About Us

Principal/Dance Director
Renae Youman (nee Davidson)

Miss Renae

Renae began dancing at age 5 and has been performing ever since. Renae studied Dance with Donna Michalitsis and Tina Moore and was a member of their successful performance troupes. In 1998 she travelled to America as part of the Down Under Performing Arts Company, performing all over the U.S. in an Australiana spectacular. During her time at school she performed in Star Struck, Hunter Region School’s Dance Festival and Sydney School’s Spectacular as a featured tapper. After graduating from high school in 1999, Renae returned to the U.S.A. to work at Summer Camp. She headed the Dance and Drama components of the Performing Arts program at Athens Y.W.C.O. Camp in Clarkesville, Georgia.

Renae has trained in the disciplines of Tap, Jazz, Funk, Cheerleading, Modern and Contemporary. Her teaching career began in 2000 and led to the commencement of Lollipops Dance in 2003, after identifying a need for children in Primary Schools to have access to quality Dance tuition and consequent performance opportunities. Renae has students involved in Hunter Region School’s Dance Festival and Star Struck each year and works closely with her schools to put together their annual school musicals and productions. Performing in many musicals in the region throughout her career, her love of theatre led to the birth of Lollipops Performing Arts in 2006, encompassing the worlds of Drama and Dance.

Renae holds a firm belief that Dance offers many benefits to children; teamwork, discipline, goal-setting, musicality, fitness, confidence, self-esteem, persistence and the satisfaction of performing in front of a crowd. Welcoming all levels of Dance ability to her classes, Renae embraces the fact that many children she works with would not have the opportunity to dance otherwise. She names this as one of the highlights of her job.

Dance groups range from fitness classes for sport to specialist performance troupes and everything in between. Renae currently coordinates programs for approximately 1000 students in 15 schools throughout our region! Renae is also undertaking an Arts degree (majoring in Psychology) from Charles Sturt University and plans to complete a Masters of Teaching as a postgraduate degree. She aims to give the children of the Hunter 'a time to shine' through their experiences in the wonderful world of performing arts!