British Ice Skating Qualified Level 2 coach. Ice Dance TS Choreographer
Experience teaching all
Instagram: @hannahhetebrij_iceskatingcoach
A Little About My Skating and Coaching History, and My Core Teaching Values...
I’m a fully qualified coach with British Ice Skating and I’ve been teaching since 2010, which has past in a flash as I love what I do! I have previously worked at both Peterborough (where I also trained competitively) and at my childhood home rink and most recent training g
round of Bracknell until it closed its doors permanently during the first lockdown of the pandemic. In the time I have been coaching I have worked with skaters of all ages and abilities, from tiny tots where I’ve got down on my hands and knees to help them learn the fundamentals of skating through imaginative role play, to those pursuing a new hobby in the golden years of their retirement, many of whom enjoy the physical and mental challenges of learning not only to skate but to dance either solo or waltz in dance hold with me. Likewise I have worked with every age in between: primary school children, teenagers, university students, yummy mummies, sporty daddies, couples learning together, professional business people and more, including skaters with additional physical, emotional and/or educational needs. Many of my past skaters have been competitive, others have been doing it “just for fun” or even as part of their academic examinations and other extra curricular awards such the Duke of Edinburgh; whatever their motivation I value all my students equally and strive to help each of them find what it is that they are looking for from skating (more on this later). I took my first skating lesson back in 2001 and instantly fell in love with the ice, there is no place I am happier, and competitions were my favourite part of all (although the Christmas show and any exhibition where I had the opportunity to perform are fondly memorable highlights too)!... I’d skate before school, come back again after school and be there both days of the weekend (I’m very grateful for my parents support and encouragement to enable this to happen)! Now as a coach I love to see the same joy for skating felt by the skaters I teach: I know how wonderful and unique that gliding feeling is, I’ve always said my blades are my wings that let me fly and be free, and it is my aim to help others access this same amazing sensation! My specialist area is ice dance: as a skater I competed up to senior level both with a partner and solo; I retired from competitions on a high in 2019 after placing on the rostrum at the British Championships (the video is of me performing my free dance at the event last July). However I had also previously competed successfully in national competitions in free skating and had the opportunity to train with a junior level synchro team in order to further my coaching versatility. I have been lucky enough to coach skaters across all three disciplines and take competitors to national championships in each of them; similarly many of my previous skaters have achieved national test passes in multiple disciplines and performed solo routines in gala events and shows. Off the ice I have trained in numerous dance styles including ballet, jazz, ballroom and Latin American and also have school drama qualifications, all of which I feel have enhanced not only my own skating but also my coaching. As well as teaching the technical side, choreography is one of my favourite parts of what I do: I take great pride in helping skaters find a way to express themselves and their music on the ice if this is something they are interested in. I also really enjoy the challenge of creating group and show pieces. I have many values and philosophies that I incorporate into my teaching, however I have three key ones are that I would consider the core of my coaching:
Firstly I work with the individual skater in front of me and adapt my style to suit them. Not everyone who takes skating lessons have Olympic dreams, of course some will be aiming to become champions, but others will be learning to skate for other reasons, be it to learn the basics so they can enjoy the public session safely, for health and exercise, to challenge themselves by conquering a new skill and gain self confidence or as a way to socialise and expand their circle of friends (the skating community is very welcoming!). When I work with a skater I take time to find out and understand their aims and ambitions with skating, I then formulate a plan to help them achieve these. As a coach I believe I have a duty to think, see and map progression goals in the short, middle and long term in order to enable skaters to reach their full potential, and I have a responsibility to communicate my tuition in a way that it is both clear and effective whilst also managing expectations at different stages of development (learning to skate well is a process that takes time). However I also considered it important to have good rapport with my students and to make my teaching style enjoyable in a way that relates appropriately to the age and development of the skater I am working with, after all to fall in love with skating you need to have fun and enjoy being on the ice, and the more you enjoy it the more time you’ll want to spend practicing, and in turn the more opportunity you will then have to achieve your goals! In order to appeal to auditory, visual and kinaesthetic learners my teaching style involves a combination of explanation, demonstration and physical doing in the form of positioning and exercises for the skater to perform that will develop and progress their skills being taught; I continually assess the student in front of me to decide how best to proportion each element of this. My second grounding philosophy is that the basics need to be taught really well, therefore this is not a stage I will ever rush through. Fundamentally when a student goes to a coach for a lesson they should expect high quality tuition whereby skills are taught correctly, I firmly feel getting the basics right is essential to achieve this in the most beneficial way possible. What I have found in my years of teaching so far is: whilst fast tracking talent is important, the best way to do so is through creating a strong understanding and grasp of the foundation, as only from this knowledge can the more complex skills be achieved successfully when the skater is ready to do so. Likewise even those that find skating a bit more challenging can go further than they might have believed if they build from that same solid foundation. I have even worked closely with hockey skaters who wished to develop their skating skill and blade control in order to enhance their game. My final core coaching philosophy is that I will always try to further expand my own knowledge and keep learning from the skating, sport’s science and dance/performance world around me so I can continue to give my students the most relevant, up-to-date and beneficial information. One of the most significant ways I am doing this is through my current training to become qualified as a national ice dance technical specialist, with the rules and schools of thought changing continuously being on top of the most recent information is essential to this. However when all of this is said and done, at the heart of my coaching is my love for this beautiful and rewarding sport! I’m so excited to help the skaters of Cambridge find their glide and fall in love with the ice too!
