ABOUT

The D.Dolls are an Edinburgh based, female vocal trio and sing repertoire that was made famous throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.  Of course, their repertoire is not only limited to those decades and the girls find often themselves singing jazz versions of modern pop tunes, songs from more recent decades and not to mention a few musical numbers thrown in for good measure - after all, they all come from a background of musical theatre!

The girls initially started out in late 2009, and over the years a number of changes to the initial 'Dolls' line-up took place.  The current trio of Claire, Loes and Sarah have been together since 2012 after they were thrown together for a Christmas concert in 2012.  The laughter over their rendition of 'Sleigh Ride' still lives in their memories.  The trio are joined by a fabulous pianist, Paul Millest, known to everyone simply as 'Piano Paul'. 

Well, that's a little bit about The D.Dolls - but who exactly are they?

Sarah has worked in the theatre from a very young age and her first dance appearances were with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Canada.  In the years that followed, she worked in television, film, commercials and musical theatre and has taught ballet, tap and jazz to both children and adults.  Since moving to Edinburgh, she had performed with many of the local amateur musical theatre companies and has enjoyed performing in a wide variety of shows including some of her all-time favourites - Carousel, Damn Yankees, Sweeney Todd, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma!, Copacabana and Cabaret. 

Although not initially trained as a singer, over the past few years Sarah has discovered her ‘inner voice’ and now thoroughly enjoys being a D.Doll - especially as she can now wear her collection of vintage clothes and shoes.  Additionally, Sarah works as a choreographer for local musical theatre companies.

When not treading the boards, Sarah can be found enjoying the outdoors, road cycling and travelling (often all three together!).  In her 'real' life, Sarah is an academic and works at the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. 

Loes's first tiny steps onto the stage were as a chicken in an unnamed ballet production in a suburb of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  Since then, the theatre bug has never left her and she performed in a range of Dutch plays and musicals.  After graduating from high school (with an A in Music!), Loes formed vocal group 'Les Elles'.  In this group, she and her six fellow female singers, sang both classics and contemporary repertoire in close harmony.  During her 5-year stint in 'Les Elles' she performed in two sold out theatre productions, many local and international concerts and even performed on a number of television and radio shows.

Whilst hatching plans of world domination with 'Les Elles', Loes also managed the office of a small theatre in the heart of Amsterdam.  After living and breathing the arts for many years, she took a break to travel the Antipodes for a couple of years, to finally arrive in Edinburgh.  There, Loes joined Edinburgh Music Theatre (EMT) and performed in, and stage/production managed their productions of Hair, Footloose, and Rent as well as a number of Fringe concerts.  EMT is also where Sarah and Loes first met, and shortly afterwards The D.Dolls were born.

Apart from the Arts, Loes also works in marketing for Heineken.  Her appreciation for the amber nectar is such that she has become a certified beer and cider taster!  In her 'free' time Loes enjoys socialising, cycling (not as much as Sarah though!) and (surprisingly) watching theatre and music.
 
 

Claire has always had a love of all things theatrical and spent much of her childhood in Ayr attending various types of dance class.  Her first job was in the box office of Ayr's Gaiety Theatre where she not only met the man who has since become her husband, but she also discovered a love of musical theatre.  After moving to Edinburgh in 1998, she decided to join an amateur musicals society as a handy way to meet new people and to discover if there was any chance that she could actually sing. 

Over the years, Claire has danced in a number of musicals in and around Edinburgh and has, more recently, been lucky enough to play principal parts in many of her favourite musicals such as My Fair Lady, Me & My Girl, Guys & Dolls, Hot Mikado and Oklahoma! 

Although not performing quite as much these days, Claire still very much enjoys watching live theatre and listening to a wide range of musical styles.  She's very excited to be a D.Doll and always looks forward to joining Sarah, Loes and Paul for a good old sing-a-long, not to mention lots of tea, scones and chat!

Claire works as an Environmental Advisor for an Aberdeen based company and is a regular on the 0530hrs Scotrail express to Dyce.  In her spare time she enjoys running the occasional half marathon, swimming and cycling, but most of all, spending quality time in the park with Betty, the Labradoodle.

'Piano' Paul is the fourth and most recent member of the D.Dolls, and insisted, from early days with us, that he wanted to be “one of the Dolls” too.  Paul has always had a keen interest in music; he started piano lessons at the age of 7, and also learnt to play brass instruments from the same age.  In later “teenage” years, he dabbled with the Cello and the Oboe, but wasn’t so keen on those.  It wasn’t until the age of 21 that he became involved with musical theatre, as the rehearsal pianist for both Showboat and Pickwick in his home town of Scunthorpe.  

Shortly after this, Paul moved to London where, for several years, he didn’t involve himself in any musical activities.  Realising a gap existed; he decided to take up brass playing again, and for several years, played the cornet with an East London Brass Band.  His job moved to Edinburgh in 1994, and there followed a few more “wilderness years” in terms of musical activity, until in 2002 he changed jobs and went to work as a Business Analyst at Origo Services. 

It was at Origo that a chance discussion with well-known Edinburgh theatre director, Laura Jordan Reed, resulted in Paul becoming the rehearsal pianist for the SMYCMS Amateur Musical Society from 2003 until 2010.  Shows included such classics as Singin’ in the Rain, My Fair Lady, Annie Get your Gun, Guys & Dolls and 42nd St.  It was during this time that Paul first met Claire and Sarah, and also when he became known as “Piano Paul” (due to the plethora of Paul’s in the company at that time!)  Paul has also played the piano for Showcase Musical Productions for a number of years and is currently the rehearsal pianist for Limelight Productions (Dunfermline) who are performing Annie later this year.  He was so delighted last year to have the opportunity to play for their rehearsals for The Sound of Music, something he had always wanted to do.

In his spare time Paul enjoys listening to music of many and varied types, likes to spend time in his garden and is an avid fan of anything 'Eurovision' (an early childhood memory being Lulu’s win in 1969 - he's also the proud owner of a personally signed copy of Lulu’s autobiography!).