Preschool | Ballet | Contemporary Modern Jazz | teacher training
Nurturing Movement
Our dance classes are a chance to have specialist instruction and make friendships for life. Stoke Dance Studio is the perfect place to develop your child’s natural abilities and self-confidence while they learn new skills in a fun environment.
We nurture children’s love of dance in a supportive environment
DANCE CLASSES IN STOKE, NELSON NZ. FOR AGES 3+ WHERE EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
At our Stoke Dance Studio, we nurture children’s love of dance in a supportive environment and promote good posture, poise, strength and creativity while striving to develop confident, kind and self-assured individuals. The programme includes ballet, theatre craft, contemporary modern jazz and teacher training in a non-competitive environment. Classes from $80 – $125 per class, per 10-week term. Registrations are welcome for students aged 3yrs+
Classes we teach
Ballet
Ballet is the foundation of all theatre dance styles, and solid ballet technique is essential for success in the dance world. Our structured yet creative approach to teaching helps students build poise, confidence, discipline, and perseverance—skills that benefit them both in dance and in life. For those who wish to take their training further, we provide avenues to extend and challenge themselves as they progress into the senior studio. While we focus on technique and growth, we keep classes engaging and fun, celebrating the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming challenges and reaching new milestones.
Tap
While tap is our newest subject on offer, it’s certainly not new for Jane and Cara. The IDTA offers tap within its syllabus, and many years ago Jane began her teacher training in this lively, rhythm-based dance form. So when Cara Shepard - studio parent and experienced tapper - approached Jane about teacher training, it felt like the perfect moment to bring tap into the studio.
We’re excited to introduce two beginner tap classes for different age groups, along with a fun and welcoming adult tap class we hope many of you parents will give a try!
Contemporary Modern Jazz (CMJ)
While we give our junior dance programme students a taste of CMJ throughout the year, we introduce this as a separate class from the age of 8. This international syllabus has been created to develop strong and adaptable dancers with a beautiful mix of contemporary & lyrical styles through to a striking commercial jazz vibe. The majority of our students do this as a second subject to ballet and they compliment each other beautifully. Our senior students get the best of both worlds: the grace, technique and precision of ballet, and the conditioning, creativity and power of CMJ.
Junior Dance Programme
Our preschool classes are designed to make every child's introduction to dance a positive and joyful experience. We teach basic ballet foundations alongside imaginative mime and creative movement to music, sparking both creativity and delight. It’s the perfect way to begin your little one’s dance journey! Registrations are welcome for students aged 3yrs+
Theatre Craft
(Included in junior dance programme) With a combination of conditioning, rhythm work, and dance composition, theatre craft fits into our junior dance programme beautifully! The class exercises are lively and teach stage presence as well as musical awareness and our students love it.
Teacher Training Programme
Jane has always been passionate about teaching and herself holds the highest teaching qualifications obtainable in dance. It has been a desire of hers to pass on her knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching dance and she is so excited to be offering this programme. Intermediate level is the pre-requisite for commencing teacher training and thereafter it takes up to 2 years to complete the Associate teachers exam (degree status through International Dance Teachers Association). You will see our teacher trainees in class with students, demonstrating the work and assisting Jane in studio tasks.
Questions & Answers
-
Preschool - $80
1 class - $125
Intro CMJ (4pm Wednesday) and ballet - $180
2 classes - $240
*Please enquire about teacher training and anything else not included above.
-
The uniform is a navy leotard, pink ballet tights and ballet flats. Feel free to let your child settle into classes before purchasing a uniform. Appropriate clothing that they can move in is fine in the interim, leggings and a t-shirt or a leotard that you already have. All items can be ordered here, or you are welcome to source them second-hand.
You can fill out a uniform order form here. -
Parents are welcome to watch classes, however, if noise becomes disruptive, we may request parents to drop off and pick up only. We are very lucky to have a lovely lounge space and welcome families to use it if they wish to have a discussion.
-
YES!! 100 times YES! My training has enabled me to include boys in classes, give them a sense of identity by changing lines to suit their physique, and celebrate their strengths. I have had several male students whom I've taught throughout their schooling years to a professional level and I would consider it a privilege to teach your son.
-
Absolutely. New students are always put with their peers, where they feel most comfortable. The beginning of the year or term is a great place to start and we will help them settle in and get up to speed in no time.
-
Our philosophy is centred on kindness and inclusion. We expect this of our teachers and students alike. We provide a non-competitive environment and alongside teaching the discipline, technique and joy of dance, we build friendships for life. Every child has the right to dance even if they have physical or intellectual limitations. We will always find a way.
