Meet our team - DANCE FIT DANCE ACADEMY

Qualifications
Diploma in Performing Arts
Certificate 3 in Performing Arts
Certificate 3 in Fitness Certificate 4 in Fitness
Acrobatics Arts- Module 1 Certified
Acrobatics Arts- Module 2 Certified
Acrobatic Arts- Aerial & Back hand springs
Alixa Flexibility- Module 1 Certified
Alixa Flexibility- Module 2 Certified
Certificate in "Dance"- Jason Coleman's Ministry of Dance
READY SET DANCE certified
Radar Training certified
First Aid & CPR
WWCC

Megan French

“I believe in our students learning in a safe and supportive environments and helping them to gain confidence and passion in performing arts”
Principal & OWNER of Dance Fit Dance Academy, Megan teaches our Acrobatic, READY SET DANCE and Alixa Flexibility classes at Dance Fit Dance Academy and has experience in all genres of dance.
Megan started gymnastics at the age of 3 until she was 14 years old. She then went on to represent Australia in cheerleading with the ‘Perth Angels’. Megan started dancing during high school and it was at this time when she realised she had a real passion, and talent for dance and performing. Whilst in high school Megan choreographed and had the lead role in the rock eisteddfod, receiving 1st and 2nd place the following year.
After high school, Megan went into a full time dancing course at ‘Principle Academy of Dance’ where she studied for 4 years and received her Diploma in Performing Arts specialising in dance. From there, she moved to Melbourne where she continued to study full time at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of dance, graduating in 2011. Megan participated in many professional shows whilst living in Melbourne and received the lead role in a children’s musical;
‘Numbat and Friends’.
Returning home in 2012, Megan taught at many different high schools whilst completing her Cert 3 and 4 in Fitness. She also decided to open Dance Fit Dance Academy to pursue her love of dance and teaching to share her passion with everyone else.

Qualifications
BA Degree in Performing Arts Graduate
Diploma Dance Education
Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies - Royal Academy of Dance
Vaganova Ballet Teacher Training Certificate
Diploma in Contemporary Dance
Acrobatic Arts - Module One Graduate
Diploma Theology
PBT certified
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (in progress)

Hayley Parker-Close
RAD, RTS (ballet), BA (performing arts), Dip (contemporary), Grad, Dip (dance education)

Hayley is a passionate educator who wants to inspire future generations of ballet dancers and share with them the same joy ballet has brought her over many years.
Hayley has a performance and training background that has seen her journey from her birthplace in South Africa to New York, London, China and Australia. She is a wife and a mother with a big passion for ballet and the performing arts.
Starting her training at the age of 3 in classical ballet, Hayley is now a Registered Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Teacher and a Practical Teacher Training Supervisor and Mentor for the RAD Ballet teacher training program (CBTS). Hayley also served on the Royal Academy of Dance West Australian Regional Advisory Panel for 4 years and has won the RAD photographic competition.
An accomplished teacher and professional performer, she has appeared in the singing reality show Idol, many stage musicals, TV commercials and short films and has worked in Australia as a performer for a traveling children's theatre show. She has also been a professional adjudicator/judge for dance competitions around Australia while also having trained in South Africa, London and completed a course in the Vaganova Russian Ballet Principles in New York and USA. In 2019 she travelled to Shenyang, China to teach at a Ballet Academy and share her knowledge in the RAD syllabus.

Qualifications
READY SET DANCE CERTIFIED
READY SET BALLET CERTIFIED
Certificate 2 - Dance
Certificate 4 - Dance Teaching and Management - currently completing
Certificate 4 - Education Support
Acrobatic Arts - Module One Certified
Acrobatic Arts - Module Two Certified
Acrobatic Arts Aerials & Back hand springs International Dance Technique certified
WWCC
First Aid & CPR

Jenayah Malasits

Jenayah looking forward to another year of sharing her skills and love for dance with students of all ages.
Jenayah is a young and passionate teacher, she started her training in dance at the very young age of 2. Jenayah is experienced in all styles of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop and acrobatics. From examinations and competitions, she has developed her skills and found a passion for teaching and choreographing.
Jenayah began her dance exams at age 5 in RAD Ballet and has continued on this path, her passion for dance and performing has continued to blossom. When she started at Dance Fit Dance Academy in 2013 she was immediately seen as a role model for young dancers and was offered a position as an assistant teacher. Jenayah then went on and received the Senior Scholarship for DFDA in 2015.
In high school Jenayah was the 2018 the Dance Captain at Lumen Christi College and has completed her Certificate II in Dance and Certificate IV in Education Support all during year 12. Jenayah is a certified READY SET DANCE and READY SET BALLET teacher and has recently taken on the role of coordinating these programs.
Jenayah continues to dance, compete and complete her exams, whilst also excelling in the role as a respected and admired Teacher at Dance Fit Dance Academy. Jenayah continually exhibits knowledge beyond her years and is an asset to DFDA.

