Judges
Richard is a Whakatāne based community worker and mountain bike coach that loves to ride and take risks! In 2018 year he threw himself on stage and at the mercy of an audience as a Dancing for Life Education Eastern Bay of Plenty contestant.
“Being partnered with the lovely Virginia Jeeves was a lot of fun, we’re both very extroverted and were given hip hop as our dance genre. We both had the time of our lives, met new people, learnt some new skills and had so many laughs. Incredibly on the night, we were not only awarded the People’s Choice award but we also WON!!”
Richard says it was the most stressful, scary, yet rewarding thing he’s ever done! He swore never again so now he’s on stage as a judge!
“I know exactly how these dancers will be feeling leading up to their performances. I wish them all the very best.”
Kirsty owns and operates Steps Dance School in Whakatane that teaches Hip hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap and comp crews.
Originally from Scotland, Kirsty now calls Whakatane home along with her husband and 3 boys.
She tutored the 2018 Dancing for Life Education Eastern Bay of Plenty winning couple Virginia Jeeves and Richard Hamer to victory and says it excites her to be helping and teaching people who don't dance... to dance.
Cole is overjoyed to be making his judging debut back in his hometown. Cole started his performance training here with Theatre Whakatane, where he is credited for winning the Best Choreography award for his work on “Evita – the musical” before going on to graduate the New Zealand Institute of Applied Creativity with a Diploma of Performing Arts (Dance).
After Graduating, he travelled to Los Angeles to pursue an international dance career with the illustrious Princess Cruises Entertainment Team. Three years later he has now returned home after working as a professional dancer in over 80 countries around the world and is looking forward to seeing these fantastic volunteers demonstrate their newfound flare for the arts.
Cole would like to remind everyone that, “Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion”.
Dean has Directed / Choreographed and /or produced many shows including Cats, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia, 42nd Street, Broadway bigger than ever! with Jackie Clarke, The Rocky Horror Show with Richard Long and the touring Chicago starring Michael Barrymore and Tina Cross.
Based in his studio complex, Dean McKerras School of Dance thrives with over 500 dancers passing through its doors each week.
Having gained a Diploma of Teaching and Bachelor of Education, Dean has created and implements a ‘Dance in Education’ programme which has seen him share dance with over 50,000 school children. He currently shares his ‘passion and energy’ for dance with students through master classes which see him travelling around New Zealand, and internationally has taught in Vancouver, London and the Philippines.
Dean is the creator & director of DanceNZmade branding which runs competitions and workshops around the country for studios and schools, and provides Hip Hop, Contemporary and Performance (jazz based) Levels- a syllabus being danced in studios around the country