06/06/2026
Congratulations to Emilie and Birgitta of Cambridge’s adult free skaters who represented our rink at the London Adult Figure Skating Club’s “Skills Competition” on Saturday the 6th of June, collectively they had a highly successful afternoon, bringing home medals in every category they competed.
The ladies, who both usually compete at Silver level in adult competition, went head to head in the Free Skate Silver/Gold class and secured the top 2 places, with Emilie awarded the gold medal 🥇 and Birgitta the silver 🥈!
Birgitta also entered the Artistic Exhibition event and earned her second silver medal of the day in this category with her swish interpretation of Frank Sinatra’s famous “That’s Life”.
Well done again to both ladies! ⛸️⭐️
Birgitta is taught by myself and Emilie is team taught by and myself.
09/05/2026
Test Scores Galore!🌟⛸️
The start of 2026 has been a prosperous time for my students moving through the British Ice Skating test levels
…
Firstly congratulations to two of my competitive solo ice dancers who achieved test scores equal to and above their competition level at the first two events of the year. 🌟
Next congratulations my skaters who achieved competitive test score at the Slough Solo Ice Dance Qualifier, with an excellent haul of no less than 12 competitive test passes from 4 skaters (several skaters achieved multiple levels). 🌟
Likewise congratulations to Sophia who competed in Sheffield at the BIS National 5 Open (free skating), in only her second competition at National 5 she successfully achieved her remaining competitive test score of the level. 🌟
Competitive Test Pass
Sophia - National 5 Technical Elements
…
An equally big congratulations to my students who have successfully earned their skills test levels through virtual submission.🌟
Likewise congratulations to my skaters who passed their tests the in person test session at Cambridge Ice Arena on April the 8th: 🌟
Skills
Monika - Level 2
Emilie - Level 5
…
Next congratulations to Aarya who achieved her Basic Novice Pattern Dance competitive test pass at the British Ice Skating Solo Ice Dance Celebration in Sheffield. 🌟
Competitive Test Pass
Aarya - Basic Novice Pattern Dance
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Finally congratulations to Melinda who achieved her Chinese dance levels whilst home over the Easter holidays.
Melinda - Chinese Ice Dance Level 3
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Congratulations and thank you also to my colleagues with whom I team tea
09/05/2026
Test Scores Galore!🌟⛸️
The start of 2026 has been a prosperous time for my students moving through the British Ice Skating test levels
…
Firstly congratulations to two of my competitive solo ice dancers who achieved test scores equal to and above their competition level at the first two events of the year. 🌟
Next congratulations my skaters who achieved competitive test score at the Slough Solo Ice Dance Qualifier, with an excellent haul of no less than 12 competitive test passes from 4 skaters (several skaters achieved multiple levels). 🌟
Likewise congratulations to Sophia who competed in Sheffield at the BIS National 5 Open (free skating), in only her second competition at National 5 she successfully achieved her remaining competitive test score of the level. 🌟
Competitive Test Pass
Sophia - National 5 Technical Elements
…
An equally big congratulations to my students who have successfully earned their skills test levels through virtual submission.🌟
Likewise congratulations to my skaters who passed their tests the in person test session at Cambridge Ice Arena on April the 8th: 🌟
Skills
Monika - Level 2
Emilie - Level 5
…
Next congratulations to Aarya who achieved her Basic Novice Pattern Dance competitive test pass at the British Ice Skating Solo Ice Dance Celebration in Sheffield. 🌟
Competitive Test Pass
Aarya - Basic Novice Pattern Dance
…
Finally congratulations to Melinda who achieved her Chinese dance levels whilst home over the Easter holidays.
