our team
We have a team of highly experienced and skilled teachers who oversee our classes each week and our students benefit from having anywhere from 2 to 5 teachers in every class. This allows for minimal waiting time between skills, more hands-on spotting from teachers and increased one-on-one feedback. We have several Assistant Teachers who have completed their ADTA Associate Teacher Certification and a fantastic group of Student Teachers who are currently completing their Associate Teacher Certifications.
lauren popham
TEACHER
Lauren has been dancing for 15 years, training is many styles including jazz, ballet, hiphop, contemporary and acro. She has trained in dance schools in Blenheim and Christchurch. Lauren completed her Solo Performance Diploma in Jazz in 2022 and holds her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification.​
She has been assisting in teaching dance classes for the past 4 years. She has a huge passion for dance and looks forward to teaching students in classes
briar clark
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Briar has been dancing for over 15 years, beginning her training in ballet and expanding into Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, and Acro. She actively competes in both solos and troupe performances with her team.
Briar has a special passion for teaching Acro and completed her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification in 2024. She has since begun her full ADTA qualification and is on track to become fully Junior Certified in August 2026.
She absolutely loves teaching with Amy and the team, and is dedicated to helping younger dancers build confidence, technique, and a genuine love for dance. Briar strives to create a supportive and inspiring environment where every dancer can thrive.
lexi ganvev
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Lexi is a passionate and dynamic dancer and is a stretch and condition teacher at Southern Ballet. Lexi is very excited to be assisting with ‘Acro with Amy’ to extend her Acro skills and help with the Acro students. She completed her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification in 2024.
Lexi started dancing at the age of 3, currently dancing at Southern Ballet, Lexi is a competitive soloist and Troupe dancer and has trained in many styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, (DDP / Dedicated dancer program), and Acro. Lexi is a member of the Rimu Dance Company at Rangi Ruru Girls. Lexi is excited to inspire and pass her skills to the next generation.
Achievements in Dance:
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NZAMD SCHOLARSHIP 2023
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PACANZ Troupe 2023
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Distinction in Level 4 Contemporary 2023
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Lead role in Alice and Wonderland! 2022
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Lead role in Wizard of Oz! 2023
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Lead role in Cinderella! 2023
payton hutchinson
STUDENT TEACHER
Payton has dedicated ten years to Gymnastics and five to Cheerleading, earning medals nationally and internationally.
Her passion for Acro and Tumbling shines through every powerful performance. She is driven to uplift others, helping students grow in skill and confidence. With aspirations to coach and become a personal trainer, Payton is excited to continue supporting Amy and inspiring future athletes.
eloise cody
STUDENT TEACHER
Eloise has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She enjoys many different dance styles including: acro, contemporary , lyrical, jazz, ballet, musical theatre and hip hop. She loves working with younger children and helping them achieve their Acro goals.
Eloise loves the Acro with Amy community and is very excited to be teaching here.
samatha foster
TEACHER
With a great love for dancing, Sam has participated in numerous competitions with her team in New Zealand & Australia. She has been dancing for around 8 years now and couldn’t imagine her life without it.
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Having completed her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification in 2023, Sam is very excited to be assisting Amy with her classes, as well as participating in the Level 5 class. Sam wishes to pass her knowledge on to the next generation of dancers. She is incredibly appreciative of Amy for giving her the chance to do so by giving her the opportunity to assist acro.
eva fleck
ASSISTANT TEACHER
With 8 years of dance under her belt at a young age, Evas passion and love for anything dance runs deep.. so much that she can’t sit still. If she’s not practicing her turns, she’s flipping on her airtrack.
She trains in Acro, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre and completed her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification in 2024.
Eva is an extremely patient, positive person and loves to help others achieve their goals.
poppy brown
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Poppy has been dancing since she was 3 years old and is a competitive solo and troupe dancer at Levings Dance Company in Christchurch. Over the past 5 years Poppy has won a number of National and International Dancing titles which include: 2nd at the NZAMD scholarship awards for Jazz 2024.
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Top 5 Dancer of the Year Showcase Australian Championships 2023
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Showcase Australia Championship Overall winner Junior Title 2020
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Showcase Australia Championship Overall Winner Petite Title 2019
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In 2019 Poppy was a Child Performer in Hansel and Gretel for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Poppy also had her own Kids Tuber segment on the New Zealand Children’s Show What Now along with her sister Molly, that involved performing live on the show, contributing videos relating to dance, hair styles and fashion tips!