Meet your teachers
Qualified teachers and members of International Dance Teachers Association. Affiliate studio to Peta Spooner Academy of Dance, Nelson.
-
FounderJane lives in sunny Nelson, New Zealand, with her husband Alastair, two children, Austin and Mackenzie, and Hunter the dog.
She is passionate about movement and has been a dancer all her life. As a teenager, she chose to follow that passion into teaching, which over the last 24 years has evolved to many different movement modalities including yoga, barre and Pilates.
Jane is grateful for her early years dancing with Helen Brown, and later her teaching ‘apprenticeship’ with Peta Spooner, which turned into a lifetime partnership in dance, and friendship too. On the weekends Jane loves to walk her dog with the family, be by the ocean and, of course, spend time at her local coffee shop!
Find out more about Jane's online yoga and pilates, the movement membership, and her incredible experiences and retreats that are perfect for our hard working super mums at www.janepascoe.co.nz
-
Teacher
Courtney's love of dance started as a child and continued growing as she competed nationally and internationally. At age 13 she moved to Peta Spooner School of Dance, where she achieved her Associate teacher exams in both Ballet & Modern, while also completing the Advanced 2 Ballet & Modern exams.
After spending a year at Auckland Unitec in the full time contemporary dance degree, her knees weren't up to the challenge and instead completed a Bachelor of Communications degree. After spending over 10 years in Auckland being a Model, TV, Film and Talent Agent to then becoming the Operations Manager at a Marketing and Promotions Agency,
Courtney moved back home to Nelson in 2022 and reconnected with Jane and her dance roots. Courtney rediscovered her passion for helping children spark creativity, movement & imagination within dance while also becoming a mum to two little girls.
-
Tap Pre AssociateMy passion for dance started when I put on her first pair of taps shoes at 7yrs old and learnt tap through Helen Brown Studio in Nelson. In the next 7yrs I competed in many local competitions and completed exams to a level just short of qualifying to sit my teacher’s exams. At this time, I chose to focus on animals and getting into university to study them. The tap shoes were off and on went a lab coat. Upon completing a BSc, double major in Psychology and Zoology in 2005, I had returned to Nelson and started learning and doing performances in the Zenda Middle Eastern Dance Troupe with Gretchen Howard. I kept dancing until my daughter was born in 2016. Fast forward 5yrs and my daughter started learning Ballet and then CMJ with Jane Pascoe Movement. Seeing the joy my daughter got from dancing, it reminded me of my passion for dance. Being busy working at Nelson’s Cawthron Institute as the Aquaculture Groups Biosecurity, Quality and Assurance Administrator, and now a Mother of two, in 2020 I could not see how dance could fit into life for me. However, in 2024, and my old tap shoes were found and put on to show my children I could still dance, I decided to have a conversation with Jane about finishing what I had started years ago.
In 2025 I started an adult tap class, and through commencing Teacher Training with Jane, I completed the Tap Pre-Associate exam and passed with distinction. The next step in my Teacher journey is to complete the Associate exam and share the joy of dance and movement through teaching beginner tap classes in 2026.
-
Associate Ballet, Pre Associate CMJ
My love of dancing began at three years old when I started learning ballet through the Peta Spooner School of Dance. Over the next fifteen years, I continued to dance both ballet and CMJ, completing numerous IDTA and RAD exams. In 2023, I accomplished both the Advanced Two ballet exam and my Associate teachers exam. After a year teaching junior ballet, I was awarded a scholarship at the University of Canterbury, and moved to Christchurch with my fiancé to begin a Bachelor of Psychological Science. This year, I have transferred my studies online so we could move back to sunny Nelson and be closer to our families. This year, I am beyond excited to reconnect with my dancing roots and continue both teaching and learning.
-
![]()
Ballet with Jane is great! As a mother I enjoy sitting back and watching my little girl learn to dance and socialise with other girls her age. Jane makes things fun for everyone and is extremely skilled in her craft.
Micaela
-
![]()
My daughter was four when she started dancing with Jane. Over the years I have seen her grow in confidence and skill during class and take on the challenge and commitment of performances and exams. Throughout this Jane has been by her side, striking a wonderful balance of learning, variety and fun. Inclusive and nurturing, I couldn't imagine a better teacher or dance environment for any child.
Lesley
-
![]()
Jane is a fantastic dance teacher. My daughter has grown immensely in confidence thanks to Jane's teaching style. Jane manages to make the class fun and engaging, but also applies sound ballet techniques. My daughter was fully prepared for the exam and found it a positive experience. I cannot rate Jane high enough as a dance teacher for all ages.
Brigid
