Our Team

Sarah Ambrose

Director

Sarah discovered her passion for dance the moment she took to the stage at just 2 years of age. After seeing Janet Jackson live in her Velvet Rope Tour, she was convinced that dancing would become her career. Since that time Sarah has strived to become one of Australia’s most versatile dancers, studying in all areas of the Performing Arts including Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, Latin & Ballroom.

Sarah studied full time with Dance World Studios Diploma course and went on to trained with Industry School of Dance under the direction of Robert Sturrock. At the age of 20 she received a scholarship to train at Broadway Dance Centre in New York City. After travelling overseas to train intensively in New York, Los Angeles & London, Sarah was inspired by some of the best talent in the world. This led to her decision to relocate to Los Angeles where she spent the following 2 years training, assisting and performing with leading US Dancers & Choreographers.

Professionally she has worked for a number of Australian artists’ including Jessica Mauboy, Emily Williams and Rhonda Burchmore. She has performed for countless corporate companies such as Panasonic, Adidas, Versace, Coles Myer & Optus for various events & TV appearances around Australia. Sarah is now focused on her role as Owner & Director of MAPA where she is committed to passing on her years of experience and knowledge to young people who wish to find their inner passion and express themselves through the art of dance and performance.

What Sarah really wants you to know, is who she is, what she believes and why she does what she does. In her words…

To find your passion in life, is one of the greatest gifts you will ever get. To believe in another person is one of the greatest gifts you can offer to them. I am here and MAPA exists because people believed in me. My passion is now in giving back and making a difference in the lives of others. It is my honour and privilege to provide a home and programs to train, guide and support young people.

The dedication and perseverance made by young elite level dancers is one that should be commended and applauded. Most young people don’t need to face the pressure of choosing a career until they are approaching the end of their school years, sometimes even later. But for those wanting a successful dance career, that choice is usually made at a very young age. On top of facing the many physical challenges, a dancer must constantly self-motivate while also having a teamwork mentality. They are forced to make sacrifices, demonstrate self-discipline, time management and turn criticism and rejection into determination and persistence.

Providing a place where students feel supported, encouraged, celebrated and understood is what MAPA is about. Giving them the tools and skills, required to have successful careers is simply our job. We achieve this through our highly skilled and experienced professionals and specifically selected classes, teachers and mentors. The Elite performing arts program is designed and structured to create the most versatile dancers and to network them with the necessary choreographers and directors who can guide them into the industry.

Stephen Morgante

Classical Ballet

Stephen joined the Australian Ballet in 1985 as a member of the Corps de Ballet. During the 10 years he was with the Australian Ballet he reached the rank of leading soloist, dancing such roles as Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, Alain and the Widow Simone in La Fille mal gardee, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the Psychiatrist inEquus and Hilarion in Giselle. He also toured overseas to many countries including the USA, Japan, China, the former Soviet Union and the
United Kingdom where he performed for Her Majesty the Queen of England in the Bicentennial Royal Gala Performance. Stephen returned to join the Australian and New Zealand tour of The Phantom of the Opera. He was a cast member of the Singin’ In The Rain Australian and Asian Tour. In 2003 he was a cast member of Graeme Murphy’s production of Tivoli. Stephen has toured Australia with the Australian tour of CATS as well as China, Taiwan and Athens with the CATS World Tour, playing the roles of Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat and was also Resident Director of the South Korean CATS tour. In 2005/06 he was part
of the “Dirty Dancing” Australian Tour.

In 2007-2009 Stephen was engaged as Resident Artistic Director for the
international tour of Cats touring South Korea and China. Following 2 tours of Sth Korea and China, Stephen then moved on to the position of Artistic Coordinator for the $250 US Million dollar production, “The House of Dancing Water” based in a purpose built Theatre in Macau working with Franco Dragone and Giuliano Peparini.

Stephen was Resident for more than 2years in Macau and supported the creation of the said production and the operation of the show and for 6months was also the acting Artistic Director.

