DanceTheatreNetwork.com

Ballet

Jenny started the school as Jenny Kay School of Dance in 1979 in a Scout Hall in Kingsgrove. Her training began when she was 10 after watching a friend from school in a concert. She went home & told her parents she just had to learn dancing & has been dancing ever since. Her original training was with Jean & Beverley Osborn, both very respected dancers in Sydney, their school was in Lakemba. After winning an overseas scholarship she travelled to England where she trained at the Royal Academy of Dance then went to France training full time at Rosella Hightower’s School in Cannes. On returning to Australia she did many amateur musical productions taking wonderful roles which used her training with singing, dancing & acting. She also worked professionally, dancing with headlining acts from overseas at some of the large clubs in Sydney. She is a registered Royal Academy of Dance teacher and is very involved with the RAD in a voluntary capacity, running seminars and competitions for dancers from all over the state. All though she started as the “teacher of everything” in the school she is now very happy to pass over all the classes except for the classical stream to the more up to date & exciting young teachers at Dance Theatre Nework.

Tap, Stretch and Strength, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics & Showgroups.

Bec started dancing from when she could walk. She was trained by her Mum for the first 15 years, and then started taking classes with other teachers around Sydney including Beverly Hougan, Joanne Ansell, Bernadette Langshaw and Brett Morgan as well as at the Sydney Dance Company. After leaving school, she went into Full Time Performing Arts study, at David Atkins Dynamite Dance Studios and then at Brent St Studios. After graduation, she dabbled in a bit of Primary School Education at university, with the hope of finding a pathway to a ‘real job’, but quickly realized it was not for her and turned back to the world of performing arts. For a few years, she lived the life of an artist, appearing in TV programs and commercials, performing in children’s entertainment (both in Australia and overseas), and dancing at corporate functions. In 2003, she decided to join forces with her Mum and started building Dance Theatre Network. Since then, Dance Theatre Nework has become her whole life!!! She is totally attached to the studio and all of the families in it and can’t imagine that there is a better job, anywhere in the world.

Jazz, Tap, Stretch and Acrobatics

Bec started dancing with Jenny in 1990. Her first class was ballet, and for the first year, that’s all she did! It wasn't until the next year, when she was asked to fill in for a girl in the jazz routine for the concert, that Bec caught the dancing bug and started taking more classes. She started assisting in dance classes as part of her work experience in Year 10, and continued teaching and dancing under the guidance of Jenny and Bec Kay until she went to study full time, where she furthered her training in all aspects of the performing arts. 2004 was when Bec first started teaching her own classes at Dance Theatre Nework, whilst completing the Certificate IV at Brent St Studios. This was when she realised that teaching was her passion and enrolled at the ACU to complete her degree in Primary Education. In 2009, she graduated with with a degree in primary school teaching and is currently working full-time at St Patrick's, Kogarah as a Year 1 teacher. Bec loves working at Dance Theatre Nework and is 100% committed to her students because she knows that the kids love what they do and always want to improve which, she says, is what makes it so enjoyable and rewarding!

Ballet, Boys, Contemporary, Adults and Acrobatics

Lian has been a member of the Dance Theatre Nework family since she was born. Seriously! She has been associated with the school in one-way or another for as long as she can remember. She took her first class in 1989 and has not stopped taking classes since. After leaving school, Lian went on to further her training in the performing arts in Full Time at Brent St Studios and is currently in her final year of dance education at UNSW. When she is not taking classes or studying she can be performing at different events all over Sydney. In 2009, Lian became qualified as a teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance. She loves performing but no matter how far her career leads her, her heart will always be with the students and staff at Dance Theatre Network, which she absolutely loves.

Jazz, Stretch, Hip Hop and Boys.

Rachael started at Dance Theatre Nework in 1987 and since then has become an important part of the Dance Theatre Nework family. She always loved dancing, but never wanted to make it her career, it was just a hobby and sport that she was very passionate about. After leaving school, Rach completed a diploma in make-up artistry and worked in retail for a few years, all the while, teaching and helping in the office and costume department at Dance Theatre Network. She loves teaching and is thrilled to see the students push themselves to try different styles of dance to make them well-rounded performers. In 2007, Rachael became a mum with the arrival of her beautiful daughter Amahlia. She is so grateful that she has the opportunity to work with the kids at Dance Theatre Nework, but for the moment, her life mostly revolves around being a mum which she loves being, more than anything!!!

