come dance
with us
APR 12-14 2024 \\ MELBOURNE SHOWGROUNDS
VDF
TEACHER
CONFERENCE
Vitality
weekend access too!
Access to all classes (50+ Masterclasses) - join in or watch for inspiration
Shop Australia's largest dance market and expo
Fashion show with the latest dance costumes and dancewear
Access to watch the professional auditions
Industry Panel
*Speakers subject to change.
The state of being strong and active; energy.
What a line up! International and Australian industry leaders, entrepreneurs and creatives all coming together to inspire, encourage, equip and challenge Australia's dance educators and studio business owners.
Described as ‘a creative tour de force’, Loughlan Prior is an award-winning choreographer and creative director working between stage and screen. He is the co-artistic director of Lo | Co Arts and Choreographer in Residence at the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
Following his training at the Victorian College of the Arts and NZ School of Dance, Loughlan joined the Royal NZ Ballet in 2010 and rose to the rank of Soloist, performing works by Forsythe, Balanchine, Kylián, Cranko and Ekman.
Established as an emerging voice in 2015 he became the first recipient of the Ballet Foundation of NZ’s Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award. In 2016 he received Creative NZ’s Tup Lang Award, travelling to Toronto to stage his work at the Assemblée Internationale.
Prior’s cinematic and unifying approach to music, choreography, concept and visual storytelling is a key feature of his work. Notable productions include Hansel & Gretel (RNZB), The Appearance of Colour (QLD Ballet), Transfigured Night (Chamber MusicNZ, BalletCollective Aotearoa), The Firebird (RNZB), Cinderella (RNZB), Half | Life (Lo | Co Arts) The Sound was our Ocean (Singapore Ballet) and Inklings (Ballet Unleashed - Australian Ballet School, NZ School of Dance, National Ballet School Canada, The Ailey School).
Under the umbrella of Prior Visual, Loughlan has produced a number of dance/art films which have been screened at San Francisco Dance Film Festival, NZ International Film Festival, Film Society of Lincoln Center, BalletX Beyond, #60secondsdance Denmark and Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival.
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From 250 Students to 2500 - secrets to manageable and profitable growth.
Tiffany Henderson, absolute powerhouse, industry leader and dance business expert, is coming to Vitality, direct from San Francisco!
Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy (TDA) locations in Northern California. TDA is home to a massive 2,500 dancers with an enrolment of over 4,000, having operated 7 studio locations at a time with 30 full time staff and 12 administrators!
Tiffany is a wife, mum to 3, and beloved dance teacher. She produces 4 Nutcrackers each December, a professional dance performance each year and her 300 performing company dancers participate in four convention competitions each season. She also still teaches, choreographs, and produces 25 annual concerts each year.
Add to that – her renowned video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance Program, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide. In 2020, Tiffany launched Twinkle Star Dance Academy, the first full-service dance studio franchise. She consults individually with studio owners through Tiffany’s Diamond Circle. Tiffany is also the creator and producer of Dance the Dream, parade events in Disneyland Park. She is guest speaker at Dance Teacher Summit, DanceLife Conference, Danceteacherweb Conference, Energize, and a contributor to Dance Teacher magazine, Dance Informa and DanceStudioOwner.com.
How does she do it all? Tiffany will inspire and equip Australian studio owners to take their business to new heights, sharing the tips, advice and tricks she’s discovered along the journey.
Chantelle Bruinsma has a true affinity with the performing arts, starring in musicals and studying opera and choral conducting. While studying for her musical teaching degree, Chantelle founded a successful performing arts studio which she grew to six locations across Sydney in just under 4 years. With her rapid growth and a team of 35+ teachers, it wasn’t long before other studio owners were approaching Chantelle to share her strategies. She started off with private coaching and mentoring clients, but soon was at capacity.
This was when Studio Evolution was born. This new business model allowed Chantelle to share her business strategies with many people at once, talking specifically to the industry she loved – the performing arts.