While based in Macau Stephen trained in the Shaolin Martial Art and obtained a certification in Shaolin Qui Gong and also competed at the 10th Annual Hong Kong Wushu Championships receiving Gold and Silver Medals. Stephen and his family are now based in Melbourne.

Donna De Paoli

Ballet (RAD)

Donna is a highly respected choreographer and teacher within the performing arts industry. She is a fully registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance since 1986.
With nearly 40 years of experience in the Performing Arts Industry, Donna’s credits include Dance Cancer Iniative – Foxtel Aurora (8 Years), Victorian Gymnastics Championships, 2007 Tokyo Disney Resort Audition Aust-wide Supervisor & Liaison with USA Disney Team, Good Friday Appeal, Aria Awards, In Melbourne Tonight, Belle the Ballerina Video, La Trobe Valley Eisteddfod, Jazz Examiner—Gay Wightman, Inland NSW Ballet Company, Carla Zampatti Fashion Collection, Australian Open Players Party – Grand Hyatt, Opening of Highpoint Entertainment Complex, Amway International Convention – Melb, Barbie Fashion Launch – Myer, Melb, VACC 75th Anniversary – Radisson President, Dance World Studios (DW301) Productions 1992 – 2003 Local & Interstate

Rob Sturrock

Jazz, Technique & Conditioning

Robert trained at the Victorian College of the Arts. His television credits include the simon Galleher Series, The Saturday Show and Countdown with the ABC; the Don Lane Show, Hey Hey it’s Saturday and the Logies.
Robert worked at The Swageman Theatre Restaurant before moving on to theatre in such shows as Dynamite and Snacing Dynamite with David Atkins, A Chorus Line and Aida with the Victorian State Opera to name a few. After working in the corporate, commercial and fashion world for the past 20 years he has found a new passion in teaching and choreographing.

Read Robert Sturrock’s feature article in Dance Australia magazine, May 2012.

Sharlene Morgante

Pilates, Conditioning & Ballet

Bio coming soon…

Naomi Bishop

Tap & Ballet (RAD)

Naomi studied full time at Ecole Classique in Sydney under Prue Bowen & Kit Lethby and was awarded her RAD ADV 2 (Hons). She moved to Dance World Studios in Melbourne and obtained her Diploma in Classical Studies (Distinction) and was awarded her RAD Solo Seal. Upon graduating, under the guidance of Brian Nolan and Hilary Debden, Naomi became a Semi Finalist at the Genee International Ballet Competition.

Naomi won the 1996 Un Tour de Force Victorian Scholarship and was flown to Sydney for the finals, and under Michael Birkmeyer (Austria) Hans Van Tappendorf (Germany) and Giselle Santoro (Brazil) was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna Staatsoper Ballet School in Austria. While travelling and auditioning throughout Europe Naomi began working with the Zurich Ballet Company in Switzerland. After returning to Australia Naomi successfully auditioned and performed with the Royal Ballet Company in Swan Lake during their Australian Tour.

Naomi has taught RAD and open classes all over Australia including, North Queensland, Victoria, NSW and Northern Territory. Naomi is a successful adjudicator and has adjudicated throughout Australia and was a jury member for the Shanghai Classical Dance Competition. Naomi has been a Classical Coordinator & Lecturer / Course Manager of accredited Full Time Dance Training.

Naomi is a Current Panel member of the Regional Advisory Panel VIC / TAS RAD. Naomi completed the RAD Professional Development Teaching Course in 2003.
Naomi is currently a Practical Teaching Supervisor and Mentor for the Royal Academy of Dance and is responsible for the ongoing training of the future teachers for the RAD.

