Patricia Rowley Dance Studio
Theatrical Dance North Shore
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About Us

Miss Patricia Rowley established The Patricia Rowley Dance Studio in the early 1970s after relocating from Australia.

She brought to New Zealand a wealth of experience from years of training, dancing and teaching Classical Ballet, Tap and Highland & Irish dance. Shortly after starting her business, Miss Rowley, along with Mrs Dale opened the purpose-built studio in Glenfield with an unprecedented sprung wooden dance floor.

The Dance Studio is a place of history and success. Our experienced teachers create an inclusive, encouraging environment for students to explore their creativity and spark a passion for dance while building their self-confidence.

A ballet class with their teacher at the Sunnynook Community Centre

Our History

The history of the studio shows many successes over the years - our Dancers have danced professionally with the Australian Ballet Company, English National Ballet, Royal Birmingham Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, New Zealand School of Dance and numerous different Performing Arts Schools. The attributes gained through dance training have also led our students to highly qualified work positions and strong career achievements in New Zealand and abroad.

Our Performance Groups have danced in Australia and U.S.A (including at Disneyland) and enjoy performing at a range of local events each year.

Every student is given personal attention and given a range of opportunities. The favourite being the annual show!

Video 25 years bruce mason poster

In 2025 we celebrated 25 years of shows at the Bruce Mason Centre

15 min 48
Video dancers reunion poster

In 2026 we had a dancer's reunion and remembered 25 years of shows at the Bruce Mason Centre

3 min 2
Our philosophy

Our philosophy is to teach both the visible & invisible grace of dance.
To help dancers develop into versatile dancers with a keen appreciation for the arts.

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Dance = Health

Dance simultaneously engages the brain, body & nervous system. It increases memory & attention span. It links the cognitive, emotional and motor centres.

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Dance = Experience

Dance experiences build confidence, resilience, work ethic & amazing memories. Dance builds awesome humans.

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Dance = Friendships

Dance increases communication, social engagement, self esteem & builds life-long friendships.

Classes at 2 centres

We run two centres - Glenfield (our original studio, also including Manuka Primary School) and Sunnynook (at the Sunnynook Community Centre).

The Glenfield studio, 453b Glenfield Road

Glenfield

453b Glenfield Road, Glenfield

The hall at the Sunnynook Community Centre, with its sprung wooden floor

Sunnynook

Sunnynook Community Centre, 148 Sycamore Drive

Come along to a class!

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Patricia Rowley

Founder, Director and Principal Teacher

F.T.D.I O.D.T.S. (GKC ADV) Registered Teacher Examiner & Adjudicator Adv. Teaching Diploma (London) Dance Educator. Miss Rowley began her teacher training and taught for a number of years in Australia, before moving to New Zealand. Miss Rowley has taught professionally in the United States, England, Germany and Australasia. She is on the board of several dance councils and is the President of Theatrical Dance International. Miss Rowley has written and devised syllabus work for many organisations. She is known as a Teacher of Teachers.

Miss Keryn Dale

Principal Teacher

F.T.D.I Registered Teacher Examiner & Adjudicator Licenciate Teaching Diploma, Dance Educator. Miss Dale started dance at the young age of 4. She completed all her examinations and competed in many competitions covering a range of genres. She also competed in the TVNZ Starquest competition and gained experience at local events. Miss Dale trained with the Northern Ballet Company and as a young adult competed in Adagio dance at the World Championships (U.S.A) after winning the Australasian, South Pacific and Asian Pacific titles. Miss Dale also trained in Los Angeles and New York after winning an L.A. Dance force scholarship. Towards the end of her dancing career, Miss Dale completed her teaching exams in London and gained extensive teaching experience in London and around Australia. Back in New Zealand she started teaching full-time, where she had grown up, at the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio. She continued to work with local events, choreographic jobs and corporate shows, with a highlight being her role as a lead starlet in the move King Kong. Today Miss Dale loves to continue bringing the joy of dance to her students and see them grow through learning the performing arts.

Amelia Ullrich

Amelia has been dancing since she was 4 years old and is trained in many genres including ballet, jazz, commercial, contemporary, lyrical, hiphop, acro and musical theatre. She has taught across New Zealand and Australia in various styles and choreography. In 2023, Amelia trained at Dance Force Fulltime Dance School on the Gold Coast, also touring across Australia in her graduation season. In 2024, she gained her Diploma in Professional Dance at Ev and Bow Fulltime Dance School in Sydney. From this she was able to be apart of various professional works, performances and projects with choreographers across Australia and Europe, expanding her knowledge and experience in the industry. This includes working with choreographers such as, Sarah Boulter, Maxine Doyle, Sam Coren, Tegan Jeffrey Rushton, Neale Whittaker, Holly Doyle, Felicia Stav, Jess Smithson, Davide Giovanni and Chloe Leong. Before travelling abroad, Amelia has extensive competition and performance experience such as being a modern finalist at PACANZ, NZ Top Dancer at NZDA, and represented NZ at the Dance World Cup in Portugal. She has also trained in RAD Ballet and completed her NZAMD Solo Seal Diploma in Jazz and Contemporary. Since being back in NZ, Amelia has completed a secondment with the New Zealand Dance Company in their development of a new work for the upcoming season. Amelia is excited to share her passion for dance and choreography with Patricia Rowley Dance Studio!

