OUR DIRECTOR | TINA SPARKS
Sparks Dance Centre is more than just dance. We are a centre that encourages, mentors & welcomes everyone who loves the performing arts. Whether you love the arts as a hobby or are wanting a professional career in the industry. We are a family that will nurture & support the growth of your passion and help your dreams become a reality. At Sparks DC we believe there isn't anything you can't achieve and we will show support and faith all the way.
Sparks Dance Centre was founded by Tina Sparks. Our motto 'all things are possible' emphasises our determination to bring out the best in you and help you make your dreams become a reality. We aim to nurture and guide young performers in the right direction to achieve their goals and position in the industry. With years of experience we promise to always provide the most outstanding relevant up to date classes in all styles. Here at Sparks DC Your potential is limited by your imagination!
CERTIFIED
BALLET
JAZZ, TAP & CONTEMPORARY
QUALIFICATIONS
AUTHOR
Tina is the resident writer for some of Australia’s well known dance magazines in regards to fitness and make up. She created Australia’s first make up line for dancers called Stand Out Cosmetics On Stage & Off. Tina’s quality cosmetic line is used by world wide suppliers, to TV and Film corporations, professionals and youth ballet programs, make up artists, dance studios and performing arts production companies.
Tina encourages everyone to find their passion in life and enjoys being part of the wonderful world of dance.
MEET OUR AMAZING TEAM
TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
RACHAEL WILKINSON
Rachael started dancing at the age of 4 in Classical Ballet, Tap, Jazz & Lyrical under the guidance of her mother Shellaan Valk. Growing up spending every day in the studio & watching her mother teach it was inevitable that dancing was bound to be part of her life. At age 12 Rachael took on a role as student teacher & by 15 was taking her own classes. It was a true passion to pass on the love that she had for dance that was instilled in her everyday life. When finishing high school she completed a Bachelor of Education at Central Queensland University majoring in human movements as well as studying C.S.T.D teachers certificates. Continuing to update her skill in adding Contemporary & Hip Hop classes to the studio. In 2006 after her mother’s passing she took on the role & become principal of the studio. Teaching all styles & age groups. With her wealth of knowledge training highly successful students in exams, competitions both solo & group work, careers, full time dance courses & teacher training. Rachael is dedicated to providing happy, safe & positive dance environment as well as encouraging students to be the best dancer they can be.
CHEER | ACRO COACH
FAAN RYAN
Miss Faan was a competitive gymnast for 8 years, making her way up to national competition level and trained/coached by Olympic gymnasts. Upon retiring from her gymnastics career she kept up with her love and interest in human movement and fitness, taking an interest in yoga, rehab/stretching, acro yoga, acrobatics, body sculpting, cheerleading, weight lifting, and of course dance. Miss Faan has Completing her Level 1 dance teaching and therapist training along with Studying a Bachelor of Education. Miss Faan not only loves participating in sporting activities but also loves sharing her knowledge and passion with her students. She intends to inspire students to push their limits and explore all the wonderful things the human body can do whilst having fun and enjoying every second. ``I cannot wait to inspire my students to achieve goals and develop their confidence and skills!``
CHEER | ACRO COACH
CALEB RYAN
Mr Caleb moved to Hervey Bay 9 years ago to study a diploma of sport and cert 4 in fitness, his love of all things movement and fitness has taken him many places over the years and he loves learning and then teaching these skills. Caleb is a personal trainer and swimming coach, for the last 7 years he has specialised in teaching babies all the way through to adults. Mr Caleb has come to realise his passion is working with children and helping them to develop their potential to their fulllest so they can achieve all they are capable of. 'As a teacher we do so much more than just teach children new skills, we are a part of their development process . We inspire them to do their best, achieve things they never thought possible and to be confident in themselves' . Calebs love for acrobatics came about 6 years ago while watching cirque du soleil and since then he has trained and learnt anything he can involving individual and partner acrobatics. Caleb combines this with his knowledge of his studies in personal training and human development and movement so that he can teach his students safely and correctly in all things. Mr Caleb is excited to be working with your children and teaching them things they have always dreamed of doing.
TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
CARISSA WRIGHT
Miss Carissa began dancing at the tender age of three, training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, Stretch and Strength, and Acrobatics. Since then she has participated in a number of professional performance opportunities, and deepened her knowledge in dance teaching and choreography. Miss Carissa has also completed her Bachelor of Education (Primary). During her eight years experience as a dance teacher she has successfully trained students of all ages in preparation for competitions, professional performance opportunities and solo choreography. As an experienced educator in both dance and academics, Miss Carissa aims to better her professional practice through participation in workshops, tutorials, information sessions and more, demonstrating a strong will to offer her students relevant, safe techniques in a fun environment. Miss Carissa encourages all of her students to reach for the stars and simply recognise the amazing opportunities that life provides you.
TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
JADE BENNETT
Miss Jade started dancing when she was 3 years old. Jade has been a student of Sparks Dance Centre for many years and was accepted into full time training on the Gold Coast with Dynamite Studios Australia. Miss Jade graduated in 2020 after a challenging year of classes mixed with online and in person. Miss Jade is now one of our Part Time Academy teacher for our evening classes and loves working with and inspiring the next generation of dancers. Miss Jade is also in her first year of study for physiotherapy, she is excited to be sharing her knowledge and skills with everyone in dance.
TEACHER
KELLI HURFORD
Miss Kelli’s passion for performing started when she was only 4 years old. Since then she has been a Performer, Director, Script Writer, Technician, Stage Manager and teacher of all things stage, drama and film related. As a NIDA graduate, Miss Kelli spent time in amateur theatre while completing both her Bachelor of Science and her Grad Dip Learning and Teaching in Secondary. She now inspires teenagers to write engaging scripts, direct intriguing performance and develop a wide variety of characters for their film and stage repertoire. Miss Kelli’s graduates have gone on to have careers in the Theatre and Film Industries across the world. Over the last 10 years, she has Directed and Produced annual school productions. Miss Kelli’s advice to students is “believe in your character, and your audience will believe in you.”
ADMINISTRATION | TEACHER
CARLA THORNTON
Miss Carla moved to Hervey bay in 2017 from Warwick Qld where she had owned and operated her own dance school for 8 years teaching and choreographing Hip hop and Break dancing. Miss Carla is a qualified Personal trainer with over 16 years experience and loves helping people gain confidence and teaching dance in a safe inclusive environment.
Miss Carla also specialises in working with children and people with disabilities and has also competing in body building and featured as character for the famous cosplay events in Australia. Miss Carla is looks forward to sharing her knowledge and pushing the boundaries of this genre with everyone.
GUEST TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
TEGAN ELLIS
Miss Tegan began dancing at the age of 5 and trained in Classical, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical and Hip Hop in Hervey Bay. Since then she has obtained her CSTD full teaching diploma, Zumba Instructor Licence, First Aid Certificates and is currently studying a Bachelor of Education through USQ. In 2007-2009 she was the her owner of a dance studio in Hervey Bay but decided to dedicate more time to her 2 young boys and take on the role of a dance teacher at Sparks Dance Centre. During her 15 year experience as a dance teacher she has successfully trained students for examinations, competitions, solos and has received awards at regional and national level for choreography with her competition teams. In 2014 she was part of the choreography team for the Disney Tour in LA, USA. Many of Miss Tegan’s elite students have continued to study dance in full time dance schools which has further lead them to various careers in the dance industry. She realises that everyone comes to dance classes for different reasons, whether it be to work toward a career in dance or for a hobby, classes are diversified to suit their dance needs. Miss Tegan loves working with the children at Sparks DC and is committed to providing them all with a quality dance education within a nurturing and inspiring environment.
