Former teacher steps into the front line at Drury Lane
Former teacher, Hannah Devlin, has taken over one of the oldest dance studios in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. How has she taken steps to continue the legacy while growing the community and preserving core values.
One of the oldest dance studios in Kirikiriroa, Drury Lane, has entered a new era with ownership passing to former teacher Hannah Devlin.
The iconic city institution started its journey in 1968, founded by the late Aileen Downey. It began as the Downey Dance Studio, primarily to teach tap classes and undertake examinations under the British Ballet Organisation Syllabus. Starting with just a few students, it quickly grew, which led to Downey expanding the dance studio to introduce classic ballet lessons. Eventually, all styles were introduced, from jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, contemporary, and performance groups.
From a small church hall, there was significant growth, first the Clarence Street Hall and the Hamilton Operatic Society, Drury Lane Theatre. When the theatre was demolished in the 80s. St Peter’s Hall, located in Hamilton Central, was renamed to Drury Lane Dance Studio, and the Clarence Street Hall remains under the name the Downey Dance Studio.
At a young age, Downey found her passion for dance and passed this on to her daughter, Kerry Davis. Davis joined the school as a teacher at the age of 15 and then took over the studio when her mother died in 2019. After 50 years of teaching, Davis has now passed the ownership to Hannah Devlin. This is a new beginning for the studio, an opportunity to grow and expand as a place.
Hannah Devlin is 28 years old, Devlin has danced for 26 years at Drury Lane. Devlin said she was motivated to take on the studio as she has created such great relationships within Drury Lane, and the thought of not having Drury Lane anymore really scared her, “it’s a massive part of my life”.
When it came to the transition from being a teacher to being the owner, Devlin said it has been exciting for her and that there is a lot more leadership and responsibility than just being a teacher.
As well as discovering lots of new things, Devlin has also started adding her own little flavour and touch to the studio, from adding digital roll books to expanding Drury Lane’s social media.
“Show up, give your 110 percent to be your best, every week, and you can be proud and look back on the year and what you’ve achieved”.
Hannah Devlin
Devlin has been blown away by the amount of support she has gotten so far, and how much the teachers, students, and parents love the studio. Devlin hopes that from her leadership, students are more confident within themselves.
Drury Lane Dance Studio is a place for all; it is a community, a home. With the new era under Devlin, the original values, hopes, and actions remain, even as the studio has evolved and changed over time.
Rhiannon Lawton is a Year 1 Bachelor of Communication student. This is her first story for the Waikato Independent
