Why Auckland Couple Are Investing $1m To Expand NZ’s Largest Dance School, Neverland Studio
For Ash Habgood and Alley Williams, life, love and business are intertwined.
When dancers Ash Habgood and Alley Williams were 15, their dream was an all-too-familiar one for anyone who grew up in the early 2000s: become a backup dancer for Missy Elliot.
Fast forward to 2026, and the then-best friends are now married to one another, mothers to two children, dance studio owners and performing arts moguls.
Together, they own Neverland Studios, which Habgood bought in 2008 when she was just 21.
In the years that followed, she and Williams built up their skillsets as teachers, performers, mentors and yoga instructors.
Neverland went from strength to strength under their leadership; enrolments exploded, they won national titles and became the largest dance school in the country with more than 1400 students across two studios on Auckland’s North Shore and East Auckland.
Now, their empire is set to expand again with the opening of their new state-of-the-art East Auckland studio - a $1 million investment in loyal youth from the pair - seven minutes from their previous smaller site.
They say the secret to their success has been making Neverland a place where kids and teenagers can not only learn to dance, but also grow as well-rounded individuals.
And nobody understands the Neverland legacy better than them. Both were 7-year-olds at the studio when it was called L’Academie de Danse. They found a sense of belonging there and learned the resilience that helped shape them into the dancers and business owners they are today.
Habgood says she initially decided to buy the studio, instead of starting a new business, because she loved it but saw areas of potential for growth and development. She wanted to run a team and have a diverse job across teaching, production, finance, team leadership, and connection with their dance community.
“There’s the community aspect, there’s the mental health aspects, there’s the role modelling, the fitness, getting off their phones. It’s a seriously special thing that we get to offer to kids and teenagers,” says Williams.
Habgood adds, “We’re always thinking one step ahead. We are always searching for perfection. We’re always trying to beat ourselves and keep improving every single day.”
The pair credit their team as crucial to their success and their ability to weather storms such as Covid-19 and produce high-quality education and events for youth.
“It’s competitive, but it’s also such a social group activity as well, which breeds the best friendships and the best community,” Habgood says.
The co-owners knew they eventually wanted to change their East Auckland space and expand the company, but didn’t plan to do both things at the same time.
They first thought their new location on Ben Lomond Cres, in Pakuranga, was too big, too expensive and too much of a jump for the business. But with some advice from business owners they trusted, they decided it was time to go big or go home.
“This building would have been our next, next step, but I think we just jumped that middle step and went to the big step, which was scary and a lot more expensive than we thought,” says Williams.
Their $1 million investment naturally comes with significant risk - deciding to spend that much in this economy and in the performing arts is not a task taken lightly.
To fund the build, they sold personal shares, directed all profit and earnings from the company into the investment for 2025 and 2026, and took out a bank loan against their home for the remainder.
“You can look at the business investment on paper, and say, ‘Hey, it makes sense. It stacks up. We’re not being financially irresponsible.’ But for us, Neverland is also our life. This is not just a business that we run in order to have a lifestyle that we enjoy. Our business is our lifestyle,” says Habgood.
They say it’s not without its challenges, stress and arguments, living, working and raising children together, but they’ve never felt the need to separate work life and home life. Both are intertwined.
“Any issues that you had, you leave them at the door, you come into the space, and it’s just like a fresh, fresh day.
“I feel the most aligned as a person when I’m teaching a dance class. It ticks every box,” says Habgood.
And after knowing each other for more than 30 years, they’ve proven they can weather any storm with their aligned goals and values.
“We obviously are married and live and breathe this 24/7, and so it was an investment into our whole life and our whole future.”
But if it does fall to pieces, they say they’ve considered that too.
“You know what, we’re in our late 30s - if things don’t work out, we’ve got time to recover,” Habgood says, with a laugh.
The other factor that instilled confidence was already running a 950-person school on the North Shore.
“We know we can do it. It’s not like we haven’t proven this yet,” says Habgood.
The new East Auckland studio gives them the ability to grow their current roll to more than 1600 within three years, positioning the new site as a flagship cultural hub for East Auckland families.
The new 900sqm studio, which opens on January 31, was designed in partnership with acclaimed architecture firm Monk Mackenzie.
Architect Sebastian Hamilton was tasked with reimagining an industrial warehouse as a purpose-built studio that feels warm, generous and anything but utilitarian.
The space is flooded with natural light and carefully reconfigured as a modern creative sanctuary while retaining its original concrete floors, steel structure and generous ceiling heights.
“I went to school with Sebastian, our lead architect on this,” says Habgood. “It was really lovely to come full circle and work with someone you’ve grown up with.”
Habgood says Hamilton nailed the brief on his first drawings, creating a clean space that would stand the test of time, be aesthetically pleasing, but primarily welcoming and kind to young dancers.
“We’ve got a common room that is designed so you can be there for hours, eat your dinner and do your homework. We’ve got a parent room where you can hang out and make a coffee and be on your laptop while you watch your kids dance,” says Habgood.
Despite its large footprint, the pair say the space aligns perfectly with Neverland’s mantra, “a place to connect”.
Even with the finishing touches still being put on the new space, the pair are already planning their next move and figuring out how to develop Neverland’s talent to bigger and better things.
“We know that this space is going to create new things as well; this Neverland community is going to grow and going to create so many more avenues for exciting opportunities,” says Williams.
Habgood agrees.
“There’s energy in the space, and it energises us, and once I’m done with this project, I’m like, ‘Right, let’s do this - no rest’.”
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