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THE DIRECTORS
 Tracey Stretton
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
B.A., Dip Tchg., Dip Dance Drama in Education
Tracey graduated from Auckland University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and then completed her Diploma in Teaching. She then furthered her training with a Higher Diploma in Teaching and a post-graduate Diploma of Dance and Drama in Education from the Auckland College of Education. She has worked for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and for the Ministry of Education as a Drama and Dance moderator and assessment writer. She has held Head of Drama and Dance positions at Kristin School, Avondale College and the Senior College of New Zealand. She loves to perform and has landed a couple of guest roles on Shortland Street. She oversees the artistic content in the classes and end of year shows and trains the Performance.net tutors in master classes on Dance, Drama and most importantly, teaching pedagogy.
Michael Stretton
MANAGING DIRECTOR
B.A., Dip. Tchg. T.T.C.
Michael graduated from the Auckland College of Education with a Diploma in Teaching and furthered his training with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland. He has taught the age group spectrum from 5 yr old New Entrants at Kristin School to students in The University of Auckland Foundation Programme in their twenties. He has held the Head of English position at Ponsonby Intermediate School and English Curriculum Co-ordinator within the Academic Colleges Group. Michael works with Schools in Sydney and Auckland to set up the Performance.net Scholarship Programmes and manages the venues, tutors and marketing.
Tracey and Michael have three children who perform in their own way about the family home.
Andries Mentz
Dip. Screen Acting, Dip. Film & Televison Prod.
PERFORMANCE.NET SENIOR TUTOR
Andries is a senior member of The Performance.net team and his classes are fun, challenging and exciting. He studied at South Seas Film and Television School, graduating from two separate courses; Film and Television Production and a Diploma in On Screen Acting. Andries has acted in over a dozen short films including a role in the feature film Memories of Tomorrow which was shown at the Asian Film Festival. Andries has been frequently involved in pantomime theatre and has worked in such classics as Aladdin, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty. Andries brings a youthful energy to his classes and young people in particular respond well to his dynamic energy. He has produced and directed many shows for The Performance.net including our 2005 season of Wunz Upon A, The Wiz in 2009 and our 2010 season of The Beast at Kings School. He also worked with Tracey Stretton as Assistant Director on our 2008 season of Little Shop of Horrors. We are just delighted to have Andries as such a strong and vibrant member of the team. In his role as Senior Tutor with the company, he brings a wealth of experience to the classes and enjoys adding value to the Tutors though Professional Development, Curriculum design and pedagogy training at the venues.
Melissa Jones
Bachelor of Education (ECE)
Melissa graduated from Macquarie University (Sydney) with a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education) including many Performance electives. Her involvement began in the arts as a child with drama classes at the Sydney Talent Company and since then she has been involved in various Australian theatre, film and television projects. Melissa was awarded a scholarship with the Pact Youth Theatre in Sydney and worked with the Impact Ensemble for the 2002 Year of the Outback finale performance ‘Wide Open Road’ at the Sydney Opera House. Her classes are vibrant and she inspires her students to be the best that they can be in theatre and in life. We are delighted to have Melissa as a part of The Performance.net team.
Liz Harrex
Dip. Performing Arts (Drama/Vocals)
 Elizabeth graduated from Excel School of Performing Arts in 2007 where she majored in Drama and Vocals. She has had a wealth of experience performing in musicals and theatre productions including Bugsy Malone, The Crucible and Pandomonium’s Theatre Beyond the Blue. She is also a talented dancer and in 2002 she danced as pre entertainment at Carisbrook stadium for the All Blacks vs. South Africa clash. Elizabeth has received numerous awards in Performing Arts during her training including Morton Family Cup for Excellence in Drama 2006 from Excel Performing Arts School and she has achieved Grade 7 Trinity Speech Board Speech and Drama. She is also a musician and has achieved Grade 6 Piano from the Royal School of Music London. Elizabeth is a bubbly and enthusiastic teacher with infectious positive energy that her students thrive off. We are delighted to have her on board The Performance.net team.
Jacqueline Geurts
BSc, PGDipSci, MSc
 Jacqueline teaches drama, dance and performance at The Performance.net while also working as a Production Assistant for Co. Theatre Physical, and as a children’s performer for Phinea’s Phrog Productions. Jacqueline has completed a Bachelor of Science and then furthered her training with a Post Graduate Diploma in Science. She then went on to complete a Masters Degree. She has always had a strong passion for Performing Arts and over the years Jacqueline has acted in short films and theatrical plays, worked in film and TV, while also taking time to travel and teach overseas. Jacqueline enjoys working with children and has developed her teaching methods through years of teaching different age groups from babies to teens in several disciplines. During her week she trains in martial arts, Misner acting technique, and circus arts. Her goals are to inspire and educate others to be the best they can be and she encourages people to follow their dreams. Jacqueline works by identifying individual needs and learning styles and teaches by developing each child in a positive way. Her classes are strong and vibrant and she always challenges her students to be the best that they can be. We are just delighted to have her on board our team of Performing Arts professionals.
