Faculty

Lisa Perry

Tap

Lisa Perry is a hugely experienced dancer who has worked with many of Australia’s leading choreographers including Ross Coleman, John O’Connell, David Atkins, Toni Bartuccio, Kelly Abbey, Aleeta Blackburn and William Forsythe among many others. Lisa has worked extensively in musical theatre, film, television and corporate entertainment and appeared in numerous music videos and commercials.

Lisa has also worked as a performers agent and was one of the founders on Mark Byrne Management, now a highly successful entertainment group and has a great deal of industry knowledge and contacts.

Lisa is a gifted and talented instructor and has been teaching dance since she was sixteen. After giving up professional dancing to be a full-time mother Lisa is delighted to be able to share her incredible passion for dance, particularly Tap, with a new generation of dancers.

Dein Perry

Tap

Dein Perry is one of the foremost exponents of Tap in the world. He is the creator and choreographer of TAP DOGS one of the most successful Tap shows of all time and won the prestigious UK Olivier Award (for Best Choreography) two years in succession (TAP DOGS in 1996 & Hot Shoe Shuffle in 1995).

Hot Shoe Shuffle was the first all-Australian musical to play London’s West End and Dein created the choreography with David Atkins and starred in the production which toured extensively in Australia and internationally.
Dein then conceived and choreographed TAP DOGS, which was the hit of the 1995 Sydney Festival and has since toured four continents. TAP DOGS has won numerous international awards including an Obie (USA) and the Pegasus Award from the Spoleto Festival.

Dein’s many awards include; the Mo Award for Dance Performer of the Year three years in a row (1996 -1998); two Australian Green Room Awards for Best Original Choreography (TAP DOGS in 1996 & Hot Shoe Shuffle in 1995) and he was nominated for a New York Drama Desk Award for Best Choreography (TAP DOGS 1997).

In 1998 Dein Perry’s Steel City (directed, choreographed and performed by Dein) toured Australia before playing a special season at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Dein went on to direct and choreograph his first feature film, Bootmen (Fox Searchlight) which was released in October 2000 and received five AFI awards.
Dein choreographed the final segment of the celebrated Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony, which was screened around the world to an audience of over 3 billion. 
TAP DOGS returned to Sadler’s Wells in 1993, the tenth anniversary tour played Australia in 2005 and the show continues to tour the globe.
Currently TAP DOGS is performing at London’s West End and a second company is touring Canada and USA before returning to Sydney’s Capital Theatre
in early 2011.

More recently Dein has been revolutionising the football world with his drum squad, directing and conceptualising high profile corporate engagements and has a number of theatrical projects in development.

Dein is passionate about Tap and is delighted to be able to share his knowledge and expertise with young Australians through Tap Dogs HQ.

Reid Perry

Tap

Reid began his dance training at Tap Pups under Dein Perry as a young child. His early years were filled with performance opportunities including the Lord Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Party at the Sydney Opera House, The Footy Show, Luna Park re-opening and the World Masters Games Opening Ceremony.

Reid was delighted to make his Tap Dogs debut in 2016 and since then he has continued to perform with them at corporate events across Australia. Reid has an Advanced Diploma in Musical Theatre from ED5 International Performing Arts where he has been fortunate enough to play roles including Zach from ‘A Chorus Line’ as well as perform alongside celebrities such as Marcia Hines. Reid continues to tour internationally with Tap Dogs.

Bella Perry

Jazz / Tap

TBC

Renae Perry

Tap

My sister Renae has been an experienced Tap teacher over the past 20 yrs. She has learned the same techniques and trained for the same amount of time as myself.

It is wonderful to have Renae head the Newcastle branch of Tap Pups as Tap has always been a part of our family. I am proud to finally have my sister as a part of the Tap Dogs team. She will run the same steps and combinations as I do with the Sydney branch.

In between commitments I will visit the school to see how the boys are progressing to ensure a high standard.
– Dein Perry –

Tiara Perry–Coates

Tap

Tiara has been trained in all styles of dance by some of Newcastle and Sydney’s leading  dance teachers. Since completing her Performing Arts Certificate IV at Brent Street Studios she has performed in many stage, film and corporate productions, including Bootmen.

As well as teaching tap dancing at some of Sydney’s leading dance studios, Tiara is also a tap dancing examiner in the Newcastle region, which is renowned for it’s high standard of tap.

As Tiara works closely with Dein and TAP DOGS HQ, she is able to bring Dein’s latest work up to the Newcastle branch of TAP PUPS.

Damien Moore

Tumbling and Sports Acrobatics

Damien joins our team this year as a specialist coach in Tumbling and Sports Acrobatics. He brings with him a wealth of experience and has been coaching for more than 15 years. Damien was twice named Australian Men’s Tumbling Champion. He also represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in Beijing where he was placed 6th overall and placed 3rd in his twisting pass. At his peak, Damien trained under the expertise of the Chinese junior Olympic Team coach, Huan Lin Sin, where he learned skills that would keep him on par with the best tumblers in the world. Damien hopes to bring some of this knowledge and experience, along with his own creativity and flair, in order to develop the individual potential of each student.

Elissa Klinkenberg

Jazz

Elissa began Tap & Jazz at the age of 5 studying the international tap syllabus L.G.T.D.A. At the age of 11 she was excepted into the Hunter School of Performing Arts and continued her training and had great success in eisteddfods’ throughout NSW winning many championships & scholarships.
Elissa has performed in various ensembles including Celebrations for Prince Charles and the 2000 Sydney Olympic opening ceremony.

After graduating from high school in 2001 Elissa went onto study in the Fitness Industry completing her Certificate III & IV in fitness before taking on the role as a full time Personal trainer and Dance teacher. In January of 2006 Elissa began teaching in Primary schools around Newcastle and the Central coast with students successful in Hunter Region School’s Dance Festival and Star Struck each year.

Elissa has worked closely with Renae Perry for many years and is pleased that she can continue her passion for dance in such wonderful company.