Teachers

Director and dedicated dance professional, Jennifer Craddock has been teaching dance and performing professionally since she was seventeen. Originally from Auckland, she moved to Sydney in her early twenties landing a contract with well-known choreographer William Forsyth. Since then, she has worked for some of the industry's most well known and respected choreographers and directors for major events such as MTV Music Awards, Aria Music Awards and Arena Tour 'Long Way to the Top'. Performing as a back up dancer for international artists including Kylie Minogue, Macy Gray, Cyndi Lauper and Jared Leto to name a few. From Sydney to Singapore, Bahrain to East Timor, Jennifer's professional success led her to teach many popular beginner to advanced level classes in a variety of established dance institutions. As a choreographer, she has worked with prestigious clients such as Clinique, Peugeot and Bendon creating spectacular events showcasing some of Australia's finest dance talent giving both her students and young up and comers dancers a chance to take to the stage professionally.

In 2000, Jennifer launched the highly popular Sydney Dance Zone workshops alongside fellow dancer and NBSOD teacher Dale Pope. These highly sought after holiday programs brought together the hottest industry professionals—in all forms of dance—to expose students in Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Sydney to new styles, teaching methods and skill sets. Taking students out of their comfort zone, Sydney Dance Zone created a generation of students whose love of dance formed new friendships, well documented accomplishments and long lasting memories.

In 2002, Jennifer began teaching at The Neutral Bay School of Dance and took over as Director in 2010 building on the foundations of excellence the school has established. Expanding the curriculum, Jennifer's positive teaching techniques challenge and nurture each individual student's talent and ability. For her, the focus is on building nurturing relationships with each of her students with a focus on having fun while growing artistically. Expanding on her professional dance and education experience, she is also able to help her dance students with muscle imbalances and weaknesses as a qualified mat and reformer Pilates instructor.

Virginia Gallagher started her career as a professional dancer with Opera Australia and J.C. Willamson performing in various stage shows, television productions and musical theatre performances as a dancer and actor before travelling extensively throughout Europe and America. A graduate of The Australian Ballet School, Virginia's love of teaching comes from the unique privilege of observing the progress of students as they grow and develop from pre-school aged children to young adults. She came as a teacher to The Neutral Bay School of Dance in 1987 after having lived in the U.S. for 15 years. During her time there she established the Nantucket Theatre Workshop Dance Company and School, before returning home to Sydney. With over 40 years experience as a dedicated dance educator, Virginia has been an integral part of The Neutral Bay School of Dance taking over the reigns as Director in 1994. She enjoys the process of encouraging her students to reach their full potential as dance students while developing their self expression and self confidence through a love of dance. In 2010 Virginia passed the Directorship of the school to Jennifer Craddock and is continuing to teach the RAD syllabus and inspire the dancers of tomorrow.

A well documented dance educator, Dale Pope has created numerous dance, arts and fitness programs for established institutions throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. As a choreographer, her work has been performed on stages in Paris, Rome, Prague, New York and Sydney's Opera House and can be seen in multi-media arenas as the choreographer to Bindi Irwin on the Bindi Kid Fitness DVD #1 and #2 and Dance Academy shown on ABC 3. As the NSW State Choreographer and National Dance Co-ordinator for Aus Girls Dance, Dale's # 1 passion is teaching and she has long been inspiring dance students with her ability to meld creative dance styles with high energy fitness routines. Her nationwide children's dance fitness program RED raw energy dance.

As a performer, Dale has enjoyed a full and varied career majoring in contemporary at the New Zealand School of Performing Arts. She has performed with countless celebrities including Kylie Minogue, Marica Hines, KD lang, and Caroline O'Connor; entertained royalty—Queen Elizabeth, Prince Edward and the King and Queen of Sweden—and most recently danced in the movie Mao's Last Dancer. An accomplished professional and dedicated educator, Dale Pope has been teaching at The Neutral Bay School of Dance since 2000 and remains one of its most dedicated dance professionals.

One of The Neutral Bay School of Dance's newest and most popular additions, Lindsay Black has been dancing since she was 3 years old. In 2007, she moved to Sydney to pursue her dance dream, graduating from Sydney's prestigious ED5 Full-Time dance program where she trained under some of the industry's most well respected performers and choreographers. While there, she discovered a passion for hip hop and spent two years learning the foundations of the style and developing her own take on one of the industry's most sought after dance styles.

Imbued with an unbridled enthusiasm and love of her craft, Lindsay's classes reflect the dedication to excellence that has seen her become such a success in the professional arena. She has worked alongside some of Sydney's hottest hip hop and jazz choreographers and recently travelled to Los Angeles to train at the famous Millenium Dance School. While in the U.S. she attended the World Hip Hop Championships and upon returning to Australia, has been instrumental in bringing hip hop to smaller regional centres training "Urban Crew" in Ulladulla on the South Coast as well as a bevy of eager dancers lining up to be a part of her motivational classes. Along with her list of accomplishments—from video clips to numerous events and competitions—Lindsay continues to inspire with her boundless enthusiasm and love of dance.

Born in Sydney, Teneill Wilson trained at the distinguished McDonald College of Performing Arts travelling overseas to compete and train at a young age. At fifteen, she competed in the prestigious Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland making it to the quarter finals and went on to study at the National Ballet School of Canada where she was exposed to a variety of inspiring performers, choreographers and directors. Once home in Australia, Teneill completed her High School Certificate and Royal Academy of Dance Teaching Certification gaining a Bachelor of Arts Dance/Bachelor of Education degree at the University of New South Wales. For her, the joy of teaching comes from the the opportunity to inspire and unlock students' hidden talents while developing a relationship based on the shared passion of dance. Currently teaching dance education at the Newtown High School of Performing Arts, the school is proud to have such a dedicated and talented dance educator on staff.

A highly experienced classical and contemporary dancer, Kirsty Arnold holds an Associate Degree in Dance from QUT and has performed professionally on an international scale. For over a decade she worked in London alongside some of the most innovative and well-recognised professionals including Matthew Bourne, Michael Clarke, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Matthew Hawkins and Emma Diamond. A lover of dance, she co-founded the production company Artelier and has extensive experience producing, choreographing and teaching dance and ballet. For her, dance is a wonderful form of creative expression and whether beginner or advanced, child or adult, all of her students benefit from her caring and patient nature. For adults looking to enhance their core strength and alleviate some of the stress of everyday life, check out Kirsty's adult ballet classes. Log onto www.dancepalette.net for more info.

A qualified industry professional, Anika Grande has been a singing, drama and dance teacher for over 15 years. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Dance (Ballet/Dance Performance) from Australian Dance Performance Institute, Certificate IV in Performing Arts from Brent Street Studios, a Diploma of International Business from the University of Brisbane, Zumba instructor certification in several Zumba specialties and most recently gained instructor certification in Jungle Body Konga. Her professional experience extends to all areas of entertainment from musicals to short films. She has traveled the world as a resident entertainer for Princess Cruises USA and her classes combine all these many talents to create a program that students won't want to end.

Anika currently appears with the Margaritas, a comedic and musical act based in Sydney and will soon be taking on the lead role of Kim in Miss Saigon for TandEm Productions in November 2011.