MEET THE TEAM
Owner
Junior & Latin
JACQUI CESAN
Owner
Junior & Latin
Jacqui Cesan
Jacqui Cesan founded The Dance Studio and BoyzDance2 in 1999 and continues to teach and inspire young dancers. Jacqui has her postgraduate diploma in both Dance and Secondary Teaching and has been involved in the dance industry either as a performer, choreographer or teacher for most of her life. She has been involved with Street Dance New Zealand, Dance Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Northern Dance Network alongside co-founding YOUDANCE and Out Of The Box productions. Jacqui is the Director of Arts at Mount Albert Grammar School, and is passionate about the importance of dance, both in schools and as an extra-curricular.
Owner
Junior & Latin
RICHIE CESAN
Studio Hire Manager
Hip Hop, Tap & Adults
Richie
Cesan
Richie has been dancing since he was 5 and has studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip hop, completing major exams in jazz and tap. He has been a choreographer in the commercial dance sector for many years, including his role as Assistant Choreographer for the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony. Richie teaches in several schools as an itinerant teacher and is the director of BoyzDance2 company. He was a foundation choreographer for the very successful ‘Out of the Box’ production.
In 2006 Richie co-founded TMC Dance Crew, which became one of NZ’s foremost hip hop dance crews, representing NZ at the World Hip Hop Champs in 2007 and again in 2009. Richie was a member of the Identity Dance Crew who have previously won the New Zealand Hip Hop Championship and have won two silver medals at the World Hip Hop Champs in 2013 and 2014. Richie won the TEMPO Dance Festival Young Choreographer award in 2009. In 2015 Richie played a feature role in the New Zealand film Born to Dance and was the choreographer for Billy Elliot in New Zealand.
Owner
Junior & Latin
MANDY TUBMAN
Manager & Accounts
Mandy
Tubman
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
MORGAN HERON
Admin
Jazz, Tap & Adults
Morgan
Heron
Morgan has her Honours in Dance Studies from the University of Auckland and has been dancing since the age of three. Morgan received her dance training from The Dance Studio where she sat all levels of NZAMD tap and jazz. She has choreographed and performed professionally in the commercial dance industry for many years. Morgan works at many schools around Auckland as a choreographer for productions, competitions and extra curricular classes. Morgan has also attended workshops with the world-renowned dance company, The Radio City Rockettes in New York City.
Owner
Junior & Latin
ELEANOR TUBMAN
Acro, Jazz & Contemporary
Eleanor
Tubman
Eleanor has her Honours in Dance Studies from the University of Auckland and has been dancing since she was 3 years old and working at the Dance Studio since 2017. She has trained in Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz. Eleanor has completed the NZAMD syllabus in Contemporary and Jazz and in 2018 received a NCEA dance scholarship. Eleanor has performed in YouDance Festival and Tempo Dance Festival. She continues to extend and develop her dance knowledge and experience with her studies and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with others.
Owner
Junior & Latin
SARAH KNOX
Contemporary,
Ballet & Adults
Sarah
Knox
Dr Sarah Knox is a former professional contemporary dancer (Black Grace, Footnote NZ Dance) and is a Senior Lecturer in Dance Studies at The University of Auckland. Sarah works internationally as a choreographer, guest teacher, adjudicator and dance advocate and is the Co-Chair of the World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Education and Training Network. Her teaching specialities are ballet and contemporary dance techniques, and choreography. She is the founder of Dance Education Resources and is a qualified EFT Tapping practitioner, focussing on holistic dancer wellness. Sarah has a PhD in choreography pedagogy, researches dance education and choreographic collaboration, and regularly publishes and presents her research internationally.
Owner
Junior & Latin
ISSIE CASSIDY
Contemporary & Jazz
Issie
Cassidy
Issie is a talented dancer and artist and began dancing at The Dance Studio at the age of 4. She has completed all levels of NZAMD contemporary and jazz including solo seal. She received multiple nominations for the NZAMD scholarship weekends held annually. Issie has also had training in Latin, Heels classes and ballet. She is a recent graduate of Unitec's Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts program majoring in Contemporary Dance. She was part of Momentum Productions “All That” jazz show in Tempo in 2015 and 2016 and danced on X Factor New Zealand in 2015. She was a part of “Grounded: Battle of the arts” in 2016 and 2017. In 2017 she danced in the show “Artimus” as part of the Auckland Fringe festival. In 2019 she was given the opportunity to do a secondment with the New Zealand Dance Company for 4 weeks. Issie is hoping to extend her career in contemporary dance and graphic design.
Owner
Junior & Latin
ANDREW CESAN
Tap & Choreography
Andrew
Cesan
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
LEANNE PEARCE
Tap
Leanne
Pearce
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
ROSA TUBMAN
Jazz & Lyrical
Rosa
Tubman
Rosa began dancing at the age of 2, and is trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop. She is passionate about dance and hopes to share this passion for dance with her students. Rosa has competed twice at the Hip Hop International World Championships, in 2015 with Swagganauts (Identity Dance Company) and 2016 with Khaos (Neverland Studios). Rosa was a member of Momentum Productions Pre-Professional Development Team and was part of their 2018 show “Duality”. Rosa is currently studying a certificate IV in dance teaching and working in the commercial dance industry.
