Our presenters

Ruby Brunton brings her passion for contemporary dance to share this engaging and fun 2-hour workshop. The class is inspired by the Netherlands Dans Theatre, Frog in Hand Company, Butoh, martial arts, and Ruby’s extensive training with the Mexican dance company El Permanente.

 This class will suit those who enjoy dancing and being active, and is aimed at all fitness levels.

Sara Dore is an experienced post graduate trained physiotherapist with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is the director of Empower Physio and Pilates which has been operating on the Kapiti Coast since 2003. She has been involved in the teaching and training of physiotherapists in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore since 2006 as a Senior Presenter for DMA Clinical Pilates.  

Sara completed her Diploma in Manipulative Therapy in 1994 and Post Graduate Diploma (Rehabilitation) in 2012. She is a certified DMA Clinical Pilates clinician who began her Clinical Pilates training in 2002 through Dance Medicine Australia (Melbourne) and is one of the most experienced DMA Clinical Pilates physiotherapists in New Zealand. Sara is credentialed in the McKenzie method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) which she gained in 2016. She has been a certified BradCliff physiotherapist since 2009 and helps clients on the Kapiti Coast to manage breathing pattern disorders. She is also a pelvic health physiotherapist, having completed the training and certification with Dr Melissa Davidson. She has completed numerous pelvic health courses over the years. Sara continues her education attending conferences and other physiotherapy courses in NZ and overseas.

Sara is passionate about physiotherapy, clinical pilates, pelvic health physiotherapy and breathing retraining exploring the benefits that it can provide to everyone.

Sarah Hewitt has been doing her family tree for over 20 years, following in the footsteps of her two New Zealand-born grandparents.  In that time she has solved family mysteries, uncovered scandals and met (electronically and in person) cousins from around the world. 

She has also witnessed how the changes in technology have affected genealogy in the 21st Century.  When she started, you had to go to the records, now the internet helps the records come to you.  This has helped Sarah research family in the British Isles, Pennsylvania and Shanghai.

Sarah has written articles on using newspapers, blogging your family tree and her gg-grandmother's bible for the New Zealand Genealogist magazine, published by the New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG).  She has also contributed biographies of the women who signed the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition to the He Tohu exhibition.

She is an active member of the NZSG.  She is currently Convenor of the Kilbirnie branch of the NZSG, as well as technical editor for Genealogix, their monthly newsletter.

Sebastian Milla has over 20 years’ experience working in technology, music and marketing – as an architect and multimedia specialist.

He is excited to offer these courses utilising his knowledge and skills to help the community learn to make quality smartphone videos and to create engaging and successful podcasts.

His goal is to equip you to make creative media projects to the best of your potential!

From Arataki, Mt Maunganui, as a DJ now based in Wellington city there isn't really too much that Shan the DJ hasn't accomplished.

Shan is known as a staple ingredient of the Wellington night life and is not only rated as one of NZ's top party rocking DJs competing in DMC, ITF & Redbull 3Style competitions but he is also as a top party rocking host MC.

Shan has had the honour to host and interview an incredible list of some of the worlds top musicians and DJs, like: Grammy award winner Mya, Ty dolla $ign, Jeremih, Mario, Dru Hill, Xzibit, Pia Mia, Scribe, Tomorrow People, Opuio ,Tim Phin, Genral Lee, Dick Johnson, Flux Pavillion, Doctor P, Cookie Monsta, Sneaky Soundsystem Vandalism DJ Cash Money, DJ Scratch, DJ Rectangle, Savage, The Upbeats, Kora, Katchafire, Minuit Sam lamore (MOS) .... and the list goes on.

Not only that, Shan has also been the face host MC or headline DJ for some of Wellington's biggest parties, period, including, The Sevens Street Party, Homegrown, The Wellington Cup, Fashion in the Field, Cuba Street Carnival & the Wellington SuperClub.

In 2001 Shan had a vision to create and set up a DJ school to help pass and carry on the art of Turntablisim to the youth of today.

In 2003 Shan teamed up with George Packard and DJ Raw and together wrote the curriculum for such a school to turn the dream into reality - the result .... in 2004 Shan and DJ Raw opened the doors to New Zealand’s first ever NZQA approved DJ School at Whitireia Polytechnic.

This is known to be one of the only DJ schools in the world with unit standard credits (120 at level 4) - Certificate in DJ Music and Turntable skills.

He is also working on the 1st ever Stars DJ Music course in conjunction with Whitireia Polytechnic for secondary school students.

Shan believes in honest hard work, dedicated practice, the perfection and mastery of his chosen instrument of choice, “The Turntable”. You will find usually find Shan at any good party or event spinning on the 1s + 2s. Or you can always find him at his resident bar, The Grand, or around the countryside with his partners in crime DJ Raw (Double Trouble) & DJ Rollout as part of the underground massive Taniwha Bassline.

Stay tuned for what's next...

https://www.facebook.com/Shan-the-DJ-375767319198228/

Souvik Nandy is the co-founder of the Asian School of Tea. He has been providing courses on tea for several years in India and Thailand. He developed tea blends and designed tea menus for multiple brands and tea rooms across the world.

Strato Cotsilinis has been a fly fisherman for over forty years and has represented New Zealand on a number of occasions at international competitions.

He has been on the executive of Wellington Flyfishers Club for over twenty years and is currently president of Sport Fly Fishing New Zealand, the national organisation which runs both local and international competitions.

Together with other Wellington Flyfishers Club members, he has been running the courses at Onslow for over ten years, which have been particularly successful as shown by the outstanding evaluation reports received from the participants.

 http://www.manictackleproject.com/index.cfm/PageID/105/

When Sue Field is not teaching classes and workshops at Wellington High School, she runs a busy health practice, using massage and movement education.   She helps people with a variety of physical discomforts – back pain, stiff neck, injuries and rehabilitation after hip or knee surgery.

Many of her clients have postural and pain challenges associated with working in front of a computer for long hours, which is an issue she addresses in her one-day workshops.

Sue has a science degree and a naturopathic diploma, plus 30 years experience learning and teaching yoga.  She completed the four-year Feldenkrais Method® professional training after the method helped her recover from persistent neck and back pain.  She is one of New Zealand’s most experienced Feldenkrais teachers and is continually updating her skills.

With 25 years in private practice, and 20 years tutoring both privately, and through the Community Education Centre, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her teaching.

Sue Lytollis is a well-known Self Defence teacher.  She developed her eight-hour self defence course for women and girls in the 80s and has been awarded a QSM for services to women.  She has a black belt in Judo and a 5th level black belt in Kendo (Japanese Fencing) and is now the national coach for the NZ Women's Kendo Squad.  

 Sue, however, is the first to say her courses are not martial arts classes.  They are an amalgam of practical thinking, harnessing women's internal anger and ability to defend themselves and their children and an environment where the many ways women can be harassed and made to feel afraid are explored.  

 She teaches verbal, psychological and physical self defence moves and explores situational attacks. Women who complete her course feel greatly empowered, not only to deal with fear and the potential of attack in their lives, but they also gain a greater confidence to do the things they may have hesitated to do before.