The 2-year immersive program for studio owners began – its intention was to help studio owners grow their businesses for more profits, freedom and joy. Today, studios from 34 countries have doubled their students, achieved 97% retention, built a loyal team and halved their workloads thanks to the strategies and tools in Studio Evolution.
Chantelle is here to redefine what studio ownership means. To provide a safe sanctuary for studio owners to learn and grow within their businesses. Studio Evolutions gives the practical resources and strategies needed to succeed but also the supportive network that empowers them to thrive.
Fumi Somehara is a renowed, Accredited Practising Dietitian and the director of DDD Centre for Recovery.
DDC Centre for Recovery is an inclusive private practice dedicated to helping dancers and individuals develop a positive and compassionate relationship with their food and body.
Fumi’s work has been featured in various dance magazines and webinars in Australia and internationally, and she has presented at dance conferences and workshops including IADMS, RAD and ASPAH.
Zac Jones of Heal Yourself and Move is a graduate of the Australian Ballet School, and a former soloist with Queensland Ballet and Expressions Dance Co.
Zac has served as a coach at the Australian Ballet School and has a Masters of Fine Arts in Choreography. Zac has taught and holds a 2nd degree black belt in Yoshinkan Aikido, is a Lakan 1st degree black belt and licensed teacher in Filipino Arnis.
As a body-mindfulness and somatic teacher and practitioner Zac has studied Continuum, Ideokinetics, Skinner Releasing, Body-Mind Centering and Contact Improvisation and for many years has run a leading Pilates and Movement Rehab Studio that specialises in merging the many different styles of training he has learnt and taught into one integrated system that helps heal and improve ease and quality of movement.
A former Pas de Deux Strength and Conditioning coach and Contemporary teacher at VCA, he began to apply these methods to elite dance students, consistently achieving outstanding improvements, and Heal Yourself + Move was conceived.
Drawing on his varied experiences, Zac’s teaching style focusses on relaxation whilst integrating the body’s neuro-muscular, musculoskeletal and fascial systems in every action to help overcome injury, increase range of motion and develop strength without strain.
Zac has developed renowned training courses for teachers to enable them to rapidly yet safely improve student alignment, flexibility, strength, physical skill and enjoyment of movement – all while gaining the body awareness to stay safe and healthy.
With an International Career spanning over a 18 years, James Maxfield is one of Australia and the UK's most versatile creatives. Starting his career as a Musical Theatre performer and Touring with International Artists, James has established himself as a highly sought after creative across all platforms of entertainment.
His main credits include The Voice Australia, The Masked Singer, Australia's Got Talent, X Factor, Dancing On Ice, Hamilton, Wicked, A Chorus Line, Miss Saigon, Dirty Dancing, My Fair Lady, Taylor Swift, Kelly Rowland, Kylie Minogue, Ricky Martin, Little Mix and Rita Ora.
Christine Denny is a well known and respected figure in Sydney’s tap scene and the creator and CEO of Tapatak Oz. During her travels promoting, teaching and examining Tapatak Oz she has been developing programs that harness the arts in a personal development setting to help people realise and implement JOY in their lives. Spreading simple strategies that allow us to cultivate joy and harness the power it brings, is her passion in life. Her signature programme “The Joymaker” empowers students with tools and techniques to bring resilience, confidence and joy to life, as they navigate the challenges of our modern world. This one day programme has had incredible feedback from the participants and is suitable for all ages 14 years and over. As a natural extension of this philosophy, Christine released of her first children’s book “ Great Job Nature “ in 2022 which continued her desire to actively engage children with the world around them as a way of harnessing joy and connection with both the natural world and their parents and carers. Christine’s Motto is: Be Joyful - Discover Your Bliss! www.christinedenny.com
Damian Smith is an acclaimed and highly accomplished First Nations artist, having enjoyed 18 years as Principal Dancer with the renowned San Francisco Ballet. He brings with him more than 25 years international experience as a dancer with companies such as the Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Ballet Du Nord and New York City Ballet too.
