EDEN DANCE
INSTITUTE
MEET THE TEAM
EDEN DANCE INSTITUE
OUR TEAM
Teamwork makes the dream work and at EDI we dream big!
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Our faculty comprises of carefully selected, mature, innovative and experienced teachers who are passionate and dedicated to teaching young dancers. They are experts in their genres and work hard to ensure the best dance experience and outcomes. With many different dance qualifications and certifications, and a commitment to ongoing professional development our teachers work collaboratively to draw on their experiences as professional dancers, early childhood educators and psychologists.
PRINCIPAL
KAREN MOONEY
Karen Mooney began her ballet training in Perth at the age of seven with the late Eleanor Hay, quickly adding Spanish dance to her education after developing an interest in character styles. Ballet and contemporary were the focus of her training for many years, and she was a long-standing member of STEPS Youth Dance Company from 1997 to 2003. After achieving her ARAD (Royal Academy of Dance Ballet syllabus) in 2001, she continued to teach ballet to children of all ages. With her increased involvement in the Danza Viva Spanish Dance Company from 2000, directed by Deanna Blacher OAM, her passion for Spanish dance was renewed, and the dream to study in Spain was realised in 2003-2004 when she was the recipient of the STEPS travel scholarship for full-time study in Granada.
Three trips to Spain later totalling a year’s worth of fulltime training at the famous Amor de Dios and others in Madrid, Seville and Granada, she still performs around Perth whenever the opportunity arises, and has achieved her Profesor de Baile teaching ceritificate in the IDE (Instituto de la Danza Española) syllabus. She has now made dance teaching a full-time vocation, teaching ballet and Spanish at Eden Dance Institute since 2018.
Karen loves the ethos of Eden, having found the school while looking for a suitable place for her own daughters to dance. It is her unwavering belief that dance should be a fun, safe and healthy practise for children and adults, no matter their goals or abilities. She loves watching the children grow through the Tippy Toes syllabus into young dancers, and is privileged to take on the role of Principal in 2021.
BALLET DANCE TEACHER
LOUISE AZARIAN
Louise started ballet lessons at the age of three from the late Madame Kira Bousloff (founder of the West Australian Ballet Company) and later Madame Gundi Ferris.
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As a young ballet student, Louise worked as a teacher assistant for both Kira and Gundi's schools, and later went on to teach the junior school for Madame Gundi. Louise studied ballet and contemporary dance at WAAPA but also developed a passion for Musical Theatre. which lead her to perform in numerous Musical Theatre productions in Perth such as My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Godspell and The Blues Brothers. She also appeared with The West Australian Opera in a production of Nabucco and Rigoletto.
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Alongside performing, Louise went onto study Nursing at ECU and works as a perioperative nurse for a few years before stopping to have a family. In 2019, after having a break from nursing and performing, Louise successfully auditioned to be a part of the ensemble in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The following year she played the role of "Jellyorum" in Cats and then in 2020 she was thrilled to join the cast of We Will Rock You at Crown Theatre, playing the roles of "ACDC, "Aretha" and the "Teacher".
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Louise's early love of ballet and her belief that a strong ballet foundation can help all other dance styles is what makes her so passionate about teaching and wanting to pass on her knowledge to the next generation of dancers. She is thrilled to be part of the team at Eden Dance Institute!.
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DANCE TEACHER
LUCY WHITFIELD
Lucy began dancing at the age of 3, training in ballet, theatre modern, tap and jazz. She went on to train at Middlesex University in London gaining a first class honours degree in Contemporary performance.
After performing and teaching in various styles across the UK she moved to Perth 7 years ago and started a family. She is excited to be part of the Eden Dance Institute family, where she can continue to grow and develop as a teacher while sharing her love of dance with all her students.
DANCE TEACHER
SHELLEY MOORE
Shelley trained in Jazz, Ballet and Gymnastics from the age of four, and continued right through her teen years, adding Classical Ballet, Contemporary and Acrobatics to her repertoire. She completed a Certificate in Dance and rigorous 3 year degree at WAPPA.
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Having a hiatus from dance, she pursued other artistic and creative careers, most recently Makeup Artistry, before having two lovely daughters. Shelley is energetic and charismatic teacher who is enjoying assisting and teaching children, who carry the same effervescence from dance that she has.
DANCE TEACHER
DAKOTA LEAK
Originally I am from Broome, a small town located in the North-West Kimberly. I started dancing at the age of two and quickly fell in love with all aspects of performing arts. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue performing arts professionally.
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in 2018, I moved to Perth to start full-time training in performing arts at Principal Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts, graduation with a Diploma of Acting and an Advance Diploma of Musical Theatre.