Qualifications
Certificate 3 - Dance
Certificate 4 - Dance Teaching and Management
READY SET DANCE certified
Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts Progressing Ballet Technique certified
WWCC
First Aid & CPR

Caris Holroyd

Caris wants to share her knowledge of dance with her students and see their passion for dance grow.
Caris began dancing at the age of 5, at David Birrell’s Ballroom Studio. Majestique School of Dance followed shortly after this, where she trained in RAD Classical Ballet, Jazz and Tap. Caris started to assist some classes at Majestique, and found her love and passion for teaching.
In 2014 Caris moved to Dance Fit, and starting training in other styles such as Contemporary, Hip-Hop and Acrobatics. Caris has successfully completed her RAD Intermediate Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced Foundation exams, and AICD Borovansky Intermediate exam, as well as many Ballroom exams.
Through her training at Dance Fit she also competed in many competitions to grow as a performer, and become a role model to her students. From February 2018 – December 2019, Caris completed her Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts, majoring in Dance at Principal Academy of Dance and Theatre Arts. Throughout her studies Caris continued to find professional work, starring in the ECU campaign, ‘One World’, performing for Crown on New Years Eve 2019 and most recently performing in the Crowns ‘Christmas Spectacular’.
Throughout her training Caris continued teaching and passing on her new-found knowledge.

You can find out more about breakin traditions crew at:
www.breakintraditions.com

Brendan Burns

Brendan has been dancing and teaching all around the world for almost 20 years. He is an active member of the Western Australian based breakdance crew ZOU ROCK CREW who regularly compete and win major international competitions.
BREAKIN TRADITIONS PROGRAM!! In 2012 Brendan developed the idea of combining his martial arts background and discipline to breaking. The BREAKIN TRADITIONS curriculum has been developed to help track and assist apsiring breakdance students safe progression.
Each student is taught to self motivate and practice moves to attain higher level skills in the curriculum, each level corresponds to a colour in the curriculum booklet a crew t-shirt. The curriculum is taught within the class room and consists of the fundamentals of BREAKIN. (bboy/bgirl culture)
BREAKIN core values are Peace, Love, Unity, and Having fun which come from it's hip hop background. The benefits of BREAKIN are self-confidence and self respect of the student, increased focus, creativity and improved physical health and bboy awareness.

Qualifications
Dimploma of Dance
WWCC
First Aid
Currently studying Bachelor of Law

Hannah Neal

Hannah is super excited for another year at DFDA and looks forward to inspiring more students.
Hannah is a dedicated performer who has been training at an elite level for 18 years. Hannah spent her younger years competing both locally and at an international level before starting her professional career at the age of 12 where she featured in the Gordan Frost production “Annie” and a year later “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. Hannah continued to be a part of local Perth productions including “Fame The Musical”, “High School Musical” and “Grease The Musical”.
Hannah’s passion only grew from these amazing experiences and after training in Perth till the age of 18 she followed her passion and moved to Sydney where she trained professionally at The Next Step Performing Arts, receiving her Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance). During her time in Sydney, Hannah performed on “Australia’s Got Talent” as a backup dancer for a grand finalist, then again for Kylie Minogue as a part of the Sydney Mardi Gras, and performed in the professional production “Chimera”.
Throughout her years of training Hannah has always had an outstanding passion for teaching and sharing her own love for performing with the younger generation.

