Dance Energy Studios was established in 2013 by Claire O’Shea. Claire was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast where she received her entire school education at Immanuel Lutheran College. These years at Immanuel were particularly special to Claire receiving many accolades during her time there, including the honour of being School Captain in her Senior year.

Our Principal Claire began to dance at the age of three at a local studio in Maroochydore where she continued to learn for 17 years. As she grew up her love of all things dance developed into a variety of successes. Claire completed all of her examinations with the Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) company and represented Queensland in the genre of Jazz in the Australasian titles. From the age of 14 Claire began to assist with classes and her passion for teaching grew from there. Claire then completed both her Junior and Associate Teaching Levels with ATOD where she is now fully qualified to teach all genres of dance.

A passionate dancer, our Principal continues to this day to develop and grow her technical skills. This year alone, Claire has participated in many advanced technical workshops with international and nationally acclaimed choreographers and dancers. A keen learner, over the past 5 years Claire has been developing an in-depth knowledge for Dance Acrobatics, safe dance technique & trick progression in the classroom. Claire is currently finishing her Acrobatics Teachers qualification through Acrobatique and has attended many training days & professional development courses across Australia.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Primary) at University, Claire has a strong skill base in child development and teaching methods, which she believes enriches each and every child’s dance educational experience. Whether a serious dancer, or just for fun, our Principal believes a dance education can keep young people healthy and equip them with many life-long skills and friendships.

A passionate Educator, our Principal Claire also coaches other studio owners in the industry through business practices, curriculum & studio growth.

Crystal grew up on the mid-north coast of NSW and it was here, she developed her love of dance at the age of eight, when she started jazz dancing. She has since gone on to complete exams in jazz, ballet and tap as well as competing in many eisteddfods on the mid-north coast of NSW.

In 2015 Miss Crystal joined the DE team as part of our Teaching team and quickly took on more responsibility in the studio. In 2018, Miss Crystal took on the role of Office Manager & has been our ‘Maestro of Mayhem’ ever since! You will see Miss Crystal’s smiling face at the studio reception each afternoon to assist with enquiries, questions, uniforms and for a chat ❤️

Nicola has been dancing since she was 5 years old and trained in all styles from classical to hip hop. She competed in competitions and eisteddfods across Australia with both solos/duos and troupes and gained an extensive amount of knowledge for the dance industry. Being a trained Acrobatique instructor, she travelled to Melbourne in 2015 as a student, to be one of the first students to undertake a mock exam before acrobatics exams were introduced, whilst taking workshops by industry professionals such as Kelly Aykers Fulltime and Jason Colemans ministry of dance. Following this in 2017, Miss Nicola travelled to Sydney to participate in the British Ballet Organisation (BBO)s dance days, taking workshops in the genres of tap, ballet, jazz, musical theatre, lyrical and pas de deux from teachers and choreographers from Boston Ballet, Australian Ballet and the Mcdonald college. These opportunities have led Nicola to find a passion for dance and teaching and continue to inspire her to become a better teacher.

Rachel was born in South Africa and started dancing ballet when she was 3 years old. In 2008 she moved to the Gold Coast with her family and attended QDSE in Brisbane. In 2011 she moved to Perth to pursue a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Dance at WAAPA. During her time at WAAPA Rachel worked with renowned local and international choreographers in both ballet and contemporary and traveled to Asia and Europe to perform and further her dance training. Upon graduation Rachel worked as an independent dancer, choreographer and dance teacher in Perth as well as performing and choreographing in a variety of independent shows around Australia.

Rachel decided to venture in to the world of hip hop and urban dance in March 2016. In September 2016 she joined The Society dance crew in Perth to further her training as a hip hop dancer. She competed with The Society at Elite International in Perth and Dancers Paradise in Cancun, Mexico and performed in a variety of shows in Perth. She has also traveled to LA to train at studios such as Movement Lifestyle, Kinjaz Dojo and Snowglobe and attended SI Dance Camp in 2017.

Rachel is constantly searching for ways to grow as a dancer so she can build upon her knowledge and skills. As a teacher Rachel is passionate about preserving the joy of dance while building strong technical foundations that equip the students in both dance and life.

Nina began her dance training on the Sunshine Coast when she was 15 years old. Once graduated from high school she moved to Melbourne, where she studied Dance/Performing Arts at a full time school called Dance World. Upon graduating from Dance World with her Diploma in Dance/Performing Arts, she accepted a contract with Walt Disney and travelled around Asia performing as a dancer and singer. She also worked for another children musical company called X Systems where she travelled to Singapore several times for Christmas contracts.

Nina was also part of the Dance 2XS Australia Hip hop crew and this is were she landed her love for hip-hop and commercial dance. Being part of this crew and being involved in many international workshops in Australia gave her inspiration to travel and train at the schools In Los Angeles. Nina lived in LA for 3 months and trained at Schools such as Millennium Dance Center, Debbie Reynolds and the Edge Performing Arts.

After travelling overseas Nina came back to Australia and became serious about teaching. Three years later Nina graduated from Central Queensland University with a Bachelor of Education in Dance / Physical Education. She now teaches in high schools and several other private dance schools around the coast.

Jacqui took her first dance class at the age of 4 and hasn’t looked back since. When she was 17, after a dance trip to Melbourne, she was offered a scholarship with ‘The Edge Full-time Dance’ school in Melbourne, which she took. She spent 2 years in Melbourne training full-time studying everything; Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, Latin, and Commercial Jazz as well as Singing, Acting and a short course in Aerial Trapeze.

