Principals

Wendy Lowe A.R.A.D. (Advanced)
Wendy danced in many productions with Ballet Theatre of Queensland and also with The Queensland Modern and Contemporary Dance Company. In 1977 Ballet Theatre's Artistic Director, Phyllis Danaher M.B.E., F.R.A.D. appointed Wendy as her Assistant and Ballet Mistress where she was responsible for reproducing many ballets in their repertoire over several years.

Judith Lowe A.R.A.D. (Solo Seal)
Judith danced with Ballet Theatre of Queensland for many years, dancing principal roles in various productions. She was also a Foundation Member of The Queensland Modern and Contemporary Dance Company and toured with them overseas to Britain where she performed in London and Aberdeen to personal acclaim. Judith has been selected to appear with the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia and most recently in Swan Lake with the Royal Ballet during their 2002 Tour of Australia.

Teaching Staff

Tammy Gannon A.R.A.D. – Ballet
Registered Teacher of the RAD, London and of the Southern Federation of Dance. Since commencing dance at the age of 3 Tamarah has undertaken examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) as well as with the Society for Education Dance and Theatre Arts (EDTA) in Classical Ballet, Jazz and Gaelic. In 1987 Tamarah was awarded the EDTA Queensland Intermediate Classical Ballet Scholarship. She has also undertaken tap examinations with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance. She has been a teaching member of the Studio for several years.

Judy Gould – M.R.A.D. - Ballet
Judy is a registered RAD teacher and has been teaching ballet for over 20 years. She has also completed a BA (Dance) at Kelvin Grove QUOT, where her studies included both Dance and Education units. As a child, Judy’s love of ballet was fostered by her own teacher, Phyllis Danaher, and it is Judy’s aim to pass on both the skills and this joy of dance to her students.

Tammy Benfield A.R.A.D. – Ballet
Tammy commenced lessons with the Studio in 1974. She has completed all her RAD exams and has been teaching some of our Junior Ballet classes. Tammy enjoys all forms of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and pas de deux. Tammy has performed leading roles with Ballet Theatre of Queensland and appeared with the Royal Ballet in their 2002 season of Swan Lake. Tammy was also invited to travel to Sydney with the Royal Ballet to take part in their performances at the Princess Theatre. She has a wonderful rapport with the students, and is an asset to our teaching staff.

Sandra Walker A.R.A.D. – Ballet
Sandra has completed all her RAD Examinations and also studied SATD Syllabus, sitting for exams in Classical, Jazz & Tap. She was a founding member of the Australian Youth Ballet in Brisbane and toured with them to Aberdeen and London. She then went on to study at the Australian Ballet School for 3 years and was chosen as a performing member of their Dancers Company. Sandra has been assisting with classes at the studio for the last six years.

Jean Logan A.R.A.D. (Solo Seal) – Ballet
Jean has passed all her RAD Examinations and was a member of Ballet Theatre with Wendy and Judy for several years. She has worked professionally, performing in JC Williamsons musicals both here and in New Zealand. She has been assisting the studio for over 20 years, and we value her expertise in assisting with the training of our students.

Anne Farley (nee McCaffrey) M.R.A.D. - Advanced 1 - Ballet, Tap & Jazz
Anne has studied ballet, tap and jazz with the Studio since she was 3 sitting for RAD examinations in ballet. Whilst travelling overseas Anne attended classes in London and also choreographed a production of Little Shop of Horrors for the Fulham Broadway Theatre Group. Anne has a flair for choreography and has choreographed numbers for our Annual Show for the senior students as well as assisting with many rehearsals. She is very capable of teaching Ballet, Tap and Jazz and is able to be called upon to step in if another teacher is unavailable. She is enjoying motherhood and is looking forward to Alexander appearing in the show some time soon.

Rosemary Jones – Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop
Rosemary is an original Studio member having commenced lessons with the school in 1972. Rosemary has studied Tap, Jazz and Irish and has passed Examinations. She has been teaching Tap and Jazz with the studio for many years.

Viola Wynne-Hoelscher – Funk/Hip Hop & Tap
Viola has been dancing at the Studio for 10 years. She has completed a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Dance) and Secondary Education at QUT and is currently teaching dance at Narangba Valley State High School. As a young dancer Viola was a member of Ballet Theatre of Queensland. Viola has a passion for all styles of dance, particularly Contemporary and Hip Hop and thoroughly enjoys teaching young people.

Jessica Briggs M.R.A.D. – Contemporary
Jess commenced her training in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and contemporary within studios in both Sydney and Canberra. She has a BCI degree in Dance and Drama from QUT and graduated last year with a Bachelor of Education. She has been performing contemporary with Zeta Dance Group and is owner of “No Limits Performing Arts” offering workshops and performance production in various styles of dance combined with Drama, Newmedia and Visual Art technologies. Jess teaches dance and drama at Capalaba State College. She also teaches movement to students with impairments at Raise the Bar.

Riccale Reid M.R.A.D., Ass. ATOD (ballet, tap, jazz)
Riccale has undertaken extensive training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary and Musical Theatre. She has completed her Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) examinations as well as all Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) examinations for ballet, tap and jazz and is also a qualified Associate Teacher for the ATOD society. Riccale has a BCI Degree in Dance and Drama and a Bachelor of Education from QUT and is currently teaching Secondary School dance. Riccale has performed for numerous companies and festivals and we are happy to have her teaching for the Studio again this year.

Madeleine Walsh – Tap, Hip Hop
Madeleine has been a pupil at Ashgrove Dance since 1997 studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop. She has assisted with our tots classes for the last 7 years, and last year with our Beginners Tap and Hip Hop classes. She has just graduated Year 12 receiving a O.P.2 result and this year hopes to study Optometry at QUT. Madeleine has appeared in all our Ashgrove Dance annual performances and has enjoyed performing in School Musicals. She is looking forward to teaching our Beginners Tap and Hip Hop classes on Friday this year and will also continue to assist with our Saturday classes.

Darleen Gunthorpe A.R.A.D. – Pilates & Stretching
Life Member of the Pilates Foundation UK.
Darleen has studied ballet in London and Australia and has passed her Advanced RAD Examination. She trained in Pilates in 1986/87 with Alan Herdman in London and taught at his school until 1996, when she opened her own studio. In 2002 she returned to Australia and has been teaching Pilates for us since her return.

The teaching staff will also be assisted by Madeleine Walsh, Margaret Hare, some of our former students, current senior students including Natalie, Rebecca, and Melissa Jones.

*All teachers of children hold a current Blue Card for Child Related Employment.

Last Updated: 11 Jan 2012