Empire Dance Studio named SA’s best dance school

A Broadview dance studio that has been putting their dancers in the international spotlight has been named SA’s best dance school. Find out which one.

Ruby Stewart

2 min read

May 30, 2025 - 4:28PM

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A “gap in the market” and a love for dance inspired husband-and-wife duo, Ryan and Angela Marveggio to establish Empire Dance Studio in 2016.

It started as a “hobby” fuelled by Mrs Marveggio’s passion for dance.

“I’ve been dancing since I was three-years-old so it’s always something that I have loved and wanted to keep doing,” the 35-year-old said.

“But I found when I got to my adult years of dance there weren’t too many opportunities or pathways for people to keep dancing unless you wanted to leave home or not pursue other university careers and things like that.”

Empire Dance Studio Director Angela Marveggio and manager Ryan Marveggio with dancers Crystelle Milanese, Amy Johnson, Kara Coremans, and Samantha Young. Picture Emma Brasier

Alongside her husband Ryan, Mrs Marveggio created Empire Dance Studio, based in Broadview, as a place for “older dancers” to “dance for fun” while still juggling the other pressures that come with being a grown up.

Over the past decade, the school has grown from 20 people to 850 students, ranging in ages from one to 32.

The studio has also become a hub for professional dancers, providing South Australian talent with the opportunity to dance at a high level within their home state.

“A lot of our dancers are dancing 10-12 hours a week at elite standard,” Mr Marveggio said.

“We went to the World Championships to represent Empire but also Australia against some of the best teams around the world.

“Our dancers now have the opportunity to compete and be recognised like dancers are on the Eastern borders and that was always our dream.”

Dancers from Empire Dance Studio: Kara Coremans 29, Crystelle Milanese, 18, Samantha Young, 21, and Amy Johnson, 26. Picture Emma Brasier

Empire Dance teams have collected a string of impressive awards from coming 4th in the world in the jazz category to 6th in the world in the Hip Hop category.

This week they added another accolade to their list after being voted South Australia’s best dance school for 2025.

“This award is really for the community,” Mr Marveggio said.

“Myself and Angela are just pieces of the puzzle that make Empire Dance Studio what it is today … this award goes to amazing staff … dancers (and) amazing families that sacrifice every week or every day to make what Empire it is today.”