Over the past 12 months, Stagecoach Performing Arts has proudly collaborated with entrepreneur, strategic creator, and TikTok storyteller Tash Courtenay-Smith on three viral, music-led campaigns within her groundbreaking content series, Biz Kids (YouTube).
Biz Kids is a Gen A and Gen Z content series that has delivered over 100 live lessons to children aged 8 15, teaching entrepreneurship, personal development, and financial literacy—all through highly engaging, socially native storytelling.
We’re proud to share that this partnership has delivered measurable national impact—showcasing Stagecoach’s role in nurturing performance skills in young people, including the Biz Kids stars themselves, who are long-term pupils of Stagecoach Performing Arts franchises in Queens Park and Brighton, while amplifying the wider mission of the Biz Kids content series.
In 2024 alone, Biz Kids content positively impacted 25 million young people online. Its viral initiative, “Turn £30 into £300”, taught girls how to launch and run a bracelet business—helping hundreds of British children earn money for the very first time.
This was followed by one of the most iconic outputs of the collaboration: the viral anthem Make Me A Goddess, created to inspire young girls to believe in their dreams, embrace their confidence, and see themselves as powerful creators of their own future.
🎬 Watch the Official Pop Video – Make Me A GoddessFeaturing choreography by Robert Anderson and dancers from Stagecoach Performing Arts 👉
Watch on YouTube
During this time, with the viral reach we help achieve, Biz Kids emerged as a leading advocate for curriculum reform—specifically around entrepreneurship and financial literacy. As part of a broader campaign supported by multiple organisations and charities, including Tash Courtenay-Smith and Biz Kids, the UK government is now formally reviewing the inclusion of financial literacy in the national curriculum.
Make Me A Goddess was followed by the release of two further original pop songs, created with support from Stagecoach-trained performers and teachers—each one combining narrative, choreography, and mission-led storytelling to deliver high-impact cultural moments.
Our music content alone, all created in collaboration, has reached over 15 million people across TikTok and YouTube in just 12 months—empowering tens of thousands of young people with confidence, creativity, and courage. These campaigns have tackled themes of self-belief, financial independence, and social contribution, sparking real engagement across audiences aged 8 to 30.
Each song has featured standout contributions from Stagecoach creatives, including Robert Anderson and Alex Thompson, and has been anchored by original pop tracks—written or co-created by the young people themselves, and produced by Tash Courtenay-Smith and Maxi Roth.
Through this powerful blend of music, mission, and performance, we’ve brought meaningful, real-world messages to life—transforming creative expression into cultural impact, and simultaneously taking the message of the importance of financial literacy in education as far as the House of Lords.
🏛️ Watch: Biz Kids at the House of Lords
See how our work helped bring youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy into national
conversation.
🎵 Take a look at our work in more detail:
Make Me A Goddess
A bold anthem of female empowerment by 11-year-old Mila Gorasia, featuring choreography by Robert Anderson of Stagecoach Performing Arts and showcasing Stagecoach dancers Uri, Toby, Millie, Maddie, Evie, Dilanna, Cem and Alexandra. Many of these performers went viral individually on TikTok, contributing to the song’s explosive reach. The track surpassed 10 million views, inspired girls across the UK, and was featured on ITV News, as well as coverage across national newspapers.
🎬 Watch the Official Pop Video – Make Me A Goddess
Featuring choreography by Robert Anderson and dancers from Stagecoach Performing Arts
Yes It’s Christmas
A joyful track celebrating confidence and holiday spirit, conceived and storyboarded with creative input from Robert Anderson, who delivered a brilliant lesson to our Biz Kids audience on how to plan a music video using camera angles, visual storytelling, and narrative beats. That session directly inspired the creative vision and final structure of the video.
🎄 Watch: Yes It’s Christmas – Official Video
The Other Side
A powerful and emotional song written by 13-year-old Yaseen Tarky, telling his real-life story of resilience while living with beta thalassemia major. Created in collaboration with NHS Give Blood, The Other Side set out with an ambitious goal to raise awareness and reach one million viewers across Britain—and went on to exceed that target, delivering 1.8 million views in just six weeks.
❤️ Watch: How Stagecoach Performing Arts Supported This Life-Saving Song
Tash says: “Working with Stagecoach Performing Arts and their talent has been central to our virality and impact. We are all so grateful to Stagecoach Performing Arts for their continuous support of our channel and their influence on the direction of our work. I’m especially grateful to Anne Marie McAuley, the Principal of Stagecoach Queens Park, whose Saturday workshops have taught both Annelise and Mila so much over many years. By building original music directly into our content logistics system, we’ve achieved repeat engagement, accelerated reach, and over-benchmark performance across short-form video. Music, dance, and storytelling are central to this impact.”
