About Us
About Aspire Arts Academy
At Aspire Arts Academy, we are passionate about providing high-quality dance and drama education in a supportive and uplifting environment. Through the performing arts, we aim to build confidence, creativity, and self-expression, empowering students both on and off the stage.
We believe in creating meaningful opportunities for our students - from local performances to leadership pathways - and we love supporting young performers who demonstrate positivity, strong work ethic, determination, and a genuine love for learning. These experiences allow students to grow not only as performers, but as confident and capable individuals.
At Aspire, we have worked hard to foster a warm, family-focused atmosphere where every student feels valued, supported, and a true sense of belonging. We celebrate individuality, encourage growth, and strive to ensure every child feels seen and encouraged.
Our teaching team is committed to continual learning and inspiration, allowing us to bring fresh energy, creativity, and passion into every class. We approach our teaching with enthusiasm and care, with the goal of creating a positive and lasting arts experience for every student who walks through our doors.
THE TEAM
Tammy Bennett :
Owner & Director of Aspire Arts Academy.
Tammy started Aspire in 2008 and had no idea of the demand at which began to present itself for quality performing arts tuition in Matamata and the surrounding districts.
Tammy trained as a child with Fay Harbottle in Ballet, Jazz, and Tap for 14 years and in Trinity College Speech and Drama with Kate Kelway. Tammy was fortunate enough to audition and gain a spot dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Cinderella Production as a child - an experience she will never forget. She completed her major exams in RAD Ballet. After the completion of an English and Media double major degree from Waikato University, Tammy continued her perfoming arts training in Auckand. She also sat her ATCL Speech & Drama Trinity College Teachers exams at this time.
Following her training she began to teach full time as a dance teacher and drama teacher at various schools in Auckland. During this time she also began to examine dance in jazz and hip hop for the Australasian Dance Association - now Asia Pacific Dance Association. Tammy has been a dance examiner for 11 years now and still thoroughly enjoys going out to examine and being inspired by students in other schools. Tammy's main passion is to not only instill and inspire performing arts excellence in students but also to encourage self confidence and self esteem through the arts. Her aim is to see potential realised in students and to train teachers to realise the depth of potential in every student who enters the academy.
Lydia Louw
Anna Martin
Lucy Wightman
Ilze Morden
Lily Bennett
Emily Tapper
Kylie Trow
Megan Carter
Assistant Teachers
At Aspire, we love to be able to give students with a passion for dance, the opportunity to expand in their own confidence and abilities by giving them the change to be an 'assistant teacher' in our younger classes.
The assistants benefit from this by learning skills to teach a dance class, how to keep them engaged, ways of teaching choreography and confidence to younger students, and the ability to control number of students.
The younger students benefit from assistant teachers by having an older dancer to look up to - a role model who is able to show them what hard work and a good attitude in the studio can bring.
The teachers benefit from this by being able to make use of assistant teachers when a class has fuller numbers. Students are still able to be separated into smaller groups with the use of the assistant teacher and more 1 on 1 attention can be given when needed.
We love to watch our young dancers grown into capable young teachers.
*Assistant Teachers are required to be enrolled in at least 1 class themselves.
*We require applicants to be School Years 9+