MEET THE TEAM
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.
Richie Cesan
Studio Hire Manager
Hip Hop, Junior & Tap
Caitlin Davey
Ballet, Contemporary & Junior
Caitlin started dancing at the age of 3, studying RAD Ballet to Advanced 2 and NZAMD Contemporary to Level 6. She was in the NZDC Youth Company, and the RNZB Mentor Program. Caitlin graduated from Unitec in 2015 with a Bachelor of Performing & Screen Arts (Contemporary Dance). Since graduating she has worked with a number of NZ dance companies. She choreographed and performed in the critically acclaimed show ‘Fabricate’. Caitlin was the recipient of two residencies for her full length work About Others, Basement Theatre’s research residency Ideas In Residence and the DANZ and Saint Kentigern Summer Development residency. About Others was performed in Tempo Dance Festival 2019. In 2019 she was also an ATLAS scholarship recipient for Impulstanz Dance Festival in Vienna. Caitlin is passionate about her students growing as people while enjoying their love for dance.
Morgan Heron
Admin
Jazz & Tap
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 worked 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.
Eleanor Tubman
Acro, Jazz, Contemporary & Junior
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.
Mandy Tubman
Manager & Accounts
Bio coming soon
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.
Jacqui Cesan
Owner
Junior & Latin
Issie Cassidy
Contemporary & Jazz
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.
Rosa Tubman
Hip Hop & Jazz
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.
Ray
Hip Hop
Ray discovered his love of dance watching movies such as “Step Up” and “Born to Dance”. He graduated from the Unitec Contemporary Dance Programme with a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts in 2020. Ray was part of the dance cast at Spotlight 10 “Vision” in 2022 working with some notable Wellington dance scene artists. Ray was also a choreographer throughout the NDN Turama Intensive in 2022 and was a member of IDCO’s bronze medallists I-Descendant adult dance crew. Ray has a background in contemporary and hip hop and most recently, Krump and he is excited to share his teaching practice which is rooted in community, empowerment, and introspection.
Sofia Hart
Reception & Assistant
Sofia has been dancing since she was three years old and has been at The Dance Studio since 2015. She will be completing Level 6 Contemporary and Jazz Intermediate this year. Sofia has also had training in Latin and Lyrical as well. Sofia is completing NCEA Level 3 Dance at school this year and will hopefully complete scholarship dance next year. She is really looking forward to helping younger kids get into dancing and grooving to music.
Ceanna Phillips
Teaching Assistant
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.
Andrew Cesan
Tap & Dance for Film
Bio coming soon
Danielle Twentyman
Ballet, Contemporary & Jazz
Danielle started dancing at the age of 3 training in Ballet, Contemporary, and Jazz. She has completed RAD Ballet up to Adv 1, NZAMD Contemporary to Level 6, and NZAMD Jazz up to Solo Seal all with Distinction. Recently, in 2021, Danielle completed her Bachelor of Dance Studies degree at The University of Auckland and is set up to begin her Master's in 2022. Whilst in her undergraduate degree she also received the opportunity to do a secondment with Footnote Dance Company to extend her training in contemporary dance. Danielle has also received the NCEA Dance Scholarship and performed in festivals such as YouDance, Tempo, and the USASF Dance Worlds in Florida receiving a silver medal in the lyrical group division and bronze in the jazz group division with Mt Eden Ballet Academy in 2017.
Danielle is excited to be a part of The Dance Studio community and to continue developing and strengthening her love for teaching, as well as, extending her career in contemporary dance and choreography.
Madi
Hip Hop
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.
Manny Okan
Videographer
Manny started dancing at The Dance studio at the age of 4, learning all styles of dance at a beginner level. After 12 years, he has completed the NZAMD syllabus of tap and contemporary, earning solo seal in tap with a perfect score. Manny was a crew member of identity dance company and represented New Zealand 3 times at the Hip Hop Worlds Championship, placing top 5 in 2017 in the 9 man varsity crew Swagganauts. Manny has also competed in various tap competitions, winning various solo competitions and championships in ACDA, as well as recently winning the NZAMD scholarship Tap Championship after competing for 4 years.
Leanne Pearce
Tap
Leanne is an experienced tap dance teacher and choreographer. She has trained dancers of all levels in tap and jazz styles for over 25 years and is a national examiner for the American Jazz Dance Affiliation (AJDA) tap syllabus. Leanne trained in the South Island and has spent the last 15 years in Auckland in various teaching and management roles. Leanne is a dedicated teacher who believes dancing should be fun and accessible so that students may build self-confidence while nurturing the enjoyment of dance. She holds qualifications in the British Ballet Organisation (BBO) tap syllabus and the AJDA tap and jazz syllabus.
Philippa Murphy
Hip Hop
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.
Raychel
Hip Hop
Raychel is a passionate dancer, predominantly trained in Hip Hop and Street Dance. Raychel has competed with crews IDCO, Shique, Masque, Yung ID, I-Descendant and IG receiving 2 Bronze Medals at the World Hip Hop Championships. Raychel has trained with the NZX Next training programme for three years and has competed and performed with NZXX overseas with choreographer Todd Williamson. Since working in the industry, she spent majority of 2022 touring and performing for Tamariki around New Zealand and Australia with Mahi Pai. Raychel was a dancer in the television series ‘The Exceptional Squad’ and a Music video ‘Down on You Luck’ by SACHI. She is a dedicated dancer with a passion for learning and teaching as she continues to share with others.
Katie Smith
Reception & Assistant
Bio coming soon
Nyra Kanwar
Reception & Assistant
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.
Charlotte George
Teaching Assistant
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.
Eva Fala
Teaching Assistant
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.