My Passion with Sarah Maylor: Choreographer who learned how to put her best foot forward

I've loved dancing since I was three when my mother signed me up for ballet, tap and modern dance lessons.

The stage became like a second home to me as I was always performing in various dancing shows and pantomimes.

At the age of 11, I tried my hand at amateur dramatics and joined Southport Operatic New Generation. The group put on two performances a year at Southport Arts Centre and I loved every minute of it. As a teenager, I even danced in a few semi-professional shows in Liverpool. I took a break from the stage while I was at university in Staffordshire but took it up again during my training contract in Liverpool.

When I came to Sheffield, I decided to join Southey Musical Theatre Company. It's a very social group which organises lots of charity events throughout the year.

A few months ago, we completed the 10-mile Dronfield Rotary Walk and raised more than 1,200. Half of the money went to the theatre group, which allows us to continue putting on performances and the other

half was donated to Bluebell Wood Hospice.

The theatre group was founded in 1935 which makes it one of Sheffield's oldest amateur dramatics companies. We perform a show at the Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield every November and I have been the choreographer for the past three years.

I have choreographed some brilliant shows including Carousel, Some Like it Hot and Summer Holiday. The last show was very demanding with lots of numbers to choreograph – 22 Cliff Richard songs no less. It took a lot of time and energy but it was worth it by the time we went on stage in November.

I had help from another member of Southey, Rosie Southwick, who has a similar background in dance to me. It takes up quite a lot of time with company rehearsals on Tuesday, principal rehearsals on Thursday and an evening a week to choreograph the dances. It needs a lot of planning and drawing trying to place 35 people on a stage in a way that doesn't look like they've all just been shoved on there.

My mother's a teacher and I seem to have inherited her "playground voice" which comes in handy when everyone's talking at the same time.

The amateur groups in Sheffield are generally having a hard time of it at the moment, with the economy being what it is. However, I hope that people remember that some of the amateur productions can be as practised and entertaining as some of the professional shows at a fraction of the cost.

I feel like I've found a home in Sheffield and I have the people at Southey MTC and Halliwells to thank for that. I really enjoy working with such talented and lovely people and I hope I'll be performing with Southey for many years to come.