ACADEMY BALLET TEACHING FACULTY

Academy Ballet is proud to introduce our lifelong teachers, all who are truly invested in your child’s individual ballet journey.

We mean it when we say your child’s first teacher will likely see them through to graduation. Our teachers invest in every child’s development – both emotionally, technically and socially. Some of our teachers were either taught by Miss Sinead as former students, or taught her themselves.

Sinead is the Director and owner of Academy Ballet. She has been teaching for over 25 years and is continually amazed by the journey that working with young people takes her on.

At the age of 4 Sinead did her first class at Academy Ballet with Mrs Kuner, the Founding Director of Academy Ballet. Since that very first class all she has ever wanted to do is teach ballet & run Academy Ballet.

Sinead holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology & History), a Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies and a Certificate in Training and Assessment. As well as owning AB, Sinead is a mother to Ash, stepmother to Domi & Dion, wife to Lawrence and, generally, one happy woman.

Maeve’s ballet training started at Corrib Dance Academy and Youth Ballet West in Galway. She spent a year at the College of Dance in Dublin where she continued to develop her ballet as well as training in other styles and working on choreography. She then moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), where she completed the BA (Hons) in Ballet Education, studied the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance program and completed the Karsavina Heritage Award. She also succeeded in passing her Advanced 2 exam.

After she graduated, Maeve moved to Malta where she taught ballet at Artemocion for two years. Then, she moved to Singapore where she taught at The Ballet School for another two years.

Genevieve, Academy Ballet’s Assistant Principal, has always had a passion and love of ballet completing all RAD examinations with High Distinctions. and receiving a full academic & ballet scholarship to the McDonald College of Performing Arts.

She then received a full scholarship to study a Pre-Professional year at the
prestigious Joffrey ballet school in New York. After Dancing with Ballet Austin and ballet neo NYC, Genevieve returned home to discover a passion just as strong in teaching and has been a dedicated ballet teacher now for the past ten years.

James is a real life ‘Billy Elliot’… Studying at The Royal Ballet School in London, he graduated into the Royal Ballet Company where he performed for Queen Elizabeth on her 60th Birthday at The Royal Opera House. Further contracts with The National Ballet of Portugal, The National Ballet of Canada, and Sydney Dance Company allowed James to work with many of the world’s most renowned dancers and choreographers.

He currently teaches regularly at Academy Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Brent Street and The North Shore Dance Academy, as well as being a sought-after freelance teacher, choreographer and adjudicator both in Australia and overseas.

Maddy came to Academy Ballet in 2013 as a bright, exuberant and hardworking student. Since then she has become an invaluable member of our community.

Maddy is inspirational both on the stage and in the studio for her peers, her teachers and the younger students at AB. She personifies the empowered young adult we hope all AB students will grow to be. As an Assistant Teacher Maddy shows compassion, strength and warmth, her beautiful smile and strong by kind demeanour is appreciated by students and parents.

Gretel trained at Academy Ballet in our full-time program where she received Distinctions in her Advanced RAD Exams, was a finalist at the prestigious McDonalds Scholarship and competed in many eisteddfods as a soloist and in groups.

She knew from when she started at Academy Ballet that dance was going to be a part of her life forever. She was accepted at The English National Ballet School in 2010 and studied abroad for many years receiving a Diploma in Professional Dance from Trinity College London. Gretel returned to Australia and is currently studying PR and Advertising at University of New South Wales as well as teaching ballet and character.

Alex commenced her dance training at the age of three. She has trained in a variety of dance styles including Classical Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, tap, Hip Hop and Musical theatre.

She achieved up to Advanced 1 Level from the Royal Academy of Dance while training with the Teresa Johnson Ballet School. Alex has completed a Diploma of Dance at Brent Street Performing Arts as well as a Bachelor of Dance Practice at the Australian College of Physical Education.

Alex has a strong passion for teaching, choreography and dance production, appreciating the strength of performing arts in both the dance and commercial world. Her teaching focuses on raising the dance skills and capabilities of each student whilst also helping them to build their uniqueness in the world of dance.

Liv is an extremely passionate and driven teacher whose love for dancing and dance teaching is extensive. From 2019-2021, Liv undertook training in BCCAP where she was trained under the valuable guidance and mentorship of Bec Condino.

In 2021, Liv attained her Certificate IV at Ettingshausens Pro and she is now pursuing her Diploma of Dance at Brent Street.

With Liv’s firm belief in dedication, hard work and love of dance, it’s her mission to share this passion with her students in a rewarding and nurturing environment. Liv thrives off seeing growth and improvement in young artists she works with as she shares her love for dancing, teaching and choreography.

Originally from regional NSW, Isabelle moved to Melbourne at 14 to train at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet under the guidance of Valmai Roberts, where she acquired her Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance). 

During this time, she also found passion in teaching, particularly in educating dancers on their bodies and the artistry of dance. She has experience in the Borovansky, Ballet Conservatoire and RAD syllabi, and has a love for teaching classical repertoire. 

Currently, she studying Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology at UNSW, and is also a Pilates Instructor.

A directing graduate of Victorian College of the Arts, Lara is a director, dramaturg and teaching artist. Her directing credits: Fly, Falling Petals, The Removalists, Il Signor Bruschino (Lyric Opera of Melbourne), Echo in our Walls (Outback Theatre for Young People), Fewer Emergencies, Sprout: A Radio Play, Tiger Country(Little Spoon Co.), Still, Pigeon (Bondi Feast Festival), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Importance of Being Ernest, The Gipsy Dancer, Wolf Lullaby, Cabaret and Bombshells.

Lara has worked with such companies as Outback Theatre for Young People, Playwriting Australia, Griffin Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre, to name a few. Lara is a two time Green Room Award nominee for Best Direction in Opera.

Alla Orlievsky was born 1948 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She completed her degree at The Conservatorium of Music in Russia before emigrating to Australia.

Since arriving in Australia in 1978 she has held various positions as a ballet accompanist, including with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company and various international ballet schools. She is immensely proud to be associated with Academy Ballet for the last
18 years.