Dance Wanaka

A huge congratulations to 3 dancers for their outstanding results in the recent APDA Modern Exams, achieving Honours with Distinction! Scoring over 96%, this is an exceptional accomplishment that very few manage to obtain across Australasia.

🌟 Aria Banks (10yrs) – Hip Hop Urban Ignition Level 5, Jazz Addict Elementary 1, AND Lucidity Contemporary Level 5

🌟 Lucy Wellington (16yrs) – Jazz Addict Intermediate 3, Lucidity Contemporary Level 9

🌟 Hannah Thomas (16yrs) – Jazz Addict Solo Seal

You each delivered outstanding performances, showcasing outstanding technique, artistry, and dedication. Their results are a true reflection of their hard work and commitment.

They each received black distinction ribbons & pins.

What an amazing achievement - keep shining, striving, and inspiring us all with your passion for dance! 💫👏

Celebrating effort, dedication & achievement!

Well done to everyone who took part in the recent Asia Pacific Dance Association assessments in early July! It has been so exciting to see you all receive your certificates, ribbons and valuable feedback from examiner Miss Anna Steel.

What a wonderful way to be rewarded for all the hard work, dedication and commitment you put in throughout last term. We hope those certificates and ribbons are hanging high at home and serving as a proud reminder of all you have achieved!

We are incredibly proud of every one of you. Well done, dancers! Keep up the fantastic work and enjoy celebrating your achievements! 💕👏

Great news! We are so proud to share that Annabel Harridge has received a classical ballet nomination to compete at the National Young Performer Awards (NYPA) in Palmerston North this October!

Annabel earned her nomination at the Spirit of Dance Competition in Dunedin this morning, and we couldn’t be more proud. This is such a wonderful opportunity for a very deserving ballet student.

The National Young Performer Awards attracts New Zealand’s top ballet dancers aged 15 years and over. Annabel will perform two classical ballet variations at Nationals.

We are incredibly proud to have three ballet dancers from our school training towards the 2026 Ballet Nationals biannual competition :

🩰 Lucy Wellington (16 yrs)
🩰 Annabel Harridge (16 yrs)
🩰 Cienna Hearle (15 years), who is now training at Chilton Ballet Academy in Wellington

Annabel and Lucy also perform with the Dance Wanaka Senior Troupe, who will travel to Palmerston North for the National Troupe Competition with their lyrical routine.

Congratulations again to Annabel — we are so proud of you! 🌟🩰

Adults - Your mental heath day at dw studios is Monday (ballet), Tuesday (Zumba), Wednesday (ballet), or Friday (tap) 🥰

Check this out ladies. Steffi is bringing her Womens fitness sessions to our Studios and taking interest for Friday early evening or Saturday mornings. Direct all enquires to her directly
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Send a message to learn more

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📣 Calling all Wānaka dancers!

Stars In Your Eyes is back for 2026, and we're on the hunt for dancers to join Wānaka's longest-running, sell-out show at the Lake Wānaka Centre this September!

Whether you've danced for years or just love to move, if you've got some dance experience, we want to see you shine. ✨

What's the audition like? Choreographer Hannah will teach a warm-up and a short routine, then you'll perform it as a group — no solo pressure!

📅 Friday 31 July, 6:00–7:30pm
📍 Dance Wanaka, 19 Cliff Wilson Street
👟 Wear jazz shoes or sneakers you can dance in

Can't make it but keen to be involved? Get in touch — video auditions may be possible.

Tag a friend who should audition with you! Questions → [email protected] or 021 248 6601.

👉 Sign up here: https://www.wanakastars.org/dance-auditions/

Wishing everyone a fantastic first day of ballet classes at our new Cromwell studios!

It’s not too late to enrol if you’d still like to join us for ballet (Tuesdays) or jazz (Saturdays).

A warm welcome to our new ballet teacher, Miss Lynley (Murgatroyd) - we’re delighted to have her on board!

Here are a few photos from Saturday’s opening celebrations at the Te Puna Mahara Cromwell Memorial Centre. It was wonderful to see so many people there, and we were honoured to be invited to perform on the new stage. What a special way to celebrate the opening of this beautiful community space.

What an amazing few days at BBO Dance Days in Christchurch!

Our 11 dancers, aged 6-16yrs, enjoyed 4 inspiring days of ballet, bbo syllabus, jazz, tap, and lyrical classes, culminating in a fantastic gala performance yesterday at St Margaret’s College.

A huge congrats to Hannah Thomas (16) for being named Runner-Up Finalist in the NZ Senior Theatre Awards section - an outstanding achievement! Hannah also received an award for Advanced 2 BBO Ballet Syllabus.

Congratulations also to Amy Thomas on receiving an award for Advanced 1 BBO Ballet Syllabus.

We are incredibly proud of all our dancers for their hard work, enthusiasm, and dedication throughout the week. BBO Dance Days was a wonderful opportunity to extend their technical skills, build confidence, and develop their performance abilities. Well done, everyone! 💙🩰👏

A huge congratulations to everyone who took part in today's BBO Theatre Awards Semi-Finals in Christchurch.
A special congrats to Holly Smith (8) and Riley Cochrane (8), who received Outstanding Achievement Awards in the Junior Section. Also to Lucy Wellington (16) who received an Outstanding Achievement Award in the Senior Section.
We're also incredibly proud of Hannah Thomas (16) for being a Senior Finalist. Well done to you all on your fantastic achievements! 🎉👏

We're super excited to share that we're now teaching classes at the beautiful new dance studio inside the Te Puna Mahara – Cromwell Memorial Events Centre! 💃✨

Since 2018, we've loved teaching Cromwell dancers at the Presbyterian Church Hall and Lowburn Community Hall, and we're so excited to begin this new chapter in a dedicated dance space.

In Term 3 starting from 21 July, we'll be offering:
- Classical Ballet classes (Tuesday & Saturday)
- Modern Jazz classes (Saturday)
- Preschool Dance class (Saturday)

Whether you're brand new to dance or returning to the studio, we'd love to welcome you. Please help us spread the word by sharing this post with friends and families who love to dance! ❤️