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Our mission:

We will nurture your passion for dance -
one step at a time!

Whether you’re pursuing a career in dance or simply wanting to express yourself through artistic holistic movement - our dedicated team understands what it takes to maximise your potential.

 

We understand the expectations and demands of classical ballet in the 21st century. We take the best elements from our predecessors, base our training on Russian methodology, and combine this with current industry knowledge to best suit the needs of Australian dancers today.

 

Reflecting an ever-changing artistic landscape, contemporary dance training is another component of our comprehensive programme.

 

Committed to quality and service, Melbourne Institute of Dance is your premier school of choice.

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Kalman Warhaft
Director
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Our Team

Our Team

Kalman Warhaft

Director
Kalman's lifetime dedication to dance allows him to direct Melbourne Institute of Dance, providing quality and service in dance education.
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Natalie Clarke

Teacher
Natalie is a dance instructor specialising in classical ballet, she is passionate about sharing her knowledge of the art form and giving back to the dance community.
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Chimene Steele-Prior

Teacher
Originally from Darkinjung Country, Chimene is a Naarm (Melbourne) based performer, teacher and choreographer. She studied at the New Zealand School of Dance (Diploma of Dance Performance) and at WAAPA as a member of LINK Dance Company (Bachelor of Performing Arts - DANCE). Her movement practice is concerned with the expressivity, nuance and capacity of the human body to hold, endure and transform.
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Hiroko Kaneko

Teacher
Hiroko is passionate about fostering joy for her students in a positive learning environment helping them develop the skills they need to reach their highest potential.
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Elisha Torres

Teacher
Melbourne Institute of Dance is thrilled to have Elisha join our teaching team. She began dancing at the age of five studying the Cecchetti Method under the tutelage of Ms Peta Byrne.
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Olivia Paine

Teacher
Originating from the NSW North Coast, Olivia started dancing with Karen Ireland Dance Centre, Lismore NSW.
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Lauren Slade

Teacher
From Johannesburg, South Africa, trained at the National School of the Arts and joined The State Theatre Ballet in 1996 before becoming a founding soloist of The South African Ballet Theatre (now Joburg Ballet) in 2001, where she performed and served as Ballet Mistress. After 22 years of distinguished service, she retired in 2023. She is continuing her passion through dance education.
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Sharnie Foot

Teacher
Sharnie's love for ballet radiates in her skilled teaching of our Tiny and Pre-Ballet students. Trained primarily in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus; she has completed Intermediate Foundation-level exams. She has also successfully competed in numerous competitions, including the Ballet Teacher’s Workshop and Royal South Street.
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Audra Tory

Teacher
Audra fell in love with dance at a young age. Having trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Musical Theatre.
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Dr Linda Sastradipradja

Dance Educator
Linda Sastradipradja is an internationally renowned dance performer, researcher and educator whose work emphasises the centrality of the dancer to dance making, dance teaching and dance performance processes.
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Carolina Pais

Teacher
Carolina started dancing from a young age in Brazil. At 15, she took part in the Prix de Lausanne, where she accepted a scholarship to The Australian Ballet School.
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Annaliese Macdonald

Teacher
Annaliese danced professionally with The Australian Ballet and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. She trained full-time at The Australian Ballet School and Victorian College of the Arts, graduating with a Graduate Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance).
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Ashley Ward

Teacher
Ashley found her passion for dance and ballet when she started at 4 years old. She has experience with both Vaganova and RAD methods and has completed her Advanced Foundation examination in 2018.
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Elena Sanina

Character Teacher
Elena is originally from Russia where she started to do character dancing and performed with various groups since 1992.
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Dr Jason Lam

Guest Teacher
Dr Jason Lam has over two decades of experience working in the performing arts space at an elite level. He was formerly a professional dancer with Sydney Dance Company, Tasdance, Opera Australia as well as performing as an independent artist before retiring and studying medicine.
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Testimonitals

Joanna

I was lost for words observing Kalman and the girls last night. Kalman's artistry and dedication with the girls is priceless. Our daughter has grown so much and is loving every moment. Honestly, with the comps, win or lose doesn’t matter to us, the life skills she is gaining from the commitment to training is amazing and she noticing her own progression.
Thank you for being a wonderful mentor, teacher and director.

Nina

MIoD’s first gala show was amazing. I felt like I was out at the theatre watching a professional show. It was entertaining and interesting at every level. My daughter‘s technique progressed so much under the training at MIoD. In fact, despite a couple of years learning elsewhere, I felt like she hadn’t actually learnt ballet until starting at MIoD. I have also loved learning ballet again in the adult classes both in person and via Zoom!

Claire

After trying a few local dance schools, we enrolled our daughter at MIoD. Although our daughter is very much a beginner, we immediately noticed a difference in her skill development and performance ability. In her words, this was 'real ballet' and attending class is the highlight of her week. The teachers have been professional, are very well trained and obviously share a great passion for what they do, but most importantly they have been fabulous role models whilst demonstrating amazing levels of patience, kindness and care towards the young dancers in their care. I am so grateful that we have found a dance school which delivers the perfect balance between a quality dance education and creative, enjoyable experiences in a happy and healthy environment.

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