Pre School, Tiny Tots, Stretch.

Simone has been dancing for 13 years. In 2009, she graduated with a double degree (social psychology/social research and Primary Education) at the University of Western Sydney. Currently, she is working full time as a primary school teacher and believes that her psychology background will allow her to be a strong and confident educator. When Simone is not at dancing or school, she can be found in the car, driving between the two, choreographing/planning for either of the two, dreaming about dancing, freaking out about class programs……. you get the idea? This is her life at the moment, she is a VERY busy girl but she loves it! Simone has always cherished being part of the student body of Dance Theatre Nework and she feels it is a great honour and joy to be part of the Dance Theatre Nework staff family also. A passionate believer that everyone should always be treated equally, she is thrilled to be part of a dance school where everyone and anyone, can have a GOOD time, doing something that they love. Now that she is a teacher at Dance Theatre Nework she hopes to keep that legacy going so even more kids can enjoy their sport for many, many years, just like she has.

Jazz, Stretch and Acrobatics

Karolina started dancing at 5 years old. She participated in showgroup and also was a very successful solo dancer in competitions. In 2004,when she finished school, Karolina stopped dancing and started working in retail. Then, a few years later year she decided that she missed taking classes and came back to Dance Theatre Network as a senior student. Soon enough she found herself wanting more, and so decided to move into the teaching side of things. Karolina absolutely loves watching and helping the kids try so hard and progress week after week. It is a great challenge she says, and finds it very rewarding that she is always finding new ways of making students realise their dreams.

Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop.

The Nastasi family has been involved with the studio for over 15 years. Rebecca watched her older sister dance for a few years before she decided to give it a go when she was 7 years old. In 2008 Rebecca graduated from DTN as a student and went onto further study of performing arts at Urban Dance Centre, Broadway. In 2010 she was offered a place in Locreado - a contemporary dance company based in Sydney. When she is not teaching or rehearsing with the company, she can be seen dancing at all sorts of different events around Sydney. One day she hopes to dance overseas and eventually visit her extended family who live in Italy. In the mean time she is thoroughly enjoying assisting with classes at DTN and has great fun being with all the kids. She would like to thank Miss Jenny and Miss Bec for being so supportive and helpful with her dancing over the years and also, for giving her the opportunity to pass on some of her knowledge to the younger students at Dance Theatre Network.

Tap and Musical Theatre. Acrobatics teacher since 2008.

Sarah started dancing when she was 4 years old but didn’t join the Dance Theatre Network family until she was 7. Each week, she does all the classes she possibly can everyday, wishing that the government would change the law that makes it compulsory for kids to attend school so she would be able to spend more time doing what she loves…performing. One day, she hopes to find a job working in the theatre, singing and dancing in musicals (hopefully) on Broadway. In the mean time, she plans on finishing school and then studying performing arts full time so that she can chase her dream. She absolutely loves all the friends she has made at Dance Theatre Nework and now that she has the role of assistant teacher she is making more every week! Sarah finds teaching a very rewarding experience. She says that helping and guiding the students to do things they’ve never done before is very satisfying and she loves teaching them. When Sarah comes to Dance Theatre Nework, she says it makes her feel like she is coming home…. which is probably why she spends so much time at the studio!

Jazz and Tap

When Emily was 3 ½ her mum would bring her to dancing to watch her big sister take classes. This was no good for Emily, she wanted to be up there too….. so that is how she came to start at Dance Theatre Nework, and after 11 years, there is absolutely no chance that she will be stopping anytime soon. Emily is a very busy girl, she is currently in Year 10 at Bethany College, where she is a member of the public speaking team. She plays oztag and basketball, takes singing lessons as well as trying to find time to hang out with her friends. But mostly, she is at Dance Theatre Nework and when she is there, Emily can’t think of any place else she would prefer to be. Em is still reeling from performing at Disneyland in 2006, an experience that she says “changed her life” because it was the realization that dreams can come true. Now, Em has turned her sights to even bigger dreams like being part of a professional musical and becoming a sports physiotherapist. Emily loves the feeling of teaching a child how to do something they couldn’t do before. To see the smile on their face and to get to know each of the kids individually is very special to her and she feels very lucky to be part of the Dance Theatre Nework staff.