PRINCIPAL

Lisa is a fully qualified and registered ATOD dance teacher, having completed an Associate and Licentiate Certificate with the Australian Teachers of Dance. She is a registered teacher of the Ballet Conservatoire, devised by Christine Walsh which is based on the highly regarded Russian Vaganova training method. Additionally, she has achieved the Certificate IV and Advanced Diploma in Dance Teaching and Management, further demonstrating her capabilities in the field.

With a career that spans both the stage and the classroom, Lisa’s impact on the Australian dance community is profound and lasting. She remains a tireless advocate for the power of the arts to enrich lives and bring communities together, and she looks forward to continuing her work as both a teacher and a choreographer for many years to come.

Georgia began teaching at LPD in 2018 after finishing school and quickly decided to pursue a career in dance. In 2021, she completed her Diploma of Dance Teaching and Management with Transit Dance. Her passion is working with pre-schoolers but she enjoys helping all students discover their love of dance.

Cassie has been a fully qualified teacher at LPD for over 20 years. She has been involved in many community productions and performances over the years, but her main passion is tap dancing. Cassie loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with the students at LPD.

Emily began Ballet lessons at LPD. During her schooling Emily spent many hours between the LPD Studio, Lyric Theatre and the Gymnastics club, choosing to focus solely on all facets of dance during her VCE. Emily left Leongatha to undertake two years of musical theatre training in Melbourne. After graduating from the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) with a bachelor’s degree, Emily auditioned successfully for a production company that delivered in-house shows for cruise line entertainment. Throughout all this time Emily always enjoyed coming home and sharing her knowledge with the LPD students. Now based in Melbourne as first year coordinator and speciality trainer at NICA, Emily is pleased to be able to offer regular classes at the Studio, giving back to the place where it all began. The Studio will always be home, and Emily is grateful for the unwavering support from Lisa and the LPD team.

Victoria has trained in the performing arts since she was just 9 years old. In 2019, she studied a Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Australian Institute of Music. She is passionate about helping young performers of all abilities overcome any obstacles they may face when it comes to self expression and provides a safe and supportive environment for students to explore their full potential. Victoria teaches an array of skills such as voice training, all abilities dance and Musical Theatre.

Jasmine is a professional dancer and LPD Alumni. After training at Lisa Pellin Dancers from 4 years old, she moved to the Victorian College of the Arts dance program to complete Year 12. Jasmine completed her Advanced Diploma in Dance Performance, with a Contemporary Major, at the New Zealand School of Dance, Wellington. While completing her tertiary education Jasmine had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers and companies. Over the last three years Jasmine has performed in the Melbourne and Wellington Fringe Festivals and created and assisted dance installation works throughout South Gippsland. Jasmine aims to provide a fun and creative environment in the Studio, with a focus on technique and artistry. Being a second home for most of her life, Jasmine loves being able to teach at The LPD Studios.

Xavier is a Leongatha local and is best known as Miss Lisa’s son. He trained at LPD for 8 years before beginning his training at The Australian Ballet School where he graduated with his Graduate Diploma of Classical Ballet. After graduating he went on to perform nationally with The Australian Ballet on both their Regional and Storytime Tours. He was then a company dancer with Louisville Ballet in the USA where he was fortunate to perform many esteemed works such as Tim Harbour’s ‘Models’, The Nutcracker Prince in Val Caniparoli's ‘The Nutcracker’ and the Lead Male in Lucas Jervies’ ‘Human Abstract.’ Following his time at Louisville Ballet Xavier was a dancer with Scimm Dance Company. In 2020 Xavier began working in musical theatre, he performed as Mr. Mistoffelees in the South Korean Tour of Cats during the height of the pandemic in 2020- 2021, and again in 2022-2023 for the Taiwan and South Korea tour. Xavier has also worked as assistant choreographer on Newsies Jr. with Performing Artists Company (PAC)’s Young Industry Project as well as teaching dance and choreographing across Victoria, interstate and internationally. Currently, Xavier teaches at Pineapple Studios over in the UK and was most recently seen in a Peter Pan pantomime. Xavier is always excited to come back and share his passion for the performing arts with the students at LPD.

Chloe’s career began at Lisa Pellin Dancers back in 2004. She spent thirteen years taking every class LPD had on offer before going off to study musical theatre at Patrick School of the Arts, both in their Elite Academy and their Tertiary programs. After completing her studies in 2021 Chloe accepted her first overseas contract with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as a dancer and singer and spent 2022-2024 sailing and performing throughout Southeast Asia and Europe. Chloe is always excited to be home and teaching at LPD where it all began.

Sydney Patterson (Mr Jackson) started his performing arts career in Leongatha at the Lisa Pellin Dancers. From there, he continued his training at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and then went onto study Musical Theatre at Patrick School of the Arts.
In 2022, Sydney made his professional music theatre debut in the Australian tour of An American in Paris. Sydney is thrilled to be sharing his knowledge back where it all began.

Claudia Bolam is a graduate of both The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (2018), and a recent graduate of The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance (Honours). Her four years of full-time training involved various contemporary techniques, as well as ballet, improvisation, choreography and recent acting and theatre work. She has worked with multiple renowned choreographers, performing constantly whilst at WAAPA.
In addition, Claudia choreographed two contemporary dance works at Perth Youth Company in 2022 and has recently become a pilates matwork instructor. Growing up and training at the Lisa Pellin Dancers, Claudia is excited to teach and share her experiences with the dance students.