A Tauranga girl who has danced all over the world is bringing her skills home to share with the next generation.

Next week The New Zealand Dance Company comes to Tauranga to teach its summer school classes at the Dance Education Centre.

Among the three professional dancers tutoring is former Te Puke girl Chrissy Kokiri (Te Arawa, Tapuika).

She's excited to be returning to the Bay, especially as this year's summer school theme is ‘Embracing our Environment'.

'I grew up on a farm in Te Puke and remember being outside building huts in the forest. Having a backyard as my studio, I developed a love of dancing outdoors, so I'm really excited about the theme this year.

'I'm looking forward to seeing the students' development as they experience dancing outdoors.”

She says she's always loved music and dance, even from an early age.

'I've seen quite a lot of home videos of myself dancing around the house to my dad's Eagles and UB40 albums he used to blast when I was a little girl,” she laughs.

'I took dance as a subject near the end of high school and had an amazing teacher – Claire Ofee – who basically helped me to get to where I am today. She took me to all of my first professional dance shows, drove me to auditions in Auckland, helped me pass dance etc. She stills watches every show I do too.”

She says any chance to come home to the Bay is amazing, even though she's been lucky enough to travel around the world with her job.

Photo: The New Zealand Dance Company/Caroline Binden.

She adds although their summer school is targeted at people who have an interest in dance, you don't have to be an expert or regular dancer to participate.

'Part of our job is learning how to run classes with a mixed range of people. My first contemporary dance class was an audition to Unitec so you never know what can happen. We just try make the class as accessible and fun as possible.”

Open to dancers of all abilities ages 11 and up, the school holiday dance workshop offers an inspiring five full days of contemporary, hip hop, NZDC repertoire and a site-specific installation led by professional dancers Katie Rudd, Carl Tolentino, and Chrissy Kokiri. It will end with a friends and family performance on Friday January 23 at 4pm, where the students will be able to present their week-long work.

Enrolments are open at: http://www.nzdc.org.nz/seasonal-schools, or phone 09-378-7361.

What: The New Zealand Dance Company's YEP! Summer School

When: 9am to 4pm, January 16-20

Where: Dance Education Centre, 228 Levers Rd, Matua, Tauranga