these students attribute their success during college both academic and personal to her saying that they would not be where they are if not for her as a teacher, friend and cheerleader. Neriah was able to organise great shows, enabled students to take part in opportunities such as B Supreme at the South Bank, college events, Dance in Ilfracoombe in Devon. She was able to wrangle props and finances like no one else and believed in all her students. Neriah made many good friends and was also loved by staff running dance workshops and giving advice. She would light up every room and her laughter could be heard down the corridors. Her sense of style will be remembered fondly, the wool hats, gloves and scarf's she constantly wore became her uniform (she never liked the cold!). Neriah was an asset to the college taking dance and her students to new heights. As one door closed, another one opened in the form of Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation (CYTO)...Dee (Neriah) stepped through the doors at CYTO at the end of 2008 and her energy, passion and commitment engulfed the entire building and everyone in it! She transformed the dance programme both within CYTO and also took her expertise to young people across the borough. She worked with all sorts of young people including the Pupil Referral Units and the Young Offending Team - always getting outstanding results. Her favourite projects to work on though were the big shows that we did at CYTO, Sweet Charity, The Wiz, Our House to name but a few. Dee had an exceptional gift, she could make anyone dance! You could literally see the young people who were working with her grow in confidence and style!! She worked tirelessly on each individual child and would always work well beyond her hours to make sure everyone felt as good as they possibly could! Everyone who danced with her has been utterly infected by her positive outlook and joyous nature and her work and beautiful smile truly lives on in the hearts of all of us who had the delight of having Dee in our lives.