Instructors

Janek Schergen is from Göteborg, Sweden. Since 1971, he was invited to many dance companies to take on various positions – a dancer, teacher, ballet master, and artistic director. These companies include Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Washington Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Norwegian National Ballet. As artistic director and board member of the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation, he has staged 11 of Choo-San’s works for Singapore Ballet (SB), and more than 120 worldwide. In 2008, Janek was appointed as artistic director of SB. Since then, he has initiated programmes such as One @ the Ballet, Ballet Associates Course, Scholars’ Programme, SB Choreographic Workshop, and the Intensive Ballet Programme. Over the past decade, he has been part of several panels and committees for the National Arts Council, and has been frequently invited to judge at international ballet competitions. He was also honoured with the ‘Award for Culture’ by Singapore Tatler at the Leadership Awards 2015, a prestigious award that recognises the contribution of influential leaders in Singapore; and was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore at the prestigious National Day Awards 2017.

Baptiste graduated at the National Conservatoire in Paris in 2000. His career began in Norway with Nye Carte Blanche before returning to France where he worked with Luc Petton and Gilles Schamber. In 2002 he joined Scottish Dance Theatre and worked with various choreographers such as Ruy Horta, Didi Veldman, Hofesh Shechter, Janet Smith, Willi Dorner. From 2006 Baptiste freelanced and worked with different companies such as Compagnie Maryse Delente, Ballet Lorent, Acronote, State Of Flux, Company Chameleon and Kieran Sheehan Dance Theatre. Baptiste has been teaching release and floorwork at the London Contemporary Dance School at The Place since 2012 and became Director of Undergraduate Performance and International Development in 2019.

Brent Parolin is a Canadian born dancer, teacher, coach and choreographer. Brent started his training as a student of the prestigious National Ballet School in Toronto where he received awards such as the Lawrence Haskett and Peter Dwyer Scholarships. After graduation Brent moved to Stuttgart, Germany, to continue his training at the John Cranko School before joining the Stuttgart Ballet in 2006, where he attained the position of Halb Soloist. In 2014 Brent moved back to Toronto to dance with the National Ballet of Canada and to teach at Canada’s National Ballet School. Brent has danced works by John Cranko, Maurice Bejart, Wayne McGregor, Christian Spuck, Demis Volpi, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine, Crystal Pite and Marco Geocke among others.

Brent has been a teacher around the world, including Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. After creating multiple pieces for the Noverre: Junge Choreographen and the National Ballet of Canada’s Choreographic Workshop, Brent has shown his passion for the entire process of dance, from training and creation to performance and production. Brent currently holds the position of Balletmeister which encompasses being a rehearsal director, choreographic assistant, coach and teacher at the Ballett am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Germany. 

Queensland Ballet Academy, Academy Director, Christian Tátchev, trained at the National School of Choreography in Sofia, Bulgaria. Performing his first leading roles shortly after commencing his professional career at age 16, Christian was promoted to Principal Artist at 21. His repertoire includes principal roles in the major classical repertoire as well as in numerous works by celebrated choreographers of modern times.

Christian joined Queensland Ballet, Australia, after participating in the Company’s 2008 International Ballet Gala. Following his retirement from the stage in 2011, he was appointed as the Company’s  Ballet Master. He took up the position of Director of Training in 2013 and became the Queensland Ballet Academy Director in 2016. 

In addition to Queensland Ballet, Christian has worked with The Sofia National Opera and Ballet, the Bulgarian contemporary dance company Ballet Arabesque, Performing Arts Council of Transvaal (PACT) Ballet, Cape Town City Ballet and the South African Ballet Theatre, where alongside his role as a Principal Artist, he was engaged as a Répétiteur.

Christian continues to perform with the Queensland Ballet as a Character Artist and frequently adjudicates at various national and international ballet competitions. 

International judge and ballet teacher. Ms Claresta started her training at Marlupi Dance Academy (MDA), she joined Beijing Dance Academy in 2008, at the same time she received a scholarship from Joffrey Ballet School and was also accepted to American Ballet Theatre Summer Session in the USA. 

She began her professional career with Washington Ballet School and Art Ballet Theatre of Florida. During the time she has performed in many roles including Issaev’s Harlequinade, Fairy Doll, Le Corsaire, Raymonda, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Little Mermaid in Ballet, Shostakovich (3 Movements), Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin and Edgar Anindo’s Fragmentos.

Ms Claresta has groomed many students to international recognition, including being the first Indonesian to be invited to Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and winning GOLD MEDAL at the YAGP New York Finals.

Her students have not only won numerous awards in international competitions but also received scholarships to the Royal Ballet School, The Australian Ballet School (full scholarship for the year programme), Princesse Grace Dance Academy, Houston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Universal Ballet, The Rock School, etc. 

Ms Claresta is also a well-known international ballet teacher, she has been invited to teach Master classes in the United States, Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Many students from all over the world also came and took classes with Ms Claresta and benefited greatly from her coaching.

Jason Mabana is an international dance teacher and choreographer based in London. He holds a Ba (hons) degree from the Rambert School and a postgraduate Diploma from The Place.

Jason is the rehearsal and production director at the Rambert School and teaches Contemporary at both London Contemporary Dance School and The Royal Ballet School, where he shares his expertise and knowledge with the next generation of dancers.

In addition to his teaching commitments, Jason has created works for numerous renowned dance companies, schools and events, including Black Box Dance Company, Conny Janssen Danst, FDR, Hamburg Contemporary Company, Balletboyz, SpringBoard, Royal Ballet School, Stella McCartney, De Beers and more. His works have been nominated for Best Choreography in Denmark, the Asian Arts