Sarah Heath

Ballet (RAD)

Bio coming soon…

Bailey Glen

Contemporary

Bailey Glen was born in and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He danced from the ages of 9 to 15 at Toojyay Ballet School, studying the Cecchetti Method of ballet as well training in contemporary, jazz and acrobatics. In 2015, Bailey was accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts where he completed his Diploma of Elite Performance (Dance). Since completing his time at WAAPA he continued his training at Transit Dance to complete his Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management. In 2018, Bailey joined SCIMM Dance Company where he performed in their Senseless State (2018) and Aethurium (2019) seasons.Notable choreographers Bailey has worked with include Daniel Jaber, Adam Wheeler, Zoee Marsh and Tara Sayama and collaborated with artist George Alice.

Billie Watson

Contemporary & Jazz

Billie’s passion for dance began at a young age which saw her continue on to earn her Certificate IV in Dance from studying full time at Melbourne City Ballet. Billie’s focus shifted towards the contemporary genre where she joined Scimm. Platforms Youth to perform in their triple bill, Within Us (2019). Continuing to develop her contemporary training, Billie obtained her Diploma in Dance at Ev & Bow Full time School in Sydney. While at Ev & Bow, Billie was afforded opportunities to work alongside choreographers such as Sarah Boulter, Jessica Hesketh, Neale Whittaker and Adam Blanch. Upon her return to Melbourne, Billie has rejoined Scimm. Dance Company in 2021 as a member of Scimm. Dance Professional.

Neville Parry

Latin Fusion

Neville has been teaching and competing in Ballroom Latin American for 16 years and has been a finalist in all major Dancesport competitions in Australia & New Zealand.

Neville specialises in Ballroom Latin American (Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Rumba, Paso doble & Jive). He is also professionally trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap & Commercial dance.

He attended the Victorian College of the Arts secondary school, studying dance from years 7 – 12 in a range of styles including Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Character (World Dance), Tap and Acrobatics and has performed in a number of shows. While at the Victorian State Ballet, Neville also performed in 3 seasons of Swan Lake as a soloist.

Taylor Diamond-Lord

Hip Hop & Acro

Bio coming soon…

Samantha Bruzzese

Jazz, Hip Hop & Acrobatics

Starting off as a gymnast then cheerleader, Samantha swayed her directions to the Arts & graduated from Brent Street Performing Arts in 2013. Most recently she performed the acclaimed roles of Morales in A Chorus Line (Darlinghurst Productions), Mimi in RENT (James Terry Productions) and Nautica in Bring It On (David Venn Enterprises). Other musical theatre credits include The Bodyguard (GFO), In The Heights (Blue Saint Productions), Dirty Dancing Immersive Cinema (Mushroom Group), West Side Story (The Production Company), Reefer Madness (RL Productions) and In The Heights (StageArt).

Samantha has sung with Danni Minogue and danced alongside big names like Justin Bieber, Rudimental & Aston Merrygold. She was chosen to be an Official Australian Pussycat Doll by Robin Antin & has also performed as The Illusionist Cosentino’s assistant. Her television credits include performances on Dancing with the Stars, Australia’s Got Talent and The X-Factor.

Samantha continues to share her knowledge to the future generation of performers with her passion & enthusiasm encouraging them to spread their wings & believe in their dreams.

Dionne Nicolaou

Jazz, Contemporary, Tap

Bio coming soon…

Angelica Low

Jazz & Contemporary

Bio coming soon…

Jade Peace

Ballet & Jazz

Jade believes our bodies are our most prime tools for expression and we practice this best through the art of dance. “As a teacher every smile I create and every dream I fulfil, reminds me, that as a dancer, dance can be the answer to anything.” Jade believes that the greatest reward of being a teacher is tracing her students’ progression and witnessing their final achievement. “Children are creative beings, so to teach them how to use this skill is to teach them how to dance.”

