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.
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 @ 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.
Tracey and Michael have three young children who perform in their own way about the family home.
Melanie Barbour
DANCE TUTOR
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 modeled at New Zealand L' Oreal Fashion week 05, for Annah Stretton and continue to do part time modeling. Loves choreographing and children. She has competed and performed in various Wearable Art Competitions throughout New Zealand, and is currently studying fashion.
Andries Mentz
DRAMA TUTOR
Dip. Screen Acting, Dip. Film & Televison Prod.
 Andries has completed his studies 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 over the last three years including a role in the feature film Memories of Tomorrow which was shown at the Asian Film Festival '05. 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 energy. He produced Wunz Upon a… for our 2005 Performance season.
Christie Kamphuis
DANCE TUTOR
.jpg) Christie is a passionate dancer who began her training in Sydney at a very young age. She has extensive dance training in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cheerleading and Competitive Aerobics and holds the title for being the youngest competitor in NZ to win 1st place in the NZFBB Body Shaping Fitness category.
After choreographing, teaching and performing in a number of productions, Christie was inspired to pass on her love of Dance in a professional manner, to
those who share her enthusiasm. She loves working with both children and teens and enjoys watching their confidence grow.
Christie currently dances professionally for two theme party companies who specialize in corporate events as well as working her way towards a Bachelor of Communications majoring in Creative Studies.
Jo Cook
DANCE TUTOR
Advanced C. Perf (Dance, Drama and Vocals)
Cert. Education (ECE)
 Jo Cook is a fabulous tutor and dancer with many years experience behind her. Joanna has had a love and a passion for dancing since she could walk. She has completed many dance exams covering R.A.D Ballet, Jazz and Tap dancing. She has competed in Tap Dancing competitions and gained Distinction in her Tap exams. She completed year one at Excel School of Performing Arts, studying Jazz, Contemporary, Hip hop, Choreography, Performance, and Cultural dance. She was then asked to tour New Zealand with 25 other students, performing in schools, youth groups, churches and theatres. Joanna has previously choreographed for many productions and school performances and has taken part in many shows and musicals. She has also completed her Certificate in Education through AUT graduating in 2007.
Tracy Trinder
DANCE TUTOR
Bachelor Fine Arts
 Tracy is a passionate and talented dancer. Her choreography is creative and energetic, drawing magic out of the young dancers she loves to teach.Tracy studied dance and theatre in 2001 at Otago University and continued to develop her artistic approach through her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Following this, she choreographed for Equilibrium dance group, Stage challenge, was a member and choreographer of her high school dance committee, and has taught hip hop for dance schools, community centres, birthday parties and holiday programs throughout her time in Dunedin. She is now loving being a part of the magic that is the Performance.Net. Tracy has a fun, positive and enthusiastic outlook on life which she incorporates into her classes and enjoys the vitality and inspiration her students give back to her.Hannah Jacobs
DANCE TUTOR
 Hannah is a fantastic tutor with a bright and positive attitude. Introduced to dance at the age of three Hannah has become a diverse dancer with a repertoire of many styles. Studying dance at Botany Downs Secondary College she has already accomplished a great deal in the performing arts. Following this she is looking forward to completing a Dance Degree at Auckland University. She attended the Australian College of Entertainment in Sydney – receiving the Junior Vocal award and then went on to the Masque College of Entertainment to receive the Junior Jazz award. She has been a member of triple8funk dance company and has danced in a variety of productions.
Hannah also has great expertise in the areas of drama and singing. She thoroughly enjoys teaching and hopes to inspire young children to embrace their talents.
Laura Beth Warne
DANCE AND DRAMA TUTOR
BCA (Dance Performance)
Laura-Beth’s background in dance began in London and has continued to develop in both Australia and New Zealand. Here she has found a fantastic passion for sharing her talents and teaching the art of dance.
Laura-Beth began choreographing at the age of 14 for Auckland Children's Musical Theatre before traveling to Sydney, Australia to complete her Bachelors in Dance Performance. She then went on to teach and perform Hip Hop and Musical Theater in Sydney before returning to NZ in 2004.
Since her return home Laura-Beth has taught dance and choreographed musicals for various Auckland high schools before joining The Performance.Net team in April 07. We are delighted to have her on board the Performance.net team.