He has been chosen more than 20 times to be the original cast for some of the world’s best choreographers, including Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky and Nacho Duato, and worked with them on the creation of their new ballets.
Beginning his dance training in Newcastle with the Robyn Hick School of Dance and the Marie Walton Dance Academy, Damian completed his studies at the McDonald College, Sydney, before being accepted into the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York at just 16 years old.
Damian is currently the Artistic Director of The National Ballet School, Melbourne.
With over 25 years in Dance Education, Jane has been a teacher, studio owner, business coach and founder and author of the DanceStep program. Throughout her various roles, one thing has remained constant: Jane’s mission to educate, encourage and empower all she serves.
Jane is a regular speaker and thought leader on the topics of dance education, entrepreneurship, studio culture and her favourite topic of all, leadership. Jane’s days are filled supporting dance studio owners on their leadership journey, and partnering with more than 300 studios worldwide, to grow leaders and empower students through her DanceStep program.
Striving to successfully navigate the challenges of combining a career with her greatest role, that of mum to Alana, Caitlin and Liam and wife to Brian, she is a passionate campaigner for cultivating a joy filled life.
You can follow jane @dancestudiosuccess on Instagram or join The Collective for Dance Studio Owners on Facebook.
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Rambert Grades is a progressive and inclusive contemporary dance syllabus created from the landmark collaboration between two of the world’s leading dance organisations: Rambert School and Rambert company.
The benchmark for creative contemporary dance learning and practice, Rambert Grades offers students of all abilities and backgrounds the opportunity to develop lifelong skills. The syllabus was developed by some of the most dynamic and relevant voices of contemporary dance in the UK, including material from renowned choreographers.
Teachers are invited to participate in a Rambert Grades workshop at Vitality Teacher Day to explore the movement and learn more about this new exciting contemporary dance offering. Teachers are also invited to watch or join in an open class by Rambert Grades during the festival weekend.
Launched in 2021, Rambert Grades is a new, exciting development in contemporary dance training. Rambert Grades already has over 200 certified teachers and has been adopted by some of the UK's leading dance training institutions.
Holly Pooley is a well-respected contemporary dance and ballet teacher based in Perth. Following her training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (UK), Holly pursued further studies in teaching, receiving a Postgraduate Teaching Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance. Holly is a qualified Rambert Grades and Royal Academy of Dance teacher.
Holly's passion for dance led her to pursue a career in teaching, and she has since become an integral part of the dance community in Perth. She is the co-director of Ignite Dance WA, a leading dance school in the area, where she teaches students of all ages and levels. Holly's teaching style is known for its creativity, technical precision, and focus on individual student progress.
In addition to her work at Ignite Dance WA, Holly is also the chairperson of the Western Australia Royal Academy of Dance Regional Advisory Panel, a role that reflects her deep commitment to the development of dance education in the region.
Dr Rachel Evelyn Ward is a passionate dance educator and researcher. She is a former professional dancer and currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at the University of New South Wales. Her research focuses on ‘Dance for Health’, investigating the health benefits of dance for clinical conditions across the lifespan. Rachel is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) Dance for Health Committee and has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences. She is a Registered Teacher and Practical Teaching Supervisor of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), and a Licensed Teacher of the RAD’s Silver Swans ballet program for older adults. Rachel is also an Accredited Exercise Scientist with Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA).
Rachel recently appeared as Science Program Lead in the ABC TV series, “Keep on Dancing”, in which a group of over 65’s attempt to slow the effects of aging through dance. The show followed the dancers across 12 weeks of rehearsals with leading choreographer Kelley Abbey, culminating in a one-of-a kind performance for friends and family.
At Vitality Teacher Day, Rachel will share her experience in developing dance programs for various health conditions, giving particular focus to her recently developed program “Ballet After Breast Cancer”.