Yvette Lee

(Melbourne)
Jazz, Commercial & Musical Theatre

With over a decade of choreographic experience Yvette has become one of the countries most versatile creatives. Recognized for her work across multiple platforms as choreographer, creative director and creative producer her contribution to television, theatre and live touring events has lead to a large body of work.
Television include – Dancing with the stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Boss, The Big Music Quiz, X Factor, Chinas Next Top Model, Chris Lilly’s J’amie Private School Girl & Jonah from Tonga, Cosentino – the Magic, Mystery and Madness, Dance Hero Japan, The ARIA Awards, The Logie Awards, So You Think You Can Dance Greece, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Comedy Inc, Neighbours, Australian Idol, The Taiwanese Wiggles for the Disney Chanel, ‘The Pacific’, produced by Stephen Spielberg and Asia’s Got Talent where she was
assistant to the Squared Division.
Choreography and creative production for artists Include – Tim Minchin, Zara Larsson, Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, Andy Grammar, Illy, Vera Blue, Harrison Craig, Aston Merrygold, Josh Groban, Samantha Jade, Ricki Lee, Bonnie Anderson, Rob Mills, Casey Donovan, Hugh Sheridan, Paulini, Andrew Da Silva, Dylan Joel, Cyrus, Selwyn, Tim Campbell, Ronda Burchmore, Bobby Fox & Dan Hamil.
Theatre credits include – American Psycho (Hayes Theatre), Candide (NZ Opera), In The Heights (Stage Art), All Out Of Love – Air Supply World Premiere (Manila), Reefer Madness, Moonshadow – Cat Stevens World Premiere, Rock of Ages (Australia Tour – Resident Chore & Dir) , Little Match Girl at The Malthouse & Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Song Contest, The History Boys, Carnival of the Lost Souls at the Melba
Spiegeltent and assistant Choreographer for Sweet Charity, Dusty, & Shout – the Legend of the Wild One.
Yvette is currently the Artistic Director for the Victorian Dance Festival and about to commence another Season at the Hayes theatre Sydney with ‘Caroline, Or Change’.

Caetlyn Watson

(Sydney)
Urban & Hip Hop

Caetlyn Watson is a 25 year old choreographer/dancer from Melbourne, Australia. With her unique style in high demand, Caetlyn has taught throughout 26 countries such as Japan, Mexico, USA, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, UK, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Israel just to name a few.

She has choreographed for the legendary Janet Jackson, worked with artists such as Kylie Minogue and Wisin, and appeared on TV shows such as Australia’s Got Talent & XFactor.

She is now focused on continuing to achieve her goals as an instructor, choreographer and performer around the world.

Petros Treklis

(Sydney)
Contemporary

Born in Melbourne, Petros moved to London in 2007, where he was offered a place on the Degree Course at Laban Conservatoire for Contemporary Dance. During his time training at Laban, Petros worked with Rosemary Butcher, Gary Lambert, Dam Van Huynh, Rosemary Brandt, Charles Linehan, and Kerry Nicholls.

In early 2010 Petros toured Kerry Nicholls work, Hearth in Malta, performing for the Maltese Arts Council. Soon after Petros toured another work, Sainte Marie-Joseph De La Rose by upcoming choreographer Tamara Gvozdenovic in Neuchatel, Switzerland. In July 2010 Petros successfully graduated from Laban and joined Tavaziva Dance, as a full time professional dancer, going on to do national and international tours for four of the companies’ major full-length productions. In April 2014, Petros completed his four years with Tavaziva Dance and made the move back from London to Australia.

Petros has also danced for Watkins Dance, joining the company as a guest artist in 2012. In 2013 Petros took part in the ‘ArtsCross 2013’ Project, which allowed him to work with 10 specially selected professional dancers from England, Taiwan and Beijing. In this project well known Taiwanese Choreographer Ho Hsiaomei and Place Prize 2013 Winner Riccardo Buscarini selected Petros and four other dancers to perform new short works for them. Petros then went on to dance for IJAD Dance Company for their 2013 project, In-Finite Space.

