By CASEY NEILL
DANCE teacher Michelle Johnson was floored to receive a Greater Dandenong business grant on 10 December.
Thanks to the $8000 helping hand her new Melbourne Ballet School studio soon will be, too.
“We are putting in flooring which is called tarkett, which is a dance-specific vinyl and what the Australian Ballet dances on,” she said.
“It’s a state-of-the-art dance floor, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the grant.”
Michelle also receive business mentoring as part of the grant.
She started Melbourne Ballet School in 2011.
“I was teaching in South Melbourne but I stopped to open my own class when I had a family,” she said.
“When I first started back I did one class a week and now we have 45 classes.
“Each year it’s doubled in numbers and we were growing out of the community centres that we were working in and needed our own permanent place to grow further.
“That’s why we’re here.”
“Here” is a space in Summit Road, Noble Park North.
“We had classes at Nazareth, at the Paddy O’Donoghue Centre and at the Jan Wilson Centre,” Michelle said.
“I wanted something in the middle if we could.
“I was looking in Dandenong, Noble Park, Keysborough and Springvale for the perfect location.
“It’s perfect. We’ve got the two studios that we can run at the same time so we’ve doubled the amount of classes.
“There’s me and three other teachers.
“One of the teachers is also a singing teacher so she’ll be doing singing lessons as well.”
She’ll also use the extra space to introduce classes for teens and adults, and a boys-only hip hop class.
“We have boys interested but when there’s no other boys in the class… ” she said.
“Once you’ve got some it grows.”
Melbourne Ballet School offers ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) exams.
“I danced for 20 years and then I have been teaching for 17 years – was teaching and dancing at the same time,” Michelle said.
“I always just loved to dance, and the variety of doing the ballet and the jazz and the tap – I like to be able to do it all – and being on stage.
“I found my passion when it came to the teaching for sure.
“I preferred to be side-stage and seeing those that I teach do really well.
“I have a science degree and I like to find the formula and get it right.
“That’s why classical ballet is my preferred style.”
Michelle has guided students into the Australian Ballet School and hopes to help more to reach that standard and dance companies around the world.
“We will have classes all the way up to university level,” she said.
“As a primary teacher or a high school teacher, you don’t have them for very long.
“As a ballet teacher you’ve got them through their whole childhood.“
Greater Dandenong Mayor Heang Tak is due to officially open Melbourne Ballet School’s new studio on Saturday 30 January.
Visit www.melbourneballetschool.com.au for more information.
The Journal will profile each of the business grant recipients over coming months.
