Dedicated ballet class starts up in Motueka

June 17th, 2011

A specialist classical ballet school for children has come to Motueka, with two Motueka sisters teaching the Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Syllabus (RAD) syllabus, an internationally recognised quality dance program.

There are currently other dance schools offering ballet lessons in Motueka, but the difference with the new DanceNelson-Motueka class is that it is dedicated to ballet. The first classes began last month.

DanceNelson-Motueka is an off-shoot to DanceNelson, which is an established ballet specialty dance school in Nelson. The teachers for DanceNelson-Motueka - sisters Alesha Sims and Rebecca Adams - have been trained through DanceNelson in Ballet themselves.

Alesha Sims (nee Adams), GradDip Tch/Lrn, RAD, NZAMD (Advanced), grew up in Motueka and has both taught and danced professionally in Christchurch, Wellington and overseas over the last 5 years. Alesha is a full-time primary school teacher and is qualified to the teaching standard in RAD Ballet and Advanced Jazz dance.

Rebecca Adams is a student at Motueka High, who has been studying RAD Ballet since the age of 5. She has competed at the NZ Performing Arts Competitions National Finals in Ballet, and is currently completing her RAD Advanced examinations.

Classes are on Saturday mornings in Motueka at the Uniting Parish Church Hall on High Street (beside the Police station), with programs suitable for ages 3 and up to a beginners' teen ballet class. "Our pre-school classes are particularly popular. At the moment we are running 4 separate classes, and will run more when the demand allows," says Alesha.

"We are running these courses long term, and we are very pleased with our roll numbers and response thus far. We expect to grow further, and are looking forward to adding further classes later this year.

"We expect to run a public concert most probably be towards the end of this year. As we grow we would love to put together competition teams also to compete in the Nelson Performing Arts competitions and further afield."

Term fees are generally $50 per student per term, with some movement in these fees depending on start dates. For enrolments and further information, phone or text or email

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