Central to the campaign’s success are the Biz Kids content series lead stars—Annelise (Biz Kid Annie), Mila, and Stella—who are frequently praised for their confidence in presenting, as well as their capabilities in singing, dance, and public speaking.
All three girls have been long-term pupils of Stagecoach Performing Arts, with Annelise and
Mila attending Stagecoach Saturday workshops in Queens Park London, taught by Stagecoach Principal Anne Marie McCauley, for the majority of their formative years, from ages 4 to 12.
‘Biz Kid’ Stella attended Stagecoach Performing Arts in Brighton. Today, the work of Stagecoach Performing Arts, Tash, Mila, and the broader Biz Kids team continues to go viral.
Tash’s Make Me A Goddess playlist—featuring over 150 content segments that document Mila’s journey from going viral on TikTok during a Stagecoach Performing Arts session to being featured on ITV News as Britain’s Youngest Singer-Songwriter—is now watched and enjoyed by over 100,000 girls and young women aged 8–30 in the UK every week.
This series also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes content featuring Robert Anderson learning and teaching the choreography, Stagecoach dancers in rehearsal, and on-set moments from the filming of the Make Me A Goddess music video—offering young viewers a rare glimpse into the creative process. Based on current growth rates, this content series is on track to reach every girl and young
woman in the UK on TikTok within the next 12 months.
The Other Side
Our most recent collaboration, The Other Side, is another example of how music and performing arts can drive meaningful social impact.
Written by 13-year-old Yaseen, the song tells his deeply personal story of living with beta thalassemia major, a rare blood disorder that requires monthly blood transfusions. The lyrics first emerged during a Stagecoach songwriting session, delivered in partnership with Biz Kids and Tash Courtenay-Smith, and co-hosted by Stagecoach teacher Alex Thompson.
During the workshop, Yaseen quietly read aloud a verse he’d written:
'Stars on the roof shining bright, guiding me through the darkest night. I'll keep on reaching for the sky, until I reach the other side."
At the time, no one realised the depth behind his words—until Yaseen later shared the reality
of his condition. Lines like “where I can be myself, not just a fool” speak to the challenges he
faces at school, where fatigue and physical limits can lead to misunderstanding. But his
message is clear: “Don’t let it get you down. You can overcome it.”
Filmed across Media City in Manchester, the music video captures Yaseen producing the track, reflecting on his journey, and raising awareness about the urgent need for blood donation. As he explains: “It’s not just me who needs blood. It’s people in car crashes, cancer patients—so many people. Kids can’t give blood, but adults can. We need them to hear this.”
Thanks to the continued support of Stagecoach Performing Arts, TikTok became the launchpad for this campaign—combining narrative-led short-form content with a compelling emotional story and an original song, first introduced during a Stagecoach livestream. The campaign exceeded all benchmarks, delivering 1.7 million views across the UK in just six weeks.
Yaseen’s mother, Nafisa, also courageously shared her experience—bringing an emotional dimension to the project that resonated deeply. From the shock of diagnosis to the resilience required at every hospital visit, her words carried weight: “Those lyrics touched my heart. I didn’t realise what he was creating until I really listened. And I thought—wow, that’s deep.”
The Ongoing Impact
Across just 12 months, our collaboration with Tash Courtenay-Smith and the Biz Kids series has reached over 15 million people across TikTok and YouTube—with messages that champion confidence, creativity, resilience, financial literacy, and blood donation awareness.
From Make Me A Goddess inspiring self-belief in tween girls, to Yes It’s Christmas spreading joy, performance confidence, and nostalgia through visual storytelling, and The Other Side driving a national conversation around giving blood—this partnership has turned creative and musical expression into cultural impact at scale.
The momentum continues to grow.
Today, Make Me A Goddess—alongside exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Stagecoach, Robert Anderson’s choreography sessions, and Mila’s national TV debut—is watched by over 100,000 girls and young women every week. Based on current growth rates, this content is on track to reach the majority of girls and young women in the UK who are on TikTok within the year.
At Stagecoach Performing Arts, we believe in the power of performance to transform lives—and this collaboration is proof of what’s possible when young people are given the tools to express themselves through music, movement, and storytelling.
Together with Tash Courtenay-Smith and the Biz Kids team, we’ve helped spark conversations about self-belief, creativity, resilience, financial literacy, and giving blood—reaching millions across the UK and inspiring the next generation in the process.
This work is already changing how thousands think, feel, and act—and the impact continues to grow.