Louis Mendiola
Drama Tutor
MFA (Screenwriting), BA (Film Studies)
 Hailing from California, Louis is excited to be in New Zealand as his passions for teaching and the arts guide his way. Louis graduated from Chapman University in 2007 with a MFA in screenwriting. During his time at Chapman University Louis wrote, acted, and directed in various film and television projects. Louis also tutored several undergraduate and graduate film courses, helping the students achieve their artistic goal. As well as his technical training, Louis has a BA in film studies, a field of study that promotes a critical and analytical approach to screen and performing arts. Louis is currently writing several projects as he manages his time with tutoring students at theperformance.net, a profession he is giddy and proud to be a part of as, ‘one of these kids could be the next big star that reshapes the world.’
Melissa Jones
DRAMA AND DANCE TUTOR
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
DRAMA AND DANCE TUTOR
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.
Liz Baldwin
DRAMA TUTOR
BA, NZTTC, Dip Tchg
Liz has spent her life in theatre and education. She has over 25 years experience teaching, directing and performing in theatre, television and film in NZ, Asia-Pacific region and Europe. She was closely involved with the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival in a number of projects, notably Ssshh 1 and Ssshh 2 which toured Hong Kong and the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals ’97 and ’99 where they gained nominations for a Fringe First. She has worked in Asia and Europe as an educator and director with ISTA (International Schools Theatre Association), worked as a performing arts teacher in NZ and international schools for 15 years, performed professional theatre and film in over 60 productions and co-founded two theatre companies. Liz is the mother of three delightfully delicious toddlers who have taken her on a discovery of learning quite beyond her expectations!
Alana Tingle
DANCE TUTOR
Major Examinations in RAD, ISTD, BTDA & IDTA
LAMDA at Advaced Level
 Alana completed 3 years of professional training at the Leicester College of Performing Arts in England, covering DANCE, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Commercial Jazz, Street Jazz, Lyrical, and Pas de deux, DRAMA and SINGING. She graduated with a Diploma in Performing Arts with Distinction. Alana teaches our Adult Dance Company and also teaches at Excel Performing Arts School and for the AUT Bachelor of Dance. Alana has a wealth of experience in the performing arts industry and has danced in and choreographed for a variety of shows. We are delighted to have her as a part of the Performance.net team.Melissa Breckon
DANCE TUTOR
BDance  Melissa has trained in various dance forms from a very young age, including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, and Hip Hop dance. She has competed all over the country in dance and received various awards and scholarships for her achievements.
Melissa loves choreography, teaching, and educating people about dance. During her last three years studying dance she has been able to advance her skills within these areas, and having now graduated from AUT University with a Bachelor of Dance is now looking forward to building her career within the dance industry. We are delighted to have her on board the Performance.net team.Esther Stephens
DRAMA TUTOR
B. Performing and Screen Arts (Acting)  Esther Stephens has just completed a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts at Unitec, where she majored in acting. So far her career highlights have included performing in Auckland Theatre Company's production of 'Twelfth Night', and recently performing in the Silo theatres 'Ensemble Project', where she worked on two plays; 'Based on Auckland' with director Oliver Driver, and a classic text with director Michel Hurst. She is also a singer, performing in three Auckland bands and as a solo artist. She is passionate about musical theatre, having performed lead roles in 'Oliver', 'Coram Boy', and recently Tim Bray's production of 'Pippi Longstocking'. She has a background in singing teaching, and enjoys sharing her love of the arts with children. She hopes to inspire young performers to be the best they can be, and to have great fun in the process.
Katrina Wessesling
DRAMA TUTOR
 Katrina 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. She has trained in theatre, film and voice for the past 5 years and has been acting for 8 years. She is a Junior Associate for Toi Whakaari and is currently taking a gap year before attending the Drama School fulltime in
2009. She is represented by Odd Management and has recent industry experience.
Katrina has been directing and choreographing for Stage Challengefor the past few years where she has picked up many awards including a first place in Student Direction and an award in Dramatic Choreography.
Katrina is an enthusiastic, confident and creative actor and tutorwith much to offer and we are delighted to welcome her on board the team at The Performance.net.
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