Volunteers & Teachers

HOME / Volunteers & Teachers

Volunteers & Teachers

Teaching Team

Alanah started dancing at the age of 4 and has never stopped! Throughout this time she has trained in various styles including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and lyrical/contemporary. Although she still loves to dance, Alanah‘s main focus has always been teaching with over 7 years experience. Alanah holds both a Cert IV and Diploma in Dance Teaching and Management from Transit Dance. She is also studying a Bachelor of Arts. Alanah is committed to helping her students work to the best of their own ability, while having a lot of fun along the way!

Alanah Koch

Hoppers Crossing

Teachers with Lived Experience

Emily Woodward

Assistant Teacher

Emily Woodward

Assistant Teacher

Emily is a recent graduate of the Artistic Capacity Building Program, driven to dance and says she simple just ‘can’t get it out of her’. She loves dance because it makes her feel warm hearted. She sees being a successful artist/ teacher as a form of advocacy for people with disabilities, because she has not had a lot of role models in her creative journey that are people like herself, with Down syndrome. Emily has been dancing with emotion21 since 2010 her performance highlights include World Down Syndrome Congress in South Africa and India and collaborating with The Australian Ballet School, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Circa. She hopes that her work will bring more heart into the world. Emily will be working as an Assistant Dance Teacher at Greensborough.

Daniel Palmer

Assistant Teacher

Daniel Palmer

Assistant Teacher

Daniel is a recent graduate of the Artistic Capacity Building Program and has had a lifelong passion for dance, developing an appreciation for how it helps him relax and makes him stronger. Daniel’s passion for dance is such that he has worked as an assistant dance teacher for secondary school students. As a choreographer Daniel believes dance is the perfect medium to give people the opportunity to feel and express themselves and likes to make the dancers he works with feel happier about themselves. Daniel will be an Assistant Dance Teacher for classes at his local site of Rowville.

Jamie Halliday

Assistant Teacher

Jamie Halliday

Assistant Teacher

Jamie is passionate to develop his skills as a choreographer because he strongly believes that he has something to offer and believes he can make a difference in society and tell a story through his movement. Poignantly, Jamie recognises that although people may not always listen to, or understand, people with disability, that dance is a universal language that allows anyone to tell a story. He wants to create dance that makes both the dancer and the audience feel and think. Jamie is Assistant Choreographer to the Performance Company and is currently co-creating a show for the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Catherine Annable

Cranbourne

Volunteer Site Coordinators

Sharyn Mackay

greensborough

Sharyn Mackay

greensborough

Sharyn is the Site Coordinator for Greensborough. Married to Gary with 3 children, Amy, Laura and Nick and gorgeous granddaughter Ivy Jean. Sharyn loves being involved with the emotion21 team and has been for a long time! Sharyn works at Glen Katherine Primary School as integration support managing the kitchen and garden program and has done so for 17 happy years. She loves to cook, run, football, run around after her family and entertain her emotion21 friends at the weekends. She also loves her Fridays shopping at the Preston market!

Sam Ahern

cranbourne

Sam Ahern

cranbourne

Sam has been a part of emotion21 since 2016 at our Cranbourne studio, first as a Volunteer Mover and now as Site Coordinator. Sam had always dreamed of being able to support children and adults with Down Syndrome and having completed eleven years of dancing herself…it was a perfect fit! Her favourite part of the week is Wednesday night when she is surrounded by all the dancers smiling faces…it makes her heart so happy!

Tina Percy

rowville

Tina Percy

rowville

Tina is the Site Coordinator for Rowville and has been thoroughly enjoying her role ever since she joined the emotion21 family. Tina’s love for all things dance started at a young age and after many years of working hard at her craft, she was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School where she studied all forms of dance full time. She went on to complete her BA in Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts and worked professionally with some talented contemporary choreographers of the time. Tina also enjoys the creative side of movement/storytelling and was asked to choreograph a piece for the Melbourne Arts Festival in 1999 where she could showcase this creativity. Her love for teaching dance was evident through her many years providing tuition in primary school and dance studio settings. Tina is a qualified Pilates Instructor and is currently studying a Certificate IV in Disability. Tina is passionate about supporting the students at Rowville to have the best possible dance and social experience every week. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her husband, two beautiful kids and her giant fur baby!