Katrina Wessesling
Bachelor of Communications
 Katrina has completed a three year Bachelor of Communications Degree at Auckland's Univeristy of Technology majoring in Television. She has had a wealth of experience on stage and has performed in numerous productions including Les Miserable, Into the Woods, Annie, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. More recently she has performed in 'Thinning' with Auckland Theatre Company's Young and Hungry 2010, 'The Santa Claus Show'-Tim Bray Productions 2009 and 'Beyond the Blue'-Red Leap Theatre Company 2008. She has trained in theatre, film and voice since the age of 10. She is represented by Auckland Actors and has recent industry experience. Katrina is an enthusiastic, confident and creative actor and tutor with much to offer and has been tutoring with us for the past three years. We are delighted to have her on board the team at The Performance.net.
Alice Pearson
C. Perf (Dan ce and Drama)
Alice trained at Excel School of Performing Arts where she completed an Advanced Certificate of Performance in Dance and Singing and graduated as Top Dancer. She is trained in Ballet, American Jazz, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Singing, Piano, Musical Theatre, Speech and Drama and Acting. Alice has a love for the theatre, which began when she starred as Young Cosette opposite the late Rob Guest in 1998-99. Since then, she has performed in Carousel, Oliver, Jesus Christ Super Star, Wizard of Oz, Big River and Man of la Mancha. Alice has been teaching dance and drama for 4 years and has developed a strong skill in creative choreography. As a teacher, Alice is devoted to seeing her students come out of themselves, explore their vast potential and enjoy doing so.
Claire Goldsbury
Claire is currently completing a Bachelor in Performance at Excel Performing Arts School. She has a love for dance which started at a young age and has never stopped. She is trained in a variety of dance styles. She did Irish Dancing for 10 years where she competed Nationally in both group and individual dances. Claire trained in Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary and Lyrical and was a part of a dance performance troupe which performed and various public events and competed in New Zealand Hip Hop Street Champs.
She has had much experience performing in various productions and has completed many Dance Standards through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement consistently achieving excellence. Claire has competed in Stage Challenge for the past four years and was chosen as head choreographer and leader for the 2011 Stage Challenge. Claire has run Clevedon Kids Club for the past 5 years and has much experience working children aged 3-10 years .She is excited about her new venture of joining the dance team at Performance.net. Claire brings a fresh and youthful approach to her classes and we are just delighted to welcome her on board the team.
Kiara-Sian Cooley
ANZAMD, Certificate in Sport & Recreation, Bachelor of Dance.
 Kiara-Sian Cooley completed her Bachelor of Dance from AUT in 2011 and her dance journey started at the age of three. She is passionate about dancing and teaching dance. She has trained in many disciplines including Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Ballet, Latin American and Ballroom. She has participated in many competitions and shows. Kiara-Sian was nominated for three NZ scholarships in Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop an she has a Certificate in Sport and Recreation. Kiara-Sian has choreographed and taught dances for numerous school productions and thoroughly enjoys working with children. She has completed all of her Tap exams and has almost completed her Jazz and Hip Hop exams. She is an Associate of NZAMD. Kiara-Sian believes in the quote by Constanze “Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!” She hopes to be able to inspire children to lose their inhibitions, become more confident and express themselves through dance. We warmly welcome her to our Performance.net team.
Melanie Sax
C. Perf (Dance and Drama)
 Melanie Trained at Excel School of Performing Arts where she completed an Advanced Certificate of Performance in Dance which covered Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Choreography, Performance, Cultural dance and Drama. She was then selected to tour nationwide in her second year performing in schools, churches and theatres throughout NZ. She has completed all her R.A.D Ballet grades, Grade Eight passing with Honours and gained Intermediate in Ballet, and Jazz with Honours. She has modelled at New Zealand L' Oreal Fashion week for Annah Stretton and continues to do part time modelling. Mel loves choreographing dance for children. She has competed and performed in various Wearable Art competitions throughout New Zealand. Mel has been a Senior Tutor with Performance.net since 2005.
Hannah de Lacey
Diploma Christian Ministries
Leadership Cert Youth Work
Hannah is a fabulous tutor who teaches fun and vibrant classes. Introduced to dance at the age of three Hannah has become a diverse dancer with a repittuore of many styles. Hannah has studied dance at the Australian College of Entertainment where she received the junior jazz award and went on to receive the vocal award at Masque. Hannah has completed ballet, jazz and hip hop standards through national dance examinations and has had experience dancing in a variety of productions. Hannah has studied youth work for the past year and she hopes to bring what she has learned to help inspire and challenge young people. Hannah has been teaching dance and drama for several years, her strength being choreography. Hannah thoroughly enjoys teaching and working with youth and hopes to encourage young people to embrace their talents. We welcome her back to The Performance.net Team!
Laura Curwood-Wright
Bachelor of Dance
Diploma in Secondary Teaching (Post Grad)
Laura is an enthusiastic and passionate teacher who has much to offer her students. She creates creative and engaging lessons catering to different learning styles and teaches Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre. She has spent the last three years training full time in Dance at Auckland University of Technology and has completed her training with a Post Graduate Diploma in Secondary teaching specialising in Dance and Drama. She has secured student teaching placements at Auckland Girls Grammar School, Westlake Girls and Long Bay College and is so excited about sharing all of her knowledge and experience with her classes at Performance.net. She is passionate about Performance and brings a vibrant and youthful energy to her classes. We are just delighted to have her on board the team.
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