Our Teachers
Amber Hobson
Artistic Director, Classical Teacher, Competition Choreographer
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Amber trained with Tessa Maunder in Newcastle for eight years and continued with Beverley
Rowles in Wollongong before being accepted into the Australian Ballet School in 1989.
Under the direction of Dame Margaret Scott and Gailene Stock, Amber toured with The
Dancers Company as a soloist in “Paquita”, Fouette Girl in “Graduation Ball” and many more.
Amber Hobson
Kerrie McArthur
Senior Classical, Half Day Program
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Kerrie began her classical ballet training with Kathleen Gorham, then with Dianne Parrington
at The Victorian Ballet School. She then studied dance full time at the Victorian College of
the Arts (VCAS. After graduation she performed for eight years regionally and interstate with
RTS, a Russian folk dance Group, under the direction of Luba Baksheev.
Kerrie McArthur
Chiara Ferri
Senior Ballet Teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
A former member of the English National Ballet, Stadttheater Bern, Stadttheater
Luzern in Switzerland and the Pantomime Theater in Copenhagen. For the past 13 years she has
been teaching classical ballet to students of all ages at the Performing Arts school in Auckland NZ,
working as Ballet Mistress for the Royal New Zealand Ballet, teaching ballet at City Dance Centre and the
Melbourne School of Classical Dance in Melbourne. More recently she has been working as Ballet
Lecturer at The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet, teaching the ACB Classical Ballet Training and
Assessment Program and teaching the Full Time and Part Time courses based on Vaganova Method.
Chiara Ferri
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Leah Allen
Classical ballet teacher
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Originally trained in Wollongong with Beverley Rowles, she then continued her schooling at the Australian ballet school. Following graduation she went on to work and perform in musical theatre and classical ballet companies overseas.She was awarded Young Artist of the Year in 2017 at Theater Magdeburg for her soloist roles. Leah decided to return to Australia with her partner and start a family and we are very lucky that she has decided to settle in Melbourne and teach with us!
Leah Allen
Charlotte McCormack
Junior Jazz Teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Charlotte is a former GISD student who excelled, amongst other things, at jazz. She competed in solo and troupe competitions during her time as a student and had the good fortune to study jazz under the tutelage of Barbara Warren Smith. Charlotte is currently studying her VCE and juggling school captaincy with her love of teaching junior jazz.
Charlotte McCormack
Joanne Plowman
Studio Director, Classical Teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Joanne trained at the Australian Ballet School (ABS) under the direction of Dame Margaret
Scott. Whilst at the ABS she performed in the 21st Anniversary Gala in “Serenade”, was
awarded the Cechetti scholarship and in her final year she toured with the Dancers
Company as a soloist in “Swan Lake”.
A career change following a BApp Sci in P.E and a Masters in Dietetics, changed to a focus on health and nutrition, working in hospitals, sports clubs and private.
Joanne Plowman
Jayne Beddoe
Senior Classical teacher and coach, competition choreography
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Jayne trained under Rhyll Kennell at the National Theatre Ballet School in Victoria and later
with Anne Wooliams at The Victorian College of The Arts. Between 1982 and 1984 she
undertook further studies with the Australian Ballet School and won the Lucy Saranova and
Dame Peggy van Praagh awards
Jayne Beddoe
Adrian Dimitrievitch
Senior Classical teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Adrian began his training at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires where he was born, under the
tutelage of Yura Dimitrievitch, Roberto Dimitrievitch and Vakhtang Chaboukiani. He continued
his dance education in New York and Paris under George Balanchine, Alexander Minz and
Raymond Franchetti.
Adrian Dimitrievitch
Ruby Young
Senior and intermediate Contemporary and lyrical teacher
Ruby Young
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Ruby commenced her early dance training at Independent Dance Studio, moving onto VCASS between 2018-2021. She is currently a student at Transit Dance Academy.
Ruby has won multiple awards as a dancer and contributed choreographically to a Tim Harbour piece in 2021 "Le Bal'.
Ruby has previously worked as a junior assistant and a peer teacher at VCASS for performance of "Meraki" in 2021
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The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Nichola Schapendonk
Junior Ballet Teacher
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Nichola is a graduate of both The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet and the School of Hamburg Ballet. She has professionally trained and performed both in Australia and internationally, having performed with Hamburg Ballet and Queensland Ballet. She is also a past Prix de Lausanne participant, receiving several offers and scholarships.
She is a qualified Ballet Conservatoire teacher and pilates instructor and is passionate about mentoring and developing young dancers.
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Nichola Schapendonk
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Charlotte Bomford
Junior helper and junior contemporary/lyrical teacher
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Charlotte has been dancing with GISD since she was 3 years old and has excelled at every dance style we offer. She has also completed every ACB exam from level 1- senior level. Whilst dance is not her career choice, she loves it as her special interest outside of school. She assists Miss Amber with kinder ballet classes and is our cover teacher for junior lyrical and contemporary. Last year she featured as our Mouse Queen in Nutcracker.
Charlotte Bomford
Terese Power
Senior Classical coach, repertoire and competition choreography
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Terese was born in Newcastle, NSW and trained with the Tessa Maunder School of Ballet before joining the Australian Ballet School in 1973. She was the recipient of the Pavlova Scholarship in 1974 and a scholarship to the Kirov Ballet School in 1979. She graduated after two years and was accepted into The Australian Ballet Company, rising to Principal status in 1985.
She has danced over sixty ballets as a Soloist and Principal, including “Eugene Onegin”, (Tatiana & Olga)
“Sleeping Beauty” (Aurora & The Bluebird Pas de Deux), “Coppelia” (Swanhilda),
”Don Quixote” (Kitri) and Juliet in John Cranko’s “Romeo & Juliet”.
Terese has danced with many esteemed male partners such as Paul de Masson, Gary Norman, Dale Baker, John Meehan, Jonathan Kelly and Steven Heathcote and was fortunate to work with the late great Kelvin Coe and David Ashmole.
She was a guest artist with Royal New Zealand Ballet and Queensland Ballet and
travelled the world including USA, UK, Philippines, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey, Israel and China performing with the Australian Ballet.
Terese Power
Julie Green
Senior Jazz teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Julie trained in Classical, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Theatrical, Modern, Character and Contemporary Dance under teachers such as May and Tuppy Downs, Lorrie Clark, Michael O’Connor, Tony Bartuccio, Barbara Warren-Smith, Lyn Golding, David Atkins and Betty Pounder
Lara Malachowski
Junior Lyrical & Contemporary
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Miss Lara has been with us for many years and as a dancer is extremely versatile. As Miss Lara
takes on her new teaching role she will be mentored by Miss Lila who has already created a syllabus that
reflects how the students have been taught over these years.
Julie Green
Lara Malachowski
Bianca Weller
Intermediate Ballet and Strength and Conditioning teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Bianca commenced her dance training at Glen Iris School of Dance at the age of three. As a
student she represented the school as a finalist at both Ballet Teachers Workshop and
Sydney Eisteddfod. In 2018 she attended the workshop and competed in the International
Dance and Ballet competition held in Florida, placing in the top 25.
Bianca Weller
Lila Swell
Contemporary teacher
The teaching staff are all committed to carefully planning and structuring classes in order to achieve the most positive outcome for everyone. In dance education, we are creating the future for Performing Arts.
Sienna Dalla Riva
Junior jazz teacher
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Sienna has been a student at GISD since she was 6 years old and whilst she excelled as a young dancer with classical ballet, as a senior student she became a stand out in jazz. She is currently studying full time at university and is teaching our junior jazz classes and continues to provide assistance to Miss Julie (senior jazz teacher).