Petros joined Sydney Dance Company in 2014 for Louder Than Words featuring works by Rafael Bonachela (Scattered Rhymes) and Andonis Foniadakis (Parenthesis). In 2015 he featured in Rafael Bonachela‘s Frame of Mind, New Breed and Triptych. Frame of Mind won the 2015 Helpmann Award for ‘Best Choreography in a Dance Work’ and ‘Best Dance Work’.

Michael Ralph

(Melbourne)
Jazz & Musical Theatre

Michael Ralph is one of Australia’s award winning choreographers who is sought after for his dynamic, unique style and fresh take on theatre story telling.

Michael’s choreographic credits include –

Musical Theatre: The Boy from Oz, Bring it On, A Little Night Music, Chicago, DUSTY, Georgy Girl (Green Room nomination, Australian Dance award nomination), Spring Awakening, Bring it On, CrossXRoads, Company, West Side Story (Jerome Robbins), NED – A New Australian Musical, Avenue Q, Loving Repeating (Green Room Award), Our House (Workshop), Georgy Girl (Workshop), Pacific Overtures (Green Room award nomination), My Fair Lady, and concert versions of Pippin, Milk and Honey, Flinders Street, and Happy People.

Television: Dance Boss (Channel 7) and So You Think You Can Dance (Channel Ten). Cabaret: The Petticoat Soiree, Yummy and Triage (The Butterfly Club). Dance Theatre: SELF (Australian Dance Award nomination) which featured original music by composer Jack Earle and starred Rohan Browne. Other dance credits include his self-devised shows Now & Then and Hollywood Honky Tonk, and also Mood Swing and Project Elvis for Short & Sweet Dance.

Michael’s directing credits include the cabaret CAKE starring Johanna Allen and the most recent production of NINE the Musical.

His performing stage credits include roles in Cats (RUG), Fame The Musical (GFO), and the world premiere production of Moonshadow (Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens). Also Singin in the Rain and Pirates of Penzance (The Production Company).

As a teacher he is in high demand working and choreographing for many institutions all over Melbourne.

Kirsten King

(Melbourne)
Musical Theatre

Some recent creative projects include: Resident Dance Supervisor for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Choreographer (Green Room Nomination) for Hello Dolly; Assistant Director/Choreographer for Dusty the Musical – and private coach for Hugh Jackman and Andy Lee. Kirsten has also performed in a number of professional musicals including Dusty, Mary Poppins Sweet Charity, George Girl The Musical and many more!

Artist Credits:

• Urinetown (Choreographer) – VCA Fulltime Music Theatre course.
• Strictly Ballroom (Associate Choreographer) 2014/15 – Global Creatures.
• King Kong (Associate Choreographer) 2012-2013 – Global Creatures.
• The Producers (Assistant to Director and Choreographer) – The Production Company.
• Mary Poppins (Resident Choreographer) – Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand. (Dance Captain) – Melb & Sydney – Disney with Cameron Mackintosh.
• We Will Rock You (Dance Captain) – Australia and Japan – LWAA.
• Fairies Stage Tour (Assistant Choreographer) – Garry Ginivan Productions.
• Lazy Town Live (Assistant Choreographer) – Garry Ginivan Productions

Stage Credits:

• Mary Poppins Dance Captain, Swing, Understudy Birdwoman, Mrs Brill, Katie Nanna.
• Walt Disney Company with Cameron Mackintosh.
• Shout! The Legend of the Wild One Ensemble, Understudy role of Thelma O’Keefe.
• TML Enterprises
• Sweet Charity, Role of Helene, The Production Company
• We Will Rock You, Dance Captain/Swing/Understudy role of Mariah/Teacher, Premier Australian Cast member, International Tour – Australia/Japan, LWA
• The Wizard of Oz, Ensemble, SEL/GFO
• Happy Days: The Arena Mega Musical, Ensemble/Understudy Laura
• The Music Man, Ensemble, The Production Company
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Ensemble, The Production Company
• Anything Goes, Ensemble, The Production Company
• The Juliet Letter, Featured Dancer, Chapel Off Chapel
• Pinocchio, Role of Catchup, Garry Ginivan Productions
• Conrad and Co, Pantomimes, Performer, National/International Tour
• The Lido Cabaret, Dancer/Singer, The Lido, Melbourne