Melinda - Chinese Ice Dance Level 3
…
Congratulations and thank you also to my colleagues with whom I team teach many of these skaters.
03/05/2026
Wishing all our skaters who will be sitting academic exam in the coming weeks the greatest success and achievement! 🍀 Remember whilst it may feel daunting at this moment you have experience of working under pressure, you know the value of preparation and practice and you’ve focussed to overcome challenges many times before.
03/05/2026
A fun filled afternoon with some of our solo ice dance squad members celebrating a busy and successful 25/26 season! Thank you all for joining us today! 🙂
27/04/2026
Skating into the International Synchro Scene!! ⛸️👯♀️👯👯♂️👯♀️🌟
Congratulations to two of my students who had the incredible experience to compete in Ghent, Belgium over the weekend with Lee Valley’s Team Phoenix in the Basic Novice category and brought home a silver medal🥈! Izzy and Maia travel to East London every Sunday to train with their team both on and off ice, whilst working in the individual skating skills and other disciplines at Cambridge during the week. Both skaters had their first taste of synchronised skating with the Cambridge teams before making the move to Lee Valley to train with a team competing in a higher category, Maia only made the transfer last month. 🌟⛸️👏🏼👯♀️👯♂️👯👯♀️
I would like to extend my congratulations and thanks to all of their “Team Phoenix” teammates, their synchro coaches Rio Sulley and Dannii Hunt Goldie at Lee Valley and the other coaches involved, Lee Valley synchro club and their parents who collectively have given the girls this in fantastic opportunity.
24/04/2026
Experience and Progress on the Solo
Dance International Scene for Radi! ⛸️🌟🌍🇪🇺
Over the 25-26 season, junior level solo ice dancer Radi has been clicking up the air mikes travelling around several European cities to compete on the ISU endorsed Solo Ice Dance circuit, and also at the Bulgarian National Championships (where she placed 3rd) 🥉. Since my last update following her skate at the U.K. international competition in Blackburn, she has participated in international competitions on Denmark, Finland and Italy.
Over the course of the season Radi (who represents Bulgaria) has scored higher levels technical calls, improved her component score and become more consistent on some of the more challenging elements. She always delivers her programmes with great energy and performance. A particular highlight of Radi’s season was the recent competition in Helsinki, Finland where she placed 6th in a huge field of 38 competitors from 3 continents, representing 15 countries, a truly international achievement!
Prior to this season Radi trained in Bulgaria; her rhythm dance was choreographed by Neil Brown and her free dance by Carolina Mohseni.
🇧🇬⛸️🌟🇫🇮🇮🇹🇩🇰
21/04/2026
Fred Proves Skating and Academia Can Work in Perfect Harmony!
Congratulations to Fred for her success at the recent “University of Edinburgh Scottish Interuni Competition”; among several other competition successes she had on the day, Fred won the free dance section with her beautiful and expressive programme which she largely self choreographed. This was Fred’s first ice dance competition (having previously focussed on singles free skating), so it certainly proved a very successful debut on the competitive ice dance scene. As the event ran using collegiate skating rules, which differ from the rules used in competitions run under the British Ice Skating and ISU adult rules, she is now she is intending to tweak her programme so it is ready to compete in future events. Great job Fred! ⭐️🏆🏅
19/04/2026
British Solo Ice Dance Championships and Solo Oce Dance Celebration 2026 Round Up!
From Monday the 13th of April to Thursday the 16th British Ice Skating held the 2026 British Solo Ice Dance Championship for qualified Basic Novice to Senior competitors, and National Solo Ice Dance Celebration Open event for beginner and juvenile skaters. A total of five skaters represented Cambridge in these competitions, four in the championship and one in the celebration.
