Hamilton’s Drury Lane Dance Studio enters new era with former student taking over

Hannah Devlin (left) with Kerry Davis. Devlin is the new owner of Hamilton's Drury Lane Dance Studio. Photo / Malisha Kumar

Hamilton dancer Hannah Devlin, 28, has come full circle, from taking lessons as a toddler to becoming a dance teacher and owning her own school.

And not just any school: Devlin took over Drury Lane Dance Studio, the place where she first put on her tap shoes at the age of 3.

Devlin is taking over from Kerry Davis, the daughter of the studio’s founder, the late Aileen Downey, marking a new era for a school that has shaped Waikato dancers for nearly 60 years.

Downey started Drury Lane Dance Studio in 1968 under the name the Downey Dance Studio.

Like Devlin, Downey also found her passion for dance at the age of 3, as her mother ran a backyard dance studio in Te Aroha.

Downey initially opened the Hamilton studio for tap dance classes only and soon introduced tap examinations under the British Ballet Organisation syllabus.

What started with 20 students quickly grew, and Downey expanded the dance school to Te Awamutu and Morrinsville.

She also introduced classical ballet lessons.

By the 1980s, the studio was renamed Drury Lane and had grown to hundreds of members.

Kerry Davis (left) says mum Aileen Downey "was my best friend".

Downey’s daughter, Kerry Davis, joined the school as a teacher at the age of 15.

Davis eventually took over the reins of the studio after her mother died in 2019.

Now, after 50 years of teaching, Davis is ready to retire, she told the Waikato Herald.

“The studio hasn’t felt the same since mum died, so it was definitely time.

“My mum was Drury Lane for me ... I miss doing everything with her.”

Leading the studio on her own since the death had been “tough”.

“It’s been hard for me not to be with my mum. Mum was my best friend.”

Hannah Devlin receiving her first dance award from Kerry Davis.

Davis said she was happy that Devlin, her former student, was taking over the studio.

She said Devlin had been her “right-hand for a long time” and she had “no qualms” that Devlin wouldn’t live up to her mother’s legacy.

“It meant a lot to my family to make sure it went in the right direction, and they just love the idea of it,” she said.

“I’m so happy that it’s Hannah that’s taking over the school, because I know that it’s going to continue on the way that it has.”

Devlin joined Drury Lane as a toddler and began teaching students a decade later.

Hannah Devlin and Aileen Downey at Devlin's tap dancing solo, Downey's final one before she died.

At 15, she held her very first dance class, teaching jazz and contemporary ballet.

“I just wanted to start tap dancing at 3, so [my] mum decided that she’d enrol me into classes, and I’ve been here since,” she said.

Devlin said looking up to her teachers and other dancers kept her motivated.

“They were my role models, and I always wanted to do what they [did].”

Before Downey died, her last dance was Devlin’s tap-dancing solo.

Davis said Hannah Devlin (right) had been her righthand for a long time. Photo / Malisha Kumar

“Aileen [Downey] was very much a beautiful tap dancer. She’s my angel, my guardian angel.”

Devlin said it took her a while to realise taking ownership of Drury Lane was “what I should be doing”.

“You just don’t know when you’re young ... I could have gone overseas, I could have done anything. But, something always pulls you back home.”

For her, it was her love for dance and the studio, believing there is something about dancing “that just sparks the light”.

“I can have a bad day at work and come in here, and just see the smiles on the kids’ faces, walking out of the studio happy, and it just completely changes your mood,” she said.

“I’ve made lifelong friends from dancing.”

Drury Lane Dance Studio currently has about 200 students.

The Morrinsville and Te Awamutu studios closed a few years ago, but Devlin hopes to expand to other Waikato areas again in the future.

Drury Lane Dance Studio is on 55 Victoria St, Hamilton Central.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.