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Nathan Pinnell

Nathan is an award-winning performer with a career spanning over two decades. His professional career began at the age of 9 in two Opera Australia productions, Falstaffand Manon Lescaut. As a young boy he also appeared in numerous television commercials such as Sea Monkey’s, Australia Postand Meadow Lea. Nathan has been involved in Melbourne Fashion Week, re-opened Hamer Hall Arts Centre, performed for the Prime Minister at Australia House in London and took part in launching for Mercedes Benz.

His theatre credits include Singin’ In The Rain (Dance Captain/Swing/Cover: Production Tenor and Dialect Coach), Hugh Jackman: Broadway To Oz (Dance Captain/Featured Ensemble), Anything Goes(Dance Captain/Swing/Cover: Billy Crocker), Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom: The Musicalas Liam Lamb (Understudied and performed Ken Railings, Nathan Starkey and Clarry Welch), Legally Blondeas Carlos (Savoy, West End), West Side Storyas Baby John, Chicago: The Musicalfor which he received a Green Room Award (Cover: Mary Sunshine), Dusty: The Original Pop Divaas Young Tom, We Will Rock You (Ensemble and Swing), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, High School Musical(Cover: Jack Scott/Ryan Evans), Eurobeat: Almost Eurovisionand Rhythm and Runners(Melbourne Fringe Festival).

For the Production Company: The Boy From Oz (Chris Bell),Gypsy(Tulsa), receiving Best Supporting Actor for the Theatre People Pro Choice Awards, Promises Promises, 42nd Street, Sweet Charityand The Music Man.

Television credits include: It Takes Two, Blue Heelers, So You Think You Can Dance, The Footy Show, Australia’s Most Wanted, Wicked Science, The Morning Show, Morning’s with Kerrie Anne andSunrise. Nathan was also Assistant Choreographer for Caroline O’Connorand Strictly Sydney Mardi Gras Finale Float 2014.

Nathan has been teaching and choreographing for various universities, full time courses and dance studios for the last 16 years. He is renowned for his progressive work as a passionate performer, teacher and artist within the industry and continues to create and work with the worlds finest.

Candace Brown

(New York)
Hip Hop

She began her training in Hip-Hop at Bre Dance Studio in Riverside, California. After moving to attend college at California State Fullerton, she was able to see a whole world of dance that existed outside of her hometown. Trained mostly in Hip-Hop and taking classes from top LA choreographers such as Jaffar Smith, Tessandra Chavez, Brian Friedman, Marty Kudelka and others, she has danced on Funkanometry LA, Team Boogiezone Breed, and is Assistant Director of the Essence Dance Company. She has danced in various shows such as Carnival in LA, Vibe, Body Rock, Traffic, Monster’s of Hip-Hop, and much more. Candace currently teaches Hip-Hop at Impact Dance Academy located in Azusa, California and enjoys the opportunity to share her passion for dance with her students.

Martijn Sedgfield

(Melb/Los Angeles)
Urban

Martijn Sedgfield has been teaching and working as a dancer for 10 years. He recently moved back from working in London and is eager to share his knowledge with the up and coming generation of dancers. He has worked for artists such as: Jason Derulo, Ricki-Lee, Timomatic and Natalie Gauci. He is also a company member of “CollidEdance”, directed by Ms Erica Sobol, and has performed in two of her shows “Runaway” Los Angeles and “Wallow” Australia as well as assisting her on her Italian tour.

Martijn graduated from the Space Full Time Dance Course in 2010 and has also trained in Los Angeles and London. Other credits include: Capezio A.C.E Awards Winner (New York), Stereosonic Music Festival, Australian Open Tennis, Matalor Contemporary Dance Production, 4 Letters by Kim Adams, Hip-hop International 09, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and many more.