Emma Sayers

kew

Emma Sayers

kew

Emma loves dance and music. She loves working with e21 to support participants as they move and dance, as part of living their best lives. Emma has a background in law and the health/social service fields. She enjoys working with a team and is proud to be site coordinator at Kew on Monday evenings. Emma learns from the participants, families, teachers and volunteers every week.

Annabel Long

kew

Annabel Long

kew

Annabel has been our volunteer Site Coordinator at Kew for 9 years. Currently she is the site coordinator for our Kew Tuesday classes. Annabel rejoices in having watched so many participants grow from young children in junior classes to creative competent and skilled adult dancers. Outside of class she has watched friendships develop and blossom as the emotion21 community has also grown and extended in its reach. In her own family she has enjoyed her two adults sons who are forging careers and building relationships of their own.

Garry Zimmerman

hoppers crossing

Garry Zimmerman

hoppers crossing

Garry is a husband and parent of 3 children, his youngest has Down syndrome. He works as a PE teacher at Heathdale Christian College in Hoppers Crossing in the Primary area. Garry’s son Levi loves music and dancing and that is why we got involved in emotion21 as the Hoppers Crossing Site Coordinator. Garry also likes to get down and boogie especially when it helps to embarrass his teenage daughter!

Lynn Grey

pascoe vale

Lynn Grey

pascoe vale

Lynn is the Site Coordinator for Pascoe Vale. Lynn is a mother to Ezra, Beth, one dog, three cats & two guinea pigs. Lynn’s son Ezra has danced with emotion21 at the Greensborough, Pascoe Vale and Kew sites. Lynn’s favourite part of the week is listening to the dancers sing during Beat Fit at Pascoe Vale – it is pure joy!

Kim Sinclair

geelong

Kim Sinclair

geelong

Kim is the Site Coordinator for Geelong, and was introduced to emotion21 by her son Tristan, our talented Artistic Director and much loved emotion21 teacher. She began volunteering in our virtual classes and during that time loved interacting with the many enthusiastic participants. Kim has had an extensive career in the education and disability sector; a highlight of which was working at OC Connections in Melbourne with adults with intellectual disabilities. Kim reluctantly left this work to move to Geelong in early 2018 where she has another son who is married with two children.

Eliza Burge

ballarat

Eliza Burge

ballarat

Eliza is the Site Coordinator for Ballarat.

Guest Teachers

Daniella Stepanovsky

Guest Teacher

Daniella Stepanovsky

Guest Teacher

Daniella has been a part of e.motion21 since 2013 after volunteering at the Federation Square performance for World Down Syndrome Day and falling in love with the happiness and enthusiasm that the dancers had to share. She has volunteered at the annual concerts and been a mover at Greensborough, Highett, Kew and a mover and teacher at Cranbourne. Dani is now a passionate teacher after completing her Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Applied Sciences – Disability. Dani continues to guest teach and generously shares her knowledge and expertise training and mentoring teachers.

Natalie Bitsas

Greensborough & Virtual

Natalie Bitsas

Greensborough & Virtual

Natalie loves to dance, completing all levels of Cecchetti Classical Ballet. She created the popular dance program Kindy Groove, a dance and drama school for pre-schoolers, which she has been running as Owner and Director for the past 23 years. She feels privileged to share her love of dance with people with disabilities and has a Cert 3 in Early Childhood Education and Advanced Certificate in Developmental Disabilities. She has been teaching with e.motion21 for 10 incredible years at both Pascoe Vale and Greensborough sites.