The competitions were skated as a combined event, with the total score of the pattern dances and free dance being used to give the overall place. Two pattern dances per category were performed in the championships classes, and one selected for each celebration level.
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Solo Ice Dance Celebration:
Aarya skated two beautiful dances in Juvenile to place 6th of 12 overall (and in the attendance). Both dances scored personal bests with her “Golden Skaters Waltz” pattern dance flowing well and achieved the Basic Novice competitive test scores. 🌟. However it was her emotive free dance with a strong technical score that was her highlight of the event with her placing 3rd 🥉 in this section.
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British Solo Ice Dance Championship:
Two of my students competed in the Championship, both of whom were debuting at a championship event in new levels.
Mimi competed in the Basic Novice category (13 and under), at just 10 years old she was amongst the youngest in competition this made her 4th place finish of 22 even more impressive. Despite narrowly missing a medal, Mimi was deservedly proud of her skates. Her pattern dances were clean and precise, with the opposing characters of the “Willow Waltz” and “Canasta Tango” well represented (she placed 8th and 7th in these respectively) . It was Mimi’s free dance that was a milestone achievement, with a strong technical element scored and an engaging performance this ranked 5th and allowed her to move up overall. 🌟 I team teach Mimi with Ed.
Austeja and Isla, who are taught by my colleagues, also competed in this category, presenting their dances well and achieved some fantastic score.
Kristi competed in the Intermediate Novice class, again she was young in the category and new to the level this season. Kristi’s pattern dances were technically accurate and very tidy, her “European Waltz” placed 8th with a good personal best and a much needed confidence boost from an improved performance; Kristi’s “Tango” came a respectable 9th of 21 with deep edges. In her free dance Kristi skated with poise and grace, delivering a fluid twizzle sequence that covered the ice well and scored level two, her spin also scored well and her performance has grown notably since the start of the season. An unfortunate mistake on her edge element cost her several marks and places meaning she finished16th in the free dance, and ranking her 15th overall due to the hit to her technical element score, however she achieved the 11th highest skating skill mark. 🌟
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Congratulations to all the girls, each and every one of girls who were a credit to themselves and to their club. I am a very proud coach. 😊
19/04/2026
Solo Ice Dance National Finals 2026
Solo Ice Dance Celebration:
Aarya skated two beautiful dances in Juvenile (pre-championship) to place 6th of 12 overall (and in the pattern dance). Both dances scored personal bests with her “Golden Skaters Waltz” pattern dance flowing well and achieving the Basic Novice competitive test scores. 🌟. However it was her emotive free dance with a strong technical score that was her highlight of the event with her placing 3rd 🥉 in this section.
British Solo Ice Dance Championship:
Two of my students competed in the Championship, both of whom were debuting at new levels in a championship.
Mimi competed in the Basic Novice category (13 and under), at just 10 years old she was amongst the youngest in competition this made her 4th place finish of 22 even more impressive. Despite narrowly missing a medal, Mimi was deservedly proud of her skates. Her pattern dances were clean and precise, with the opposing characters of the “Willow Waltz” and “Canasta Tango” well represented (she placed 8th and 7th in these respectively) . It was Mimi’s free dance that was a milestone achievement, with a strong technical element scored and an engaging performance this ranked 5th and allowed her to move up overall. 🌟 I team teach Mimi with Ed.
Kristi competed in the Intermediate Novice class, again she was young in the category and new to the level this season. Kristi’s pattern dances were technically accurate and tidy, her “European Waltz” placed 8th with a good personal best and a much needed confidence boost from an improved performance; Kristi’s “Tango” came a respectable 9th if 21 with deep edges. In her free dance Kristi skated with poise and grace, delivering a fluid twizzle sequence that covered the ice well and scored level two, her spin also scored well and her performance has grown notably since the start of the season. An unfortunate mistake on her edge element cost several marks and placed her free dance 16, ranking her 15th overall due to the hit to her technical element score however she achieved the 11th highest skating skill mark.🌟
Congratulations to the girls and to their Cambridge
06/06/2026
09/05/2026
03/05/2026
03/05/2026
27/04/2026
24/04/2026
21/04/2026
19/04/2026