Leroy Curwood

(Melbourne / London)

I dance because it affords me a unique artistic freedom. Through dance I feel connected to my inner self and when I move, perform and share I feel that I am expressing that very intimate and personal self with the world. It makes me feel alive…I think the beauty of teaching is passing on the knowledge that you’ve accumulated through your experiences and seeing it develop and mould your students into more confident, self-aware and expressive individuals. There is nothing more beautiful to me than seeing a student fearlessly express themselves because I feel like it’s one of the rare moments that you really get to SEE that person the way they SEE themselves. And that honesty is what makes dance such a special art form to me, and one that I think is very important for people in general.

Ella Burns

(Melbourne)
Musical Theatre

Ella graduated from Patrick Studios Australia in 2013. There she received the Ross Coleman Award and starred as Queenie in LaChiusa’s version of The Wild Party. Her credits include Hello Dolly!, Dusty, West Side Story and Brigadoon for The Production Company as well as Georgy Girl The Seekers Musical for Richard East and Dennis Smith. Original works she has been involved in include Amanda Colliver’s Woman (2017) and Michael Ralph’s Hollywood HonkyTonk (2014).

Rachel Rawlins

Elite Guest Teacher

Rachel Rawlins began her classical ballet training in Canberra before being accepted into several schools throughout Australia and Canada. She performed as a first soloist for the Royal Ballet Company in London, and went on to become a Principal Ballerina at the Australian Ballet Company. These are just a few of her many achievements as a professional ballerina.

Marc Cassidy

Elite Guest Teacher

We are very excited that Marc will be joining MAPA as we expand and grow our Classical Ballet School Programs and offerings in 2018. Marc, a New Zealander at heart, has 16 years of wonderful experience working as a professional ballet dancer with the Australian ballet. His understanding of the human body has now led him into the world of Pilates and fitness.

Megan Connelly

Elite Guest Teacher

MAPA Ballet is thrilled to announce that we are introducing a new guest teacher to our teaching staff for 2018. Megan Connelly has had immense experience both as a dancer, and ballet coach throughout her years in the industry. Megan Connelly joined the Australian ballet company, performing ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle and Symphony in C. She later
followed her true passion of teaching and was appointed Assistant to the Ballet Staff. In 1995, Megan left the company to become the Principal Teacher at Christine Walsh Dance Centre. In 1999 she worked as the Ballet Mistress on the Year 2000 Project for the Sansouci music festival in Berlin.

In 2001, Megan returned to the Australian Ballet as Assistant to the Artistic Director and Ballet Coach. In 2009, she was appointed Ballet technique and rehabilitation specialist and returned to the stage once more. From 2010, Megan has been an important member of the teaching faculty at the Australian Ballet School and has completed a Vocational Graduate Certificate in Elite Dance Instruction. She is also a qualified Pilates Instructor and has co-written “Bodywise” for ABC books. Megan has performed for companies such as the Victorian State Opera and Opera Australia, and was the recipient of the prestigious Churchhill Fellowship, which allowed her to travel throughout Europe and USA. Megan has also taught for Sydney Dance Company, Queensland Ballet Company, Victorian College of the Arts, and the Cecchetti society, as well as in Asia and Europe.

William Douglass

Elite Guest Teacher

Born in Cairns, William commenced his training with Turning Pointe Dance Studios under Melanie Connors. At the age of 15 he moved to Sydney to train with the McDonald College, which also saw him perform with the Premier State Ballet Youth Company and with the Australian Ballet as an extra in their season of Don Quixoté.

Upon graduation he relocated to Melbourne to train with Melbourne City Ballet, joining the company as an Emerging Artist the following year. During this time he toured extensively throughout Australia and was selected to represent the company at the 2015 Australian Dance Awards. In 2017 William joined the Victorian State Ballet and after an auspicious season was promoted to Soloist in 2018.