Team Luxe

Hayley Allen-Freeman

STUDIO OWNER / CHOREOGRAPHER / COACH / TEACHER / MENTOR

Hayley has over 25 years experience as a ballroom and latin american dancer, competing and placing in major competitions in Australia and internationally. She started dancing at the age of 7, excelling in jazz and physical culture, but found her passion in ballroom dancing at Foley’s Dance Studio in Wagga Wagga. Hayley started competing in national competitions by the age of 10. By the age of 19, Hayley was representing Australia internationally and placing in many major competitions.

During her time competing overseas, Hayley had the opportunity to perform in cabaret shows demonstrating and participating in dance instruction for beginner, intermediate and advanced students. This experience gave her much pleasure and her love and commitment to dance evolved!

In early 2000 she was one of the top Australian couples competing in 10 dance (ballroom/latin combined) and new vogue. She has been a finalist in the “Australian Dancesport Championships” and have made national finals throughout the majority of her dancing career.

Hayley’s passion for dancing evolved into theatre performances when she was casted as a “Feature Ballroom Dancer” in the show “Tempo Rouge”, a Dion and Randall Production at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast in Queensland. From there she was found and started working on 6 star luxury cruise liners, Regent and Silversea cruises as a “Star Performer”. This continued on for 5 years, Hayley loved all the challenges and experiences of performing onstage for people from all around the world.

In 2014, Hayley’s proudest moment was making the top 50 in Australia’s national tv show “So You Think You Can Dance”. She had been hand picked out of thousands of dancers across Australia and was heavily featured on the show.

Through her success in “So You Think You Can Dance”, Hayley realised how much she wanted to pass her knowledge onto her Wagga Wagga/Riverina family and has made herself available for lessons and lectures in the area and because of this she has now laid foundations into her own dance school, Luxe Dance Studio! In the very heart of Wagga Wagga, her hometown from where her love and passion for dance was launched.

Hayley ‘s goal for “Luxe Dance Studio” is to provide the community of Wagga Wagga and the Riverina a quality service, reinforcing wellbeing and positive inspiration. A service that offers over 25 years experience and knowledge in the industry. An “Open Door” policy to people from all walks of life!

LES FOLEY

ADJUDICATOR / CHOREOGRAPHER / COACH / TEACHER / MENTOR

Les commenced his dancing career when he was a young boy living in Wollongong, the year was 1968 and he was only nine years of age. 

The competition bug caught him, as not long after he starting ballroom dancing he was competing at a National level. He placed in many prestigious competitions though out the age groups of Juvenile, Junior, Adult and the Professional ranks between 1970-1991. Some of these major competitions are the “South Pacific Championships” and “ The Australian DanceSport Championships”, as both an Amateur and Professional he made the open finals and placed in our countries most renowned competitions.

Dancing can really take you places! Through the 80’s, Les lived and competed in the United Kingdom. He felt very privileged to have learnt off some of the best coaches in the world. This period in Les’s dancing career he got to travel to many different countries on tours and competitions with the highest ranking dance couples in the world. Les and his partner at the time represented Australia well and after a long stint in the U.K gathering a wealth of knowledge, he turned Professional in 1986 and it was time to come home and pass on this knowledge to his Australian family. 

The time now was to settle down and to start a family of his own and once it hit 1988, “Foley’s Dance Studio” was established right here in the heart of Wagga. Dancing was at a peak at this stage with the famous movie “Dirty Dancing” being released, there was a massive influx of students and not only was Foley’s Dance Studio one of the biggest studios in Wagga…It was one of the studios with most students in Australia. Throughout the years of Foley’s Les has been a part of so many students careers and lives, who themselves have gone on the have illustrious careers in the industry. These spectacular careers include: Multiple times Australian DanceSport Champions, Australian DanceSport Champions in New Vogue, Ballroom and Latin. “Dancing With The Stars, America” Producer and also Professional Dancer. “Dancing With The Stars, Australia” Professional Dancer. “ So You Think You Can Dance, Australia” Professional Dancer and also students who have now gone onto teaching and being studio owners themselves. Les himself has had experience on Television when he made it on the show That’s Dancin. This was a fabulous show which was prime time throughout Australia on the ABC television network. The show was filmed in Melbourne’s San Remo Ballroom, it was co-produced by FMTV’s Brian Finch and Peter Regan. Each episode showcased dance couples in a competitive format, judged by a panel of professional experts. That’s Dancin’ preceded many similar shows worldwide, such as Dancing With The Stars and Strictly Come Dancing. In 1989, The Age newspaper reported that the show was the ABC’s highest rating series ever in the Sunday 7.30pm time slot. In 1991, it achieved the national broadcaster’s largest ever audience against Channel Nine’s perennial hit, Hey Hey It’s Saturday. Les and his partner really put Wagga Wagga on the map and represented our town well.

Not only has Les taught students and competition couples from his hometown of Wagga, but many couples around Australia and America. He has won numerous Pro/Am  Championships with his students in the 90’s. Even after retiring Les was still very active in dance, teaching, choreography and competing with his students. It was only natural the he would then move onto Adjudicating! Les has been an active Adjudicator since 1990, judging at many major National Championships and has Adjudicated Internationally and most recently America. He prides himself on being a Level 2 Coach and Adjudicator in all three styles. Not only this, he is qualified with DanceSport Australia in Ballroom, Latin and New Vogue.To add to his wonderful attributes, he is also a qualified examiner with the “Australian Dancing Society”.

Les has been responsible for producing a lot of talent that has come out of Wagga, he has certainly put our country town on the map and his wish is to continually do so. Luxe Dance Studio and its pupils are extremely lucky to have Les as a part of its team, his wealth of knowledge and passion for dance is unsurpassed.