Qualifications
Acrobatics Arts - Module 1 Certified
READY SET DANCE Certified
READY SET BALLET Certified
Certificate 2 in Photography
Certificate 2 in Hospitality
WWCC
First Aid & CPR
Certificate 4 in Education Support - currently studying

Bethany Longden

Bethany is so excited for another year at DFDA to share her passion of dance with all the students
Bethany has been dancing since the age of 3, and been competing in competitions of all styles since the age of 6. She specialises in all genres across the board, including hip-hop, contemporary, lyrical, jazz and tap. During this time, she won numerous awards, including National Jazz Champion in 2016 at Follow Your Dreams Dance Competition. She has also explored the RAD syllabus for ballet. She has been assistant teaching since she was 12, and started teaching her own classes at age 15.
She has choreographed all genres of dance, including solos, duos, and group work. Her choreography has received awards at numerous competitions. She has personally been successful in dance competitions across the board, and she continues to further her dance career.
She was accepted into the NXTGEN project which took place at the end of January 2020, which involved working with Lauren Seymour, Stephen Tannos and BJ Rorke. She has also received experience in the past from Marko Panzic, Zoe Marsh, and other well known choreographers.
Bethany is currently studying her Cert IV in Education Support to further her knowledge with children. She has also completed a Certificate II in Hospitality, and a Certificate II in Photography.

Qualifications
Certificate 3 - Education Support
Certificate 4 - Education Support
RADAR Training certified
WWCC
First aid & CPR

Aimee Bassett

Aimee wishes to spread the happiness that dancing brings out of her and share that happiness with her students during classes. Aimee believes as a teacher that her students should be able to come to class knowing that they are in an environment where they can learn and be safe whilst having fun.
Aimee first started dancing at the age of 3 at Dance Vision. She then later moved to Celina Chung's dance company where she started competing at the age of 6. It was at her first competition where she realised she had a passion for performing. Aimee received many medallions as a child that yet again sparked the dancer in her.
Aimee then moved to Instep Performance Academy which was closer to home. She danced for 2 years still competing in many competitions. She then took a break from dancing to focus on her studies at school. In 2015 Aimee joined Dance Fit Dance Academy and has grown as a dancer and a teacher over the years as apart our our DFDA family. Aimee has studied the RAD ballet syllabus, acrobatic arts syllabus and CSTD and IDT jazz syllabus since joining Dance Fit Dance Academy.

Qualifications
Fantasy Fitness & Dance: Silks - Performance Level 3
Fantasy Fitness & Dance: Cube – Performance Level 1
Infinity Aerials Academy 2017 – Assistant Teacher
Womack & Bowman AiRise Aerial Summer Intensive Retreat Graduate
Circus WA – Trapeze – Beginner
PDI Academy Summer Camp for Performing Arts 2012 – Graduated with First Class Honours Dance Courses @ O-school completed : Reggae I, Locking I, Locking II, Street Jazz II

Tara Elliot

Tara is excited and honoured to share her skills and experience in the aerial arts with her students and hopes everyone can enjoy it as much as she does.
Tara started dancing ballet at the age of 3, and continued on to train in various other styles such as Street Jazz, Lyrical and various hip hop genres. She continued to win various awards with her dance team on a nation wide level in Singapore, including 2 Gold with Honours awards at the Singapore Youth Festivals twice in a row.
As she graduated, Tara went on to work at Universal Studios Singapore as an Animated Cast member and was part of the pioneer batch of Parade Performers as a dancer for 4 years. She then moved to Perth and took up Aerials in 2015. Proving to be a quick learner and accomplished performer, she was at a performance level in just over a year and started to specialise in Aerial Silks & Cube.
In 2019, Tara was invited to Los Angeles to train under the tutelage of Womack & Bowman, former cirque performers who have performed for various stars at many prestigious events. There she honed her skills in various aerial apparatuses and elevated her level of performance. Later that year, Tara was part of the cast of ‘Cats’ the musical and performed 2 aerial routines as the minor lead character ‘Bombalurina’.

Julie-Anne Malasits

Administration

Qualifications
WWC
First Aid & CPR

Julie-Anne is our administration superstar at Dance Fit Dance Academy. She will be your go-to person at DFDA and will always be happy to answer any of your questions, queries or concerns. She has many years of experience in administration and is an asset to our DFDA team.
Julie-Anne has been heavily involved in the Dance Industry for over 15 years with both of her daughters. She has a great insight and understanding of the dance world and more importantly Dance Fit Dance Academy, to which she calls a second home. She has a passion for all things Dance and truly loves to watch all our DFDA students shine. Most of all she understands the importance of fun and friendships along with our dancing at Dance Fit Dance Academy.