Our Teachers

Classical, Contemporary and Silver Swans

Rachel Dawson; RAD RTS, ARAD, TCP Diploma in Dance Performance

Rachel trained at the New Zealand School of Dance gaining her Diploma in Dance Performance.  She achieved her RAD Teachers certificate in 2001 with distinction. 

Rachel danced in numerious nation dance competitions, Wellington fringe festivals, toured with Paul Jendon Dance Company in Australia and was second in line to play the role of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. She moved to England in 2007 with her two children and husband.  Since 2010 Rachel has been teaching at the Royal Ballet School for their ‘Primary Steps’ programme and creative workshops in Primary school.  Alongside this she headed up the junior and senior ballet schools at Cambridge Theatre School.  For the last 14 years Rachel was the vocational teacher for Cambridge Performing Arts and cover teacher for the Centre for Advanced training.  She also taught on the Radiates Programme developed by the RAD to offer creative dance to children.  Additionally Rachel co-delivered the primary sector dance-bance lectures to teachers to enhance their CPD for ISTD.

Rachel is delighted to have students regularly gain placement in the JA/MA associate programme and White lodge at the Royal Ballet School.

She has a passion for choreography and enjoys inspiring students through creativity and technical knowledge.  She is excited to have moved back to New Zealand and to pass on her knowledge to the students at EnPointe.

Classical, Contemporary  and Progressing Ballet Technique

Kathryn-Crawford-HeadshotKathryn Crawford; B Kinesiology, PBT, Rambert RT, RAD RTS, PBT

Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. Kathryn Crawford has been dancing most of her life.  Miss Kathryn trained at the Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts under John Ottmann, while attending various summer programs on scholarship, including the Goh Ballet Academy, Banff Centre of Fine Arts, and Ballet British Columbia Summer Intensive.

Upon graduating,  Miss Kathryn was a part of the Ballet British Columbia Apprentice Program for 2 years, where she had the opportunity to perform featured roles in works by Emily Molnar, John Alleyne, Simone Orlando, and James Gnam among others. Following this she was offered and accepted  a place in the company.

She has also worked with companies such as the plastic orchid factory, Judith Marcuse Projects and had the opportunity to work with Melanie Demers, Louise Bedard and Austin McCormick while participating in the Springboard Professional Project in Montreal. Miss Kathryn’s career has taken her across North America and to Asia, where she performed in the Bangkok International Festival with Move: the Company. Miss Kathryn also had a principal role in the short dance film, ‘Time Before the Light’, directed by Ryan Copple. Kathryn’s choreography has been featured in Vancouver at events such as Dances for a Small Stage, as well as winning awards at competitions throughout the greater Vancouver area. Kathryn recently completed a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at the University of British Columbia, focusing on injury prevention, anatomy and physiology. Miss Kathryn has completed her Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate  (PDPTC) though RAD to gain her RAD teacher registration and is a passionate and engaging tutor who continues to dance and share her love of the art form with students.

Classical and Adult Ballet

ginaGina Reid; RAD RTS, DDTS, BSMT, MEd, DipASEHC

Gina Reid started dancing as soon as she could walk but only started ballet training at aged 18 with Tony Fabella and Eddie Elejar.  Her continued jazz training was with Marissa Aboitiz.  Miss Gina is a former principal with the Manila Metropolis Ballet and Fabella-Elejar Dancers, and traveled extensively as a member of the Philippine Baranggay Folk Dance Troupe.  Prior to her shifting to Scotland, Miss Gina danced briefly with the Philippine Ballet Theatre.

Miss Gina has taught ballet and jazz for many years whilst living in Scotland, teaching child through to adults and continued to teach the RAD ballet syllabus from Primary to Vocational when she shifted to New Zealand.

Having been teaching for many years, Miss Gina decided to undertake and successfully complete the Diploma in Dance Teaching Studies (DDTS) offered by the RAD, London to become a qualified Registered RAD Teacher.

Miss Gina would love to share her passion and wealth of experience for dance with her students ensuring that each and every student develops to the best of their potential whilst also experiencing the enjoyment dance brings.

Classical

sophieSophie Arbuckle, Diploma in Dance Performance

Sophie Arbuckle began dancing at Paula Hunt Dance Studios. She went on to achieving her diploma in dance performance, after 3 years full time training at The New Zealand School of Dance. Sophie danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet as a student dancer in her 2nd and 3rd year at NZSD. Then graduated with the Todd Scholarship and a full contract with The Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2016.
Miss Sophie’s dancing career took her all over NZ, Europe, England, and Canada. She is looking forward to sharing her diverse knowledge and passion with the students at En Pointe Dance Academy.
Miss Sophie moved to London to freelance in 2018, while there she also found a passion for English ceramics and pottery. Returning to NZ, she is also now an award winning ceramic artist.
 
 
 
Classical, Contemporary and Lyrical
Arwen Sullivan – RAD RTS, CBTS, Rambert RTS 
 
Arwen Sullivan began learning ballet at the age of 4, where she found a love for feeling music through movement. She has trained in lyrical dance and has recently begun learning contemporary and jazz. Arwen is also passionate about sewing and costume design as she enjoys finding ways to reflect the character, narrative, and music visually.
Originally studying in a small town, Miss Arwen is passionate about making ballet accessible to a wide range of students and is dedicated towards helping others achieve their goals and dreams. When granted the opportunity to co-teach ballet lessons, she discovered the wonderful feeling that comes with seeing students grow and succeed. This inspired her to move to Wellington and undertake a Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies with the Royal Academy of Dance. Through this she gained understanding of children’s developmental stages, anatomy, supplementary training, and further practical teaching experience.
 
 
Contemporary, Jazz and Lyrical
 
Jann Brouard – AIDT – Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Tap
 
Jann Brouard is a driven and enthusiastic Dance teacher with a passion and strong commitment for the Arts.  Having started dancing at the age of 5 in South Africa, Miss Jann went on to dance professionally for ten years both in South Africa and internationally, performing in theatre shows, on cruise ships , music videos and corporate events. She successfully ran a dance school that specialised in Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, lyrical and Ballet and was at the forefront of fast becoming one of the most innovative and competitive dance schools in the country. Miss Jann is RAD Ballet trained, and is AIDT (Internationally recognised) trained in Jazz, Tap, contemporary and Hip Hop. A hands-on approach to the entire creative process means that she has been able to curate with the utmost attention from inception to final delivery. Being highly committed and driven Miss Jann is very excited to get involved in the Academy that is as passionate about dance as she is.

Classical and Adult Ballet

Photo credit: Stephen A’Court.
Photo credit: Stephen A’Court.

Kathiy Watson-Benseman; RAD RTS, IDTA

Kathiy Watson-Benseman has been a qualified RAD teacher for over 30 years, teaching students between age 3 and 73. She is one of New Zealand’s first Silver Swan licensee. Miss Kathiy also assesses NZ NCEA theatre qualifications and is internationally qualified as an IDTA examiner, examining dance qualifications.

Miss Kathiy performed as a freelance dancer with ballet, contemporary and theatre companies, including the RNZB and Opera, but her passion is in seeing students achieve their potential. Qualifying as a teacher with both RAD and IDTA, Kathiy was the Principal Teacher of the Silverstream School of Dance for five years. Since then she has been in high demand as a freelance teacher around the Wellington Region. She believes in teaching the joy as well as the techniques of dance.