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Since graduation, I have been lucky enough to gain industry experience performing and working in Platinum Entertainment's "We will Rock You", "Boy from Oz" and most recently "Priscilla the Queen of the Desert" at Crown Theatre.
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During the school holidays, I work as a choreographer for Perth Youth Theatre, choreographing two children's musicals within the two weeks.
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Dakota is passionate about teaching what she has learnt as a dancer and performer to everyone that enters her classes.
BALLET DANCE TEACHER
MARTHA GODBER
Martha is originally from Brisbane, and completed her RAD Advanced 2 and Advanced Diploma of Dance at ADPL.
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After attending the Genee International Ballet Competition as a semi-finalist, she moved to Germany to study at Hamburg Ballettschule de John Neumeier and was fortunate to perform in multiple company productions including Swan Lake, Nutcracker and the Nijinsky Gala.
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She then joined Washington Ballet DC as a trainee from August 2013, and in 2014 she joined the Queensland Ballet (QB) as a Young Artist, performing in numerous productions including Macmillan's Romeo & Juliet, Balanchine's Serenade and Stevenson's Cinderella. In 2015, Martha joined the QB Community Engagement team as a Teaching Artist, and then progressed into the role of Education and Access Manager from 2019 - 2022 managing regional touring, dance health programs and curriculum-based activities.
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Martha is passionate about sharing her love of dance with students of all ages and inspiring a joy of learning through movement.
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Alongside her career in dance, Martha has completed a Masters of Public Health (University of Queensland) and is currently studying a Doctor of Medicine at University of Notre Dame in Fremantle.
DANCE TEACHER
OLIVIA WEIR
Olivia started her dancing career at the West Australia School of Dance at the age of 3. Starting out with Tap & quickly progressing onto Ballet, Jazz & Musical Theatre.
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At the age of 7 she moved to Singapore which opened up a vast amount of Opportunities and continued to dance with Dance Trilogy for the 10 years she lived there. During her time she completed her RAD exams, CSTD Jazz & Tap exams.
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She has performed in Korea, Indonesia & Malaysia and in 2015 danced for NKF and in 2016 dance in the Rotary International Convention.
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She is passionate about teaching dance and continuing her dancing career now that she is based back in Perth.
DANCE TEACHER
JESSICA GRIGGS
Jess has been training within the hip hop community in Perth for the last 8 years, where she has been training consistently with The Society.
Having travelled and competed internationally in Cancun, Mexico and placed third in 2017 alongside travelling to various states in Australia to train and compete, where in 2022 saw success with a first place at Danchella.
She has trained under various choreographers both nationally and internationally. Jess teaches at multiple studios across Perth sharing her knowledge, love and passion for dance, music and hip hop.
DANCE TEACHER
Stephanie Thomas
Originally from New Zealand, Steph Thomas is a dynamic and versatile dancer, teacher, and choreographer now based in Perth, WA. With a robust background in dance, Steph trained in jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, acro, lyrical, hip-hop, and commercial jazz at Sydney’s Urban Dance Centre, guided by industry experts such as Juliette Verne, Veronica Beattie, Jason Winters and Marko Panzic.
Steph’s professional experience spans stage, television and film, including roles in "Underbelly: Razor", The Voice, Australia’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, Australia’s Next Top Model, State Of Origin, Sydney Madi Gras and numerous music video appearances. She has also performed alongside Australian and International artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Wynter Gordon, Jessica Mauboy, Johnny Ruffo and Timomatic Omaji.
In teaching and choreography, Steph made a significant impact at Sydney Dance Company among many others. Her choreography credits include the Merivale Awards, Everybody Dance Now, for corporate events and various cabaret burlesque performances. Passionate about both performance and education, Steph is dedicated to sharing her expertise and creativity through her work.
Having just recently joined the Eden Dance Institute faculty, she is particularly excited to foster this same passion and love for dance in our young performers.
STUDIO MANAGER
JULES BINGHAM
Jules is a bubbly and beautiful mother of two girls and a boy, who puts her heart into everything she does.
Jules loves netball and her furry animals that being 2 French Bulldogs named Snoop & Marley. When she is in the studio she is super organised, and welcomes everyone that walks in the door with a big smile and a "how are you chicken or champ!!".
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Jules previously worked for The Sunday Times for just over 17 years. She started in the mail room and progressively made her way up the ranks to become the second in charge for the Circulation Department. She was lucky enough to have an opportunity to travel the world and see some amazing places all whilst working for the newspaper!. One of her highlights of her career was to have dinner with Rupert Murdoch when he visited Perth. Something that she will never forgot and was the most amazing experience to cherish.
She loves seeing all the kids come into the studio, she is like the studio mum for anyone that wants a chat or even just a hug!
CONTACT US
Eden Dance Institute
55 Roberts Street
Osborne Park WA 6017
08 6182 3664