Bel Moore

Bel Moore is dancer, dance teacher and competition judge with over 25 years' experience in the industry. She's worked throughout NZ, Australia and the United States for some of the biggest companies in entertainment including NBC Universal, Comcast and Disney. Bel has performed in events alongside Kesha, Lorde, Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal, Halle Berry, Ty Herndon, Linda Eder, Miss Americas 2016-2019 and many superstars of Dancesport and Ballroom. She danced in the Emmy Award-winning Nashville Christmas Parade, Universal Studio's Macys Christmas Parade, the Pro Bowl, operas Carmen and La Traviata and national tours with The Glenn Miller Orchestra and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Bel was a cheerleader for all the major NZ sports teams, worked as a featured dancer in multiple television series, feature films and music videos and has acted and modelled in numerous ad campaigns. Prior to dancing, Bel competed in rhythmic gymnastics for 11 years, representing NZ throughout Europe, Australia, Asia and North America including the 1994 Commonwealth Games and the 1995 World Championships and was twice NZ National Champion. Alongside judging and teaching dance, Bel is a yoga and Pilates instructor, personal trainer and continues to work as a freelance performer.

Piyara Perera

Piyara started dancing at the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio when she was four years of age. Over more than two decades of training, she has completed solo examinations in ballet, jazz and lyrical. While she has always loved ballet, she found her passion in lyrical, drawn to its emotional storytelling, musicality and expressive movement. Alongside her career as a pharmacist and brand manager at Chemist Warehouse, Piyara is also the Chemist Warehouse resident pharmacist on radio and appears in the brand's TVCs as a retail assistant. These experiences have strengthened her public speaking, communication and leadership skills, which she brings into her teaching. Piyara began teaching in 2023, inspired by the positive impact her own teachers had on her. As a qualified pharmacist, she also brings a strong awareness of dancer wellness and the importance of looking after the body and mind throughout training. She hopes to help students grow not only as dancers, but also in confidence, discipline and determination that they can carry beyond the studio.

Jan Pasco

Jan started dancing at the age of 9 and completed Solo Seal Ballet in 2023. The place of her dance formation is the Sunnynook Centre where she continues today. Jan teaches ballet to our youngest dancers, ages 2-11. She is a loved teacher of the young students and brings a positive, knowledgeable presence to her classes. Jan has a great passion for helping young students discover the joy of dance. Jan dances in the studio's Senior Performance group in annual shows and events. This is inspiring for her young students and demonstrates the possibility of working in a meaningful career and studying full-time at the same time! Currently Jan is in her final year of study, pursuing a bachelor of laws and property conjoint degree at the University of Auckland. Alongside this, she holds the role of Secretary for university's Property Students Society.

Sarah Flynn

Sarah started dancing at the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio at the age of six, completing her solo seal in tap and jazz. She is a qualified early childhood educator and combines her passion for dance with a commitment to inspiring the next generation of dancers. Sarah teaches our youngest students aged 2 - 11 at both the Manuka Primary School and the Glenfield Studio. Through her early learning teaching qualifications she brings an understanding of a child's developmental stages and can apply proven teaching strategies. Sarah continues dancing herself taking classes in Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap and as a member of the Senior Performance group. She organises and supports her students through their exams, performances and Christmas event performances.

Kaelyn Riddle

Kaelyn started dancing at the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio when she was 3 years old. Her love of teaching comes from loving to see her students develop and improve, as well as seeing them perform and have fun on stage. Kaelyn teaches Tap, Jazz & Musical Theatre at the Sunnynook Centre. She continues to dance herself, taking classes in Ballet, Contemporary and Tap as well as dancing with the Senior Performance group. Kaelyn has a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Teaching. She is a Music and Performing Arts Specialist at Meadowbank School. Her teaching develops musicality and understanding of the performing arts to her students.

Adam Kepa

Adam danced with the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio for many years doing Tap and Jazz. As he grew up and danced in the high grades, Adam showed an amazing creative flare and created new moves of his own, especially in Tap. Adam now teaches and mentors the young boys/male dancers. He teaches Boys Jazz and Tap extension. Adam brings a nurturing confidence to his classes and has a wonderful rapport with the students. He increases their ability and self esteem in unison.

Nathalie Dale

L.T.C.L. L.C.M.T. Pianist

Mrs. Dale is the Pianist for the Patricia Rowley Dance Studio and the official Pianist for Theatrical Dance International. Mrs. Dale has played for dancers in Australasia and the U.K. as well as many areas in New Zealand. She is also a qualified Music Teacher. Mrs Dale was awarded the "top 100 Musicians, 2010". She continues to bring the joy of live piano accompaniment to our dance classes.