Mrs Jodie Noon
Principal
As principal & creative director at Dance wEST03, Miss Jodie has shared her love & passion for dance with rural and remote students over the last 28yrs starting in Mitchell where she resides on a rural property 60km south of Mitchell. Being remote herself, she can appreciate the opportunities that may be missed living in isolation and has endeavoured throughout her teaching career to try and provide the same dancing experiences and opportunities as those in the larger metropolitan area. “I love teaching and I love children but best of all I love teaching country children” she says. “They are committed and hardworking and appreciate the opportunities that they have” Born in Bundaberg, she trained for 12years with the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) syllabus before finally making the switch to ATOD, (Australian Teachers of Dancing) with whom she now holds her teaching degree. “It’s a wonderful syllabus that nurtures their creativity and develops a holistic dancer” she explains. “The syllabus offers exams in so many different dance genres like classical, hip hop, tap, jazz & national”. Miss Jodie shares her 40 years of dance experience with students all over the South West.
Miss Jess McDonald
Registered Teacher
Jess was born & raised in Roma, QLD, & has been dancing since she was 5yrs old. She started dancing with Miss Jodie at Dance wEST03 in 2003 when the Roma studio opened. Jess continued dancing jazz, tap & hip hop until she finished Year 12 in 2012. When she left Roma for Uni, to study a Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education at the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Brisbane, Jess pursued her other passion for performing arts, Musical Theatre alongside many talented, gifted & experienced vocalists, instrumentalists & actors. While residing at UQ’s Emmanuel College she was heavily involved in the inter-college choral & dance competitions held annually. During these 4yrs, Jess was also able to experiment with directing, writing & choreographing various Musicals held within her college. In 2018, Jess moved to Chinchilla, QLD to teach Primary Music at Chinchilla State School. In 2019, she joined a dance studio in Chinchilla allowing her to perfectly blend her passion for dance, teaching & performing arts. In 2020, she returned to Roma to teach music drama & Dance at Roma State College. Jess returned to Dance wEST03 the same year as a student & teacher sharing her passion for Musical Theatre and Tap dance. Jess has a special interest in behind-the-scenes efforts, assisting where she can to help create a concert or show. She looks forward to continuing to work with out amazing dancers this year and can;t wait to see what the year brings!!!
Miss Riley Bryen
Cert IV in Dance Teaching & Management
Riley began dancing at the age of 6 in 2010 at Dance wEST03. She began by taking jazz lessons but she was quick to uncover a passion for dance which led her to then enrol in Hip Hop & Ballet in 2011. The passion to dance grew & Riley soon found herself in all styles adding Street Jazz, Street Tap, Contemporary, Acrodance & Tap to her list. Being born & bred in Roma, Riley could see that her country location often meant that opportunities were limited or hard to access so when Dance wEST03’s program offered workshops with leading choreographers, community performances, eisteddfod, comps, concerts, participation in Promo Reels, Dance Camps etc, Riley was determined to make the most of every opportunity & take her dancing to the next level. In 2017, Riley joined Dance wEST03’s competitive Hip Hop crew “Da Wildside” & found herself & her crew competing at competitions in Brisbane & successfully flying to Sydney to compete in the Australian Championships after a successful win in Brisbane. She also had the honour of performing as Justice Crew’s opening act on their last tour. Riley also has had the privilege of performing for Maddie & Mackenzie Ziegler & was selected as one of their Top 10 performaners out of 100’s of talented dancers. Her time as a dancers has taught her not only how to groove but has allowed her to build some amazing relationships that will last her a lifetime & has provided her with the opportunity to uncover a passion for not only dance but choreography. Riley now takes a teaching position at Dance wEST03 & is teaching Hip Hop, Street Jazz & Contemporary. She looks forward to advancing her choreographic skills & working with Roma & surrounds up-and-coming performers, hoping to inspire them to find a passion for the wonderful art form.
