Heather Johns (Miss Heather)
Owner and qualified teacher (BTDA. Registered teacher NZAMD) of Ballet, Jazz & Contemporary. Assistant teacher of Tap.
Heather started dancing at age 3 and has completed: BTDA Ballet and Jazz to Advanced 2 level, all 5 BTDA Choreography exams, BTDA Lyrical to Grade 7 and NZAMD Tap to Level 9. She has also studied BBO Ballet and AJDA Jazz for a short time. During her time learning BTDA, she was invited to attend their Summer School programme twice in Leicester, England.
After gaining her teaching qualification with BTDA, she has had 13 years of teaching experience. Most of this time was spent in the studio where she grew up overseeing all the Ballet, Jazz & Lyrical classes. She assisted in moving the studio over to the NZAMD syllabi and added Hip Hop and Contemporary classes into the timetable as well as Ballet and Jazz.
With the closing down of the studio at the end of 2015, Heather was given the opportunity to open her own school and so Rhythm & Grace was born!
After gaining her teaching qualification with BTDA, she has had 13 years of teaching experience. Most of this time was spent in the studio where she grew up overseeing all the Ballet, Jazz & Lyrical classes. She assisted in moving the studio over to the NZAMD syllabi and added Hip Hop and Contemporary classes into the timetable as well as Ballet and Jazz.
With the closing down of the studio at the end of 2015, Heather was given the opportunity to open her own school and so Rhythm & Grace was born!
Shannon Messenger (Miss Shannon)
Qualified teacher (NZAMD) of Tap. Assistant teacher of Ballet, Jazz & Contemporary
Shannon has been tap dancing since she was 4 years old and has a real passion for this genre of dance. She has completed her NZAMD Level 9 exam where she received very high results.
As well as exams, she has done very well in the numerous competitions she has entered. Shannon also loves to attended workshops and gain as much experience and knowledge as possible from a wide variety of teachers and tutors. She especially loved attending the Melbourne Tap Festival. So much so, that she's been back a couple of times!
Shannon completed her teaching qualification with NZAMD in 2022 and she loves teaching the tappers at Rhythm & Grace. She is eager to help others who are wanting to learn tap and hopes she can pass on her passion for the art of tap to all that come to her classes.
As well as exams, she has done very well in the numerous competitions she has entered. Shannon also loves to attended workshops and gain as much experience and knowledge as possible from a wide variety of teachers and tutors. She especially loved attending the Melbourne Tap Festival. So much so, that she's been back a couple of times!
Shannon completed her teaching qualification with NZAMD in 2022 and she loves teaching the tappers at Rhythm & Grace. She is eager to help others who are wanting to learn tap and hopes she can pass on her passion for the art of tap to all that come to her classes.