Our Faculty
EMILY GOODWIN
Principal and Founder of dance HQ
Emily Goodwin founded dance HQ in 2015, realising a dream to open her own dance studio in her hometown in Orange. At eight years of age Emily started dancing at Colour City Dance Works in Orange under the guidance of former Principal Miss Jacquie Hoole. She was very shy but her confidence slowly grew and she fell in love with dance. After completing her HSC, Emily attended Ev and Bow, a private dance school in Sydney, where she was dared to push the limits choreographically and was introduced to innovative work that was adventurous, creative and captivating. Her Contemporary/Classical full time training at Ev & Bow opened many doors and gave her many opportunities, exposing her to some of the most renowned choreographers who are leaders in the industry, including Sarah Boulter, Steven Tannos, Marko Panzic and Debbie Ellis just to name a few. In 2015 Emily graduated from Charles Sturt University in Bathurst with a Bachelor of Teaching (Honours), Personal Development, Health and Education.
MARIKA GARTON
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Marika started dancing when she was about four years old, although her Mum says she was born with ballet shoes on! She started training in RAD Classical Ballet, then the BBO syllabus, Contemporary Dance and Flamenco (Spanish). Marika completed her Classical training all the way through to Solo Seal, as well as National Character through to Advanced with Full Honours. She has been taught by classical and contemporary teachers from the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Royal Ballet, Queensland Ballet, and Diversions Dance Company (Wales), and other teachers with international training from Berlin, Japan and New York. Marika has performed various roles in ballets such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Les Sylphides, The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Coppelia and Le Corsaire. As a teacher, she has enjoyed teaching at and managing local dance schools in Sydney as well as teaching in both Performing Arts and High Schools in Sydney. Marika and her young family recently moved to Orange and she is enjoying the dance HQ community and being part of it's teaching family.
KATE FORAN
Kate has been a dance teacher for the past 18 years and during that time she has taught thousands of students from two and a half years of age to adults, including numerous children with special needs, in the styles of modern, contemporary and musical theatre, although her passion has always been teaching jazz. Kate started dancing when she was five years old at local Orange dance studio Beattie School of Dance under the tuition of Ms Lynne Beattie and Ms Sally Curran and along with Ms Jacqui Hoole are still all to this day the biggest inspirations to Kate when it comes to teaching dance. Other parts of Kate’s dance experience journey include being the joint owner/principal of Colour City Dance Works (Orange) and being able to see some of her students go on to full time dance schools or become dance teachers themselves. She has been the choreographer for many different school productions and shows. She loves helping out and volunteering her time to being part of dance related fundraisers and community based events. Kate is also currently employed to teach dance programs at local primary and secondary schools. Kate’s dance training and experience goes back over 30 years and she still gets excited every single time she walks into a studio full of students.
LAUREN HUSTLER
Classical Ballet Teacher
RAD ACCREDITED TEACHER
Lauren is a highly accredited Ballet teacher and mentors dance HQ ballet students in preparation for RAD examinations and assessments. Although Lauren is based in Sydney, she attends the studio on a regular basis to work with the students and teachers. Lauren began dancing at the age of four studying the Cecchetti method of Classical Ballet under the guidance of Cecchetti examiner, Robyn Ross. She then went on to study at the North Shore Dance Academy receiving Distinction and Honours respectively for her graded and major examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance. In addition to her qualifications listed above, Lauren is currently completing her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment along with her Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management.Lauren is an eight-time winner of the prestigious City of Sydney eisteddfod in Classical and championship sections including the Robert and Elizabeth Albert Scholarship. Lauren was an interstate associate of The Australian Ballet School and later undertook rigorous training with the school. Many of Lauren's former students have gone on to achieve great successes at both a national and international level gaining acceptance into the Australian Ballet school, English National Ballet School, the Royal Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School along with the prestigious classical and contemporary course at WAAPA and other notable European finishing schools. Students have gained notable successes on the international stage including winning Prix de Lausanne, Youth America Grand Prix and the McDonald's Ballet Scholarship at Sydney Eisteddfod. Lauren teaches all grades and vocational levels of the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus at schools all over NSW and Canberra. Lauren also teaches the full-time and part-time Certificate IV in Dance at Brent Street across the Trip
SAMANTHA COPPOCK
Sam started dancing at the age of 10 and has been trained in various genres of dance including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, musical theatre and contemporary. Sam loves to perform and has competed in several dance competitions around NSW. Sam specialises in Hip Hop and Jazz and has received outstanding results from past choreographic works. Sam is currently studying primary school teaching and early childhood. She is known for her hard hitting moves, outstanding performance quality and excellent leadership skills
PAIGE NEILSON
Paige started dancing at the age of 4 and trained in all styles but grew fondly of classical ballet and modern dance. She performed as part of a State Dance Troupe for 2 years focusing majorly on the style of jazz. After being trained as a student dance teacher at her previous dance school, she moved to Orange and became part of the HQ family. Paige has previously volunteered at local schools to choreograph dances for school productions. She is currently studying primary school and high school teaching at University. Paige recently was accepted into the RAD CBTS (Certificate of Ballet teaching Studies) program which she is looking forward to starting in 2020. This exciting adventure will allow Paige to work closely with accredited RAD mentors and learn the RAD syllabus inside out whilst aiming to become accredited herself.
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