Klarissa Gennusa

Ballet, Pointe

Klarissa trained at The Conlan College of Classical Ballet for her foundation followed by full time training from 2010 until graduating in 2015. Klarissa has completed all of her RAD Examinations receiving high distinction in all major examinations with 100% in her Advanced 2. She recently featured in the movie “Dance Academy the Comeback” released in cinemas 2018 as well as starring in a store film “Reverie” played at Sydney Film Festival.

Following graduation, Klarissa received many offers to travel overseas with companies such as Ajkun Ballet Theatre and Stara Zagora State Opera Ballet and in 2018 Klarissa joined Melbourne City Ballet. Her performance credits include “Crystal Fountain fairy solo”, ” Silver Jewel solo”, “White cat pas de duex”, nymphs, attendant in Sleeping Beauty, “Mercedes” Carmen’s best friend in Carmen, “Kate American Pas de deux” in Madame Butterfly, “Spanish pas de duex”, snowflakes, party guest in Nutcracker.

Klarissa has been teaching all over Sydney, Melbourne and Tamworth for many years. She has a passion for inspiring young dancers and spreading her love and knowledge for dance to each student to watch them grow individually as a dancer.

Olivia Bowers

* Cert IV in Performing Arts
* Professional International Program – Majoring in Contemporary & Commercial

Jazz, SST, Performance Troupe, Contemporary

Olivia is a Sydney based dancer and choreographer. From a young age Olivia has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip hop, Musical Theatre, Tap, Acrobatics, Drama and Singing competing and performing with her dance schools competition teams. Olivia attended Pymble Ladies’ College where she continued her studies in dance completing her HSC dance and receiving multiple callback nominations, as well as being a member of their competition teams and performing in many of their musical theatre productions.

Following High School Olivia completed Full Time training at Urban Dance Centre where she received her Certificate IV in Performing Arts before moving to New York to complete a Professional International Training Program at Broadway Dance Center. Her triple threat education extends over 20 years in schools and programs within Sydney, LA and New York.

Olivia has worked as a performer in shows throughout Australia and the United States alongside the likes of Justice Crew and Redfoo, with the choreographers of Beyonce, Missy Elliot, Rihanna and Lady Gaga and for shows, events and companies such as The Morning Show, Channel V, Mardi Gras, The X-factor, Optus and The Starlight Foundation.

In addition to performing, Olivia has been teaching for over 10 years in a variety of styles with her favourite styles to teach being Jazz, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She has choreographed for performances and competitions in studios throughout Sydney and New York and is excited to work with the Footloose Performance Studio dancers.

As a Teacher, Olivia’s main aim in the studio is to push students to test their limits and surpass their comfort zones in a safe, comfortable and fun environment; and to nurture a passion and encourage pride in their achievements.

Jamila Grace

* Cert IV in Dance

Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop

Jamila has been trained in all styles from the age of 5, beginning under the guidance of teachers at Woolgoolga Performing Arts Studio as well as undertaking vocal training for the last three years.

In 2019, Jamila furthered her training at Ettingshausens obtaining her Certificate IV in Dance and training with many industry professionals. Ettingshausens opened a lot of opportunities for Jamila as she performed on both The Voice & Dancing with the Stars as well as choreographing the opening number for her graduation showcase alongside Natasha Crane and this year Jamila will be performing in the 2020 ICC World Cup Opening performance.

Jamila has been teaching across all styles of dance at both Carnivale Dance Co and Ettingshausens and is very excited to share her love and knowledge of dance at Footloose.

Taine Wynyard

* Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts

Tap

Taine has been passionate about the performing arts industry from a young age, starting dance lessons at the age of 4. By the age of 8 he was a part of the tap pups, being trained under Dein Perry’s Tap dogs and instantly fell in love with tap dancing. Through being a tap pup Taine has had many amazing performance opportunities such as; Carols in the Domain, Sydney Tap Festival, v8 Supercars, New Year’s Eve, So You Think You Can Dance and Dance Academy. Recently he has also had opportunities to perform professionally along some of the Tap Dogs, with a highlight being performing on a submarine in Sydney’s Darling Harbour.

Taine studied full time for 2 years at ED5 International where he received an Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts. Throughout the course he had the opportunity to perform alongside industry professionals at some amazing events including; Arnott’s Gala Ball, a wedding event alongside Marcia Hines, Nicole Fitzsimmons Foundation Ball, Save our Sons and the Ocean 8 Premiere.

Taine loves being a dance teacher as it allows him to share his knowledge and passion for the arts with the younger generation. Taine is extremely excited to teach the students at Footloose, and can’t wait to see what the year ahead holds for both himself and the kids.

Geneva Kulper

* Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts

Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Acro

Geneva is a passionate teacher in the performing arts industry who loves working with kids of all ages. She has 17 years of dance training and 12 years of performance experience. In this time she has achieved distinctions in RAD ballet and honours in CSTD tap exams. She has had the opportunity to perform at various shows and fete’s from a young age, including the Easter Show and has trained under the guidance of industry professionals from a young age including Nathan Sheens, William Forsythe, Leslie Bell, Philip Filo, Michael Corbett and many more.

In 2016 Geneva had the opportunity to go to America to perform a show at Disneyland and Universal Studios and was a part of the Disneyland Christmas Parade.

In 2018 after 2 years of full time training Geneva graduated from Ed5 International with an Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts. Through this course she had the opportunity to perform professionally at events such as; on tv for the Voice, at the Arnott’s gala ball and with artists such as; Marcia Hines and Mini Cooper.

Geneva has been Teaching for 5 years. She loves teaching many styles and all age groups and is inspired by watching her students grow and develop under her guidance.