After receiving her Certificate 4 in Dance and Diploma of Musical theatre, and dancing professionally in Melbourne she decided to come home to share her knowledge and passion with new dancers and to also grow as a dancer herself.

There is nothing that she loves doing more than dancing and is excited to be back home teaching as part of the team.

Mariah was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast and began her journey of dance at the age of three training in all styles of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, musical theatre and acrobatics. She competed in numerous eisteddfods and completed her ballet, jazz & tap exams. At the age of 12 Mariah grew a passion for hip hop and wanted to focus purely on that. She moved to The House of Sole where she competed in Hip Hop Internationals, World of Dance, World Supremacy Battlegrounds, travelling to Los Angeles, Las Vegas & San Diego with her crews Checkmate, Genetik & Sole Fam where they became Champions of each National competitions. Mariah travelled to Cancun, Mexico to represent Australia and compete with her crew at Dancers Paradise where they became the world champions for two years in a row. After a massive 5 years of competing, Mariah aimed her work into professional gigs such as performing at the Rugby League World Cup, Mercedes Benz Car Launch, Empowering Women Forum and more. Whilst consuming so much knowledge in hip hop Mariah wanted to share her passion to other up and coming students, this is where her teaching came into play, now teaching for the past year at The House of Sole and a few dance schools on the coast, she is so excited to join our faculty at Dance Energy for 2019.

Tayla was raised at the Sunshine Coast after moving from Sydney when she was a baby. She started her journey of dance at age 9 just doing regular classes of jazz and acrobatics. That grew into competitively dancing in eisteddfods and competitions in the genres of jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary and acrobatics. In early 2016 Tayla was the asked to join the company ‘Showtime Attractions’ where she got to perform in a variety of roles including character acting, character suit work, singing, dancing, and scripted performances, and has been working with them ever since. She then auditioned for stage performances such as ‘Grease the Arena Experience, QPAC’ in 2017 and ‘Lord Mayors Christmas Carols’ in late 2017 which was televised nationally. Her love for dance grew from that point where she knew she wanted to make a career out of it. She decided to start studying her Certificate IV in Dance in 2017, then her Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management in 2018, to then complete her Diploma in dance in 2019. These were all completed through Elite Dance Institute which have her the knowledge and understanding of correct dance techniques and safe dance practice.

Ally began dancing at the age of 6 on the Gold Coast. Upon completing Grade 12, she attended Brent Street, Ev & Bow in NSW & Ransley’s School of Dance, Miami QLD prior to traveling to the US as a Summer Company Member with Mystic Ballet, Connecticut.

When she returned home, Ally was accepted into the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance Performance (Distinction). During her time there, Ally had the opportunity to attend secondments with Sydney Dance Company & Expressions Dance Company and travel to Bejing to take part the Bejing Dance Festival workshop and performance week.

Since graduating university, Ally has studied to become a registered RAD Ballet teacher, Progressive Ballet Technique teacher & Pilates Barre instructor in order to share her passion and knowledge of dance & body conditioning.

Since beginning dance at the age of 7 here on the Sunshine Coast, my love and passion for dance began to grow. My eagerness to learn new skills allowed for my passion to unleash in styles from ballet to hip hop. I competed in group and solo competitions as well as many performance opportunity across Queensland, gaining extensive experience and knowledge within the dance industry. Being nominated dance captain for my high school in grade 10-12 allowed me to take my dancing to the next level. This leadership position allowed me to work with all age groups to develop my own teaching and choreographic style. I have choreographed many routines from musical theatre to contemporary, all of which help me flourish as a teacher. This opportunity sparked my love for teaching which lead me to I take my dancing professionally by completing my cert IV in dance teaching and management at elite dance institute. Over the years my experience throughout dancing, student teaching, teaching, choreography and watching my teachers, has allowed me to gain extensive knowledge within the dance industry that I can’t wait to inspire, share and teach to my own students.

My love for dance first started at age 3, when I did baby ballet and tap. I fell in love with learning new dances and performing on stage. I continued to dance until 2016 when I found Dance Energy Studios. I started off with jazz, hip-hop, tap and U12’s performance team. I was a little shy at first but I fit in well and the studio became like a second home for me over the years. I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in the Victorian Dance Festival with the dance studio, traveling to Melbourne with my friends and being involved in lessons with well-known and respected dance choreographers. Being a part of the performance teams at Dance Energy have provided me with multiple opportunities, performing at Showcase Nationals in the Gold Coast and ATOD Internationals as well as winning multiple awards and medals, and competing as a soloist. I have completed multiple exams through ATOD, and currently undertaking a Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management to gain the qualifications to become a dance teacher. I have been a student teacher since 2016, gaining knowledge and learning important lessons along the way, all the while my love for dance and teaching others has grown immensely, and I am so excited to be finishing my Diploma and continuing to grow as part of the Dance Energy teaching team.

I started my dancing journey at the age of 12 in 2016 here at dance energy, and ever since I have been immersed into every aspect and opportunity the studio and Mrs Claire has given me. I have been a part of the competition teams since 2017, winning numerous awards and attended various competitions, including Showcase Nationals and ATOD International. I have also traveled to Melbourne for the Victorian Dance Festival (VDF). In 2017 I was lucky enough to be awarded with the prestigious Student of the Year award and the 2019 Spirit of the Year award. I have also completed and undertaken exams through A.T.O.D, who I am completing my Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management with to have full qualifications to pursue my teaching career. From my personal dancing I have developed a passion for teaching over my last 5 years of teaching, I’ve been lucky enough to be a student teacher since 2016 , I am so excited to be able to further develop my skills as a young student teacher into a (nearly) fully qualified dance teacher with Miss Claire’s assistance in 2020.