GUEST TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
GRANT MCDOUGALL
Mr Grant began dancing at the age of 5 and has been trained in Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Tap, at the Anne Fraser School of Dance on the Sunshine Coast. Grant has since studied at the New Zealand School of Dance and worked with the English National Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballets. He has completed his Royal Academy of Dance training to Advanced 2 Level. Grant has also worked in a number of stage productions including ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Cats. Grant has completed a Bachelor of Business Graduate Diploma in Teaching and is a qualified Vocational Education and Training teacher (VET), holding a current TAE qualification. Grant injured himself, finishing his professional career, however loves to share his knowledge and contacts to progress other students’ talent and aspirations within the dance field.
GUEST TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
DANNY HINDMARSH
Danny is a Dancer / Aerialist who grew up in Hervey Bay. His professional credits include Celebrity Cruises, Hong Kong Disneyland, Princess Cruises, Cabaret de Paris, Mystique Magic & Illusion Spectacular, The Ultimate Vegas Show, Channel 9 and soon to be cast on Disney Cruises. Danny is excited to be here at Sparks inspiring our students and passing on his knowledge and expertise within the industry.
ADMINISTRATION | TEACHER
HOLLY GOULD
Born and raised in Hervey Bay Holly started dancing at the age of 5. Trained in all styles of dance Holly left the Bay once she finished Yr 12 to further her training in Performing Arts at The Edge Performance Agency in Victoria under the guidance of director Todd Patrick and Teachers Andrew Hallsworth, Tim McDonald, Kim Adams, Phillip Haddad, Adrian Tabourni and Amanda Stone. After completing her Cert 4 in Performing Arts in 2006 she moved on to train fulltime for another year at Patrick Studio’s Australia where she was given the opportunity to perform in a variety of annual Commercial Gigs like “Countdown Spectacular 1&2” at Rod Laver Arena, “KPMG Balls” at Crown Palladium, “Price Waterhouse Coopers Functions” at the Regent Theatre and as an extra in Ricki Lee’s “Cant Touch It” film clip. After having a break from dancing and teaching over the past 4-5 years, concentrating on a few other passion’s of her’s Holly has completed her Diploma in Event and Wedding Planning and becoming a Mum, Holly is excited to be back with the dancing industry and back at our studio in a different role, learning new skills and getting to know all our students and parents at Sparks DC.
GUEST TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
MADDY CHALLIES
Miss Maddy has been assisting with classes for the past 4 years with Sparks and is currently studying her Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Business Management. Maddy is trained extensively in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical and Contemporary. Miss Maddy has recently completed her level I and II training in Ready Set Dance and will be assisting our Pre School classes as well as assisting with our Hip Hop department and Performance teams. Maddy has a passion for working with children. (Advice from Miss Maddy) Believe in yourself, don’t be afraid to embrace your body and how it moves, Everyone is different and everyone moves differently so don’t be scared to just be you. Also to keep trying , learn from any disappointments or setbacks that you may have but keep going. You have to work hard in this industry and continue to learn and improve your skills but always remain true to yourself and treat people how you would like to be treated.
GUEST TEACHER | CHOREOGRAPHER
TAHNEE SALATA
Tahnee has always been a performer at heart, and from a very young age completely immersed herself in this seemingly fast paced industry we all know and love.
She first began dancing at the age of 3 in all styles, including Tap and Musical Theatre.
As soon as she finished high school and turned 18 Tahnee relocated to Brisbane where she studied full-time at Conroys Performing Arts College. She continued to train in all areas of dance while also adding private singing tuition, acting and aerial arts.
Her professional performance career started in 2013 with her role as a 'Jungle Girl' with Bindi Irwin at Australia Zoo. Tahnee then continued to work in the industry with performances throughout Brisbane, Gold Coast, America and Dubai. She has most recently completed numerous contracts with Norwegian Cruise lines as a Production Cast Dancer, Dance Captain and Aerial Captain.
Tahnee has also completed her CSTD Full Teachers diploma in Modern Jazz and Theatrical and absolutely loves to teach dance to people of all ages and skill levels. ``Being able to help someone find their connection and passion for the thing I love most is amazing and to simply watch someone ‘get it’ is the feeling I thrive off.``