She has appeared in several TV advertisements and Music Videos, was a child extra in the Margaret Mahy Movie ‘The Changeover’, a ‘Bird Girl’ in Cobham Intermediate's production of 'Suessical" and was in the Children’s ensemble for GMG Productions Pantomime’s Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast.
Poppy is very excited to join the Acro with Amy teaching team and cannot wait to share her knowledge and passion with you all.
elsie caygill
STUDENT TEACHER
Elsie has been passionate about acro ever since she was little and has cartwheeled her way to joining and loving Acro with Amy since she was 12. Though she started later than others, she really enjoys acro, and now especially loves teaching.
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Elsie is passionate about all things acro and is thrilled to be a part of her students’ acro journey.
eva loose
TEACHER
Eva holds an associate teacher ATDA certificate and is looking forward to passing on her knowledge and skills.
Eva is a competitive dancer and has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She trains in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Musical Theatre and Acro. Eva has an incredible passion for dance and can’t wait to assist Acro with Amy classes!
belle switalla
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Belle has been dancing since she was 3 years old, currently training at Canterbury Ballet in their Pre Professional Trainee programme as a Modern Major. She completed her ADTA Associate Teacher Certification in 2023.
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She loves all aspects of dance and has really enjoyed assisting and working with younger dancers to achieve their acro goals and grow her teaching skills
alydia murray
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Alydia has been dancing for 13 years, starting with ballet at 3 years old and is currently doing contemporary, lyrical, jazz, commercial, musical theatre, ballet, hip hop, and acro. Alydia is also in the RPDS elite troupe competing multiple teams and a solo.
Alydia teaches acro at RPDS and is now loving being apart of the Acro with Amy team.
belle hanson
STUDENT TEACHER
​​Belle has been passionate about exploration through movement since she turned one; starting gymnastics as soon as she could walk! She subsequently found her happy place in the dance studio at the age of three, initially training at the Classical Ballet Centre in Surrey, England, where she fell in love with Acro.
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After relocating to Christchurch, Belle joined Levings School of Dance, where she trains in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Hip Hop, and is a competitive dancer. As a proud inaugural Acro with Amy student, she has loved developing her skills over the past four years and is excited to join the Student Teacher Training Programme to begin learning how to share her passion for Acro with others.
Amy holds an Acrobatic Arts Certification, Premiere Master ADTA Certification, Alixa Flexibility Certification, a Bachelor of Music Theatre, Diploma in Business Studies and Project Management and has helped hundreds of students throughout the South Island, New Zealand and Maine, USA achieve their acro goals.
She is also is a singer, dancer and actress, who has been involved in 60+ productions over the last 15 years, undertaking a range of roles including performer, choreographer and director. Some performance credits include: Chicago, Godspell, Company, Grease, Hairspray, Evita, Saturday Night Fever, The Phantom of the Opera and Mary Poppins.
As well as running Acro with Amy, she contracts to numerous dance schools in the South Island, teaching Acro, Jazz, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Stretch and Competition classes. She frequently runs sell-out workshops and training intensives throughout Canterbury and Marlborough.
She has trained in RAD Ballet and NZAMD Jazz and Contemporary, Irish, Tap and Musical Theatre and has been trained vocally for many years, predominantly in contemporary musical theatre and classical repertoire.
An experienced choreographer, she works closely with a number of theatre companies. Some of her recent choreography credits include: The Sound of Music, Dare to Dream, Alice in Wonderland Jr, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr, Frozen, Oliver, The Little Mermaid Jr, Peter Pan Jr, Seussical Jr, High School Musical, Grease and many end-of-year Studio recitals.
Her international performance and teaching credits include Disneyland, Los Angeles and American Summer Camp, where she taught acro, dance and singing to American and International children.
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Teaching acro is her absolute passion, and she finds huge reward in connecting with and teaching her students each week.​ She is incredibly grateful to her wonderful team of teachers and assistants, and the entire acro community that makes the studio what it has blossomed into over the years.
amy potts
B.MT, DipBus & ProjMgt, AAM2, ADTA, AFM1