For 20 years Lee Academy has been a leader in dance & performing arts education.
Lee Academy is a dance studio, gymnastics & cheerleading school, aerial arts training centre & vocational full-time course provider. We also have a talent agency, in-house professional photographer & a professional dance company.
We believe that our success comes as a result of providing solid training and quality service, as well as our underlying belief in the strength of our organisation.
Jo Cotterill, our Studio & Artistic Director founded Lee Academy in 1993 & continues at the helm today.
A passionate & dedicated advocate of the performing arts, Jo grew up on the Central Coast attending Lake Munmorah Primary School. In 1988 Jo & her family moved to Japan for a few years & then Jo returned & attended Wyong High School. In High school, Jo met many of the people that would become her colleagues today & Lee Academy was founded from very humble beginnings in a tiny, run down space at the back of the school. 2 years later, Jo decided to run classes in her hometown of Lake Munmorah as well, & the Lee Academy studios for the northern end of the Central Coast were also founded. After 8 years of hard work & commitment to the local community, Lee Academy could afford to rent a small studio space : above a bakery opposite Wyong Train Station (The studio location & the original dance floor that Jo had installed, is now in use by a small dancing group that is new to the area). Lee Academy quickly grew & added a brand new studio location in Tuggerah, & expanded to over 700 enrolments.
After years of careful planning, saving, hard work & negotiations, Lee Academy moved in to the brand new multi-studio complex in Tuggerah Business Park in 2009. With world-class equipment from top to bottom in every room, the Central Coast was now home to a world-class dance & gymnastics facility for everyone to enjoy. In the following year, Jo upgraded Lake Munmorah as well, moving into a lovely studio space at Doyalson.
Most recently a major achievement was devising the complete courses for Lee Academy under the new National Dance Qualifications. Jo & her team successfully devised all 6 courses from Certificate I in Dance through to Advanced Diploma in Dance (Elite Performance), making Lee Academy the first dance studio in Australia to be approved by the Australian Government to deliver the new qualifications in January 2012.
Lee Academy’s objective is to inspire a passion for the performing arts in every student who passes through our doors. In the process, we strive to set the right example and help each student (and their parents/guardians) create memories that will last a lifetime.
Lee Academy Dance and Performing Arts exists to further the health and happiness of our clients, to become mentors to our students and to build the image and strength of the performing arts on the Central Coast and in the wider industry.
Lee Academy is the place to be!