Monique Harris

* Acrobatic Arts Teacher Accreditation

Pre-School

As a dancer for over 15 years, Monique has had a vast amount of experience with many teachers and dancers. She has studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet & Contemporary from the age of 4 and loved her dance journey at Capital Performance Studios.

Monique has performed countless times at the Opera House, and was also a member of a troupe named the Best Tappers in Australia. Monique has worked professionally as a tap dancer, in the Chinese New Year Parade in Sydney and has appeared on Channel 10 several times performing with an elite tap group.

In 2018, Monique choreographed the musical “Grease” for Berowra Musical Society and also taught local public school dance groups choreographing routines for the Sydney North Dance Festival.

Monique started teaching as an assistant 6yrs ago and has been teaching for both Capital and Footloose Performance Studios since 2017. Monique is super excited to be teaching with the amazing Footloose team in the same venue she completed her dance training and can’t wait for the year to get started!

Anna-Julia King

Jazz, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, Singing, Pre-School

Jessica Rego

* Cert IV in Dance (Triple Threat)

SST, Troupe, Jazz, Dance Cirque

Lee Evans

* Diploma of Dance Teaching (RAD Ballet)
* Diploma in Dance Teaching & Management
* Master of Teaching (Primary Education)

Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Jazz

Lee has been teaching dance for 22 years and as well as holding formal qualifications in dance (RAD Diploma Dance Teaching Studies in Classical Ballet and Diploma Dance Teaching and Management ATOD) she is also a primary school teacher with a local Hills private school.

She studied classical ballet at a young age with Peta Davidson (formerly of the Australian Ballet) and also the McDonald College of Performing Arts, later studying at the Joffrey Ballet School (New York City). Lee has completed classical ballet teacher training with Tanya Pearson and also The Australian Ballet School.

She was a soloist and troupe student with Glenn Wood for tap dance since the age of 11 years and continued through her adult years. Lee has also trained with Dein Perry and Nathan Sheens (Tap Dogs). She performed in Times Square New York as a tap dancer with the American Tap Dance Foundation and also with the Barbara Duffy Advanced Tap Ensemble at the Performance Space on Broadway, New York City. In Australia she was a member of the Tapworks Company headed by Chris Horsey (Tap Dogs) performing in the Hats Off (Seymour Centre) production and also at the Australian Dance Festival.

Lee studied jazz and contemporary dance through the McDonald College of Performing Arts and Brent Street Studios. Professional credits include dancing a jazz quartet routine as part of the Sydney Dance Company Studios Ensemble Performance, appearing in the short film Dak Dak as a featured jazz dancer, a hip hop dancer in the Merv Mac Cheerleader video clip, featured extra in a Gloria Jean’s promotional video and jazz dancer for Keith Urban’s performance at the NRL Grand Final.

Lee has adjudicated for local eisteddfods and was an examiner for Australian Dance Vision, assessing students both interstate and in NSW for classical ballet, jazz and tap. She was also a tutor for the ADV teacher training days and pointe training workshops.

Lee has a passion for giving young people opportunities to experience the wonderful world of dance in a positive, nurturing environment and has a great love for teaching dance with the same standards and processes gained as a primary school teacher.

Makaila Thorne

* Cert IV & Diploma in Dance

Pre-School

Makaila found her passion for dance at a very young age at GCSDANCE on the Central Coast where she trained with a focus in RAD Ballet, Jazz and Tap.

After finishing school Makaila furthered her dance studies at Ettingshausen’s Pro where she was trained and mentored by some of the best in the industry graduating with a Certificate IV and Diploma in dance. While at Ettingshausen’s Makaila was given the opportunity to perform on The Voice & Dancing with the Stars as well as appearing in the Opening Performance of the 2020s ICC World Cup.

Lorraine Wyatt

* Acrobatic Arts Teacher Accreditation

Tap

Lorraine is a proud wife and mother of two small children. Growing up, Lorraine was involved in every performance related activity she could sink her teeth into. She has always had a strong passion for dance and started at the age of 5 with the Jeanne Campbell Dancers. Completing her exams and competing at various tap championships throughout her childhood, Lorraine worked her way up to being a Junior Teacher.

Since then Lorraine has choreographed many Eisteddfod and concert routines and previously worked for Footloose Performance Studios before having her first child in 2016. Lorraine re-joined the Team in 2019 and is happy to be part of the Footloose Family once again. There are no words for how much she enjoys teaching and inspiring her students.

Samantha Lee

* Acrobatic Arts Teachers Accreditation

Jazz

Sammy started dance at a very young age, following her mum’s footsteps in American Latin and ballroom dancing. After 2 years she changed her dance path and pursued rhythmic gymnastics where she competed for 10 years reaching the state and national levels.

At school she participated in the school dance groups performing at several venues including the Opera House and was part of the Schools Spectacular two years in a row.

Sammy has been part of the Footloose Family since 2013 initially as a student and then as a Teacher for the past 2 years.

Rebecca Stock

Jazz, Admin

Dance has been a major part of Bec’s life since the age of 4. She began with a strong foundation in the Cecchetti ballet method and by the age of 8 she was dancing 5 days a week and competing in numerous eisteddfods including a performance at the opera house in the under 12 division.

During high school, Bec represented her school in dance festivals and competitions as well as gaining some experience in aerobic gymnastics, reaching both state and national levels. She soon discovered other genres of dance including contemporary, jazz and more recently acrobatics which she has continued to study and teach as an assistant for several years.

Bec has been part of the Footloose Family since 2018 first as a student before becoming part of our Team in 2019. Bec is looking forward to continuing being part of the Footloose Family this year as a Dancer, Assistant Troupe Teacher and part of our Admin Team.