Owner
Junior & Latin
PHILIPPA MURPHY
Hip Hop & Ballet
Philippa
Murphy
Philippa began dancing at the age of 6, training in RAD Ballet, NZAMD Contemporary, and Jazz under Cameron Ballet Academy & Neverland Studios. Philippa has spent the past few years with Identity Dance Company, receiving a national title and a bronze medal at the World Hip Hop Championships with IDescendant dance crew in 2022. In 2022, Philippa completed a Bachelor of Dance Studies (Honours) at The University of Auckland. Philippa is excited to exchange knowledge whilst providing an inclusive, positive and safe space for others.
Owner
Junior & Latin
MADI WHITFORD-JOYNT
Hip Hop
Madi
Whitford-Joynt
I started exploring hip hop when I was 12 years old and have enjoyed learning about movement, music, and choreography ever since. Learning hip hop has also inspired me to learn about commercial and jazz funk. I love having the opportunity to teach different ages and witness the development and love for dance amongst those in my classes at The Dance Studio.
Owner
Junior & Latin
KATIE SMITH
Acro & Contemporary
Katie
Smith
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
CHANEL KARATAU
Hip Hop
Chanel
Karatau
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
JOSH GRACE
Contemporary
Josh Grace
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
JACOB CAMERON
Junior
Jacob Cameron
Jacob started dancing at the age of three before joining The Dance Studio in 2012. He started off doing Ballet and Jazz, until advancing into Tap and Hip Hop. Jacob received NZAMD scholarship nominations and has been a part of Identity Dance Company since 2020. He has represented New Zealand at the Hip Hop World Championship receiving a total of four silver as a member of JV Megacrew, Yung ID and Swagganauts. Jacob has expanded his skills and knowledge of dance while attending Mount Albert Grammar School studying NCEA dance scholarship, and fulfilling his leadership roles as a dance prefect, leading MAGS Megacrew and helping them receive 1st place at the Blueprint Megaschools Competition.
Owner
Junior & Latin
BETHANY FLETCHER
Ballet
Bethany Fletcher
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
SARAH NORMAN
Junior
Sarah Norman
Sarah is a recent University of Auckland Bachelor of Dance Studies graduate, finishing in 2023. Since 2018, she has enjoyed working with children in various dance and active environments and continues to thrive and develop her skills. She’s danced with The Dance Studio since 2018 in ballet, contemporary and tap. Before that, she had trained in RAD ballet since she was four. Sarah is set to begin her Master's in Dance Movement Therapy in 2024 to continue her work and development as a versatile educator who enjoys and encourages blending multi-modal activities to create and stimulate.
Owner
Junior & Latin
HAILEY MARTIN
Hip Hop & Jazz
Hailey Martin
Hailey found her love for dancing at the age of three and later joined The Dance Studio in 2015. Here she explored jazz, contemporary, and hip hop before moving onto Identity Dance Company in 2021. Hailey competed at Hip Hop International in 2022 and 2023 with her teams Masque and Yung ID. Both years Yung ID earned silver medals. Hailey is excited to connect with her students and encourage their appreciation of dance. While growing her own teaching, choreographic, and technical skills, Hailey wishes to embark on a dance based career once she has completed her secondary education.
Owner
Junior & Latin
CEANNA PHILLIPS
Junior
Ceanna
Phillips
Ceanna started dancing at the age of three and came to The Dance Studio in 2014. She has completed the contemporary syllabus and is working towards finishing both tap and jazz.
Owner
Junior & Latin
CHARLOTTE GEORGE
Junior & Tap
Charlotte George
Charlotte has been dancing since the age of three and has been at the dance studio since 2016. Charlotte is completing contemporary level 6, tap level 9 and jazz advanced 2 this year. She loves the opportunities the dance studio provided and loves working with younger kids. Charlotte hopes to eventually become a professional teacher at the dance studio.
Owner
Junior & Latin
SOFIA HART
Reception & Assistant
Sofia
Hart
Bio coming soon...
Owner
Junior & Latin
NYRA KANWAR
Reception & Assistant
Nyra Kanwar
Nyra has been dancing since the age of 4, studying Latin and NZAMD Jazz to Advanced 1. She also has several years of training in Indian Classical Dance. She has participated in YouDance and recently received an NZQA dance scholarship. She continues to develop and grow her passion and knowledge of dance. Nyra is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland in film and drama and hopes to pursue a career in the film and entertainment industry.
Owner
Junior & Latin
EVA FALA
Teaching Assistant
Eva
Fala
Eva has been dancing since the age of three and joined The Dance Studio in 2014. She does jazz, contemporary, hip hop and lyrical. She loves being a part of The Dance Studio community and hopes to have a professional dance career in the future.
Owner
Junior & Latin
CONNER PEARCE
Teaching Assistant
Conner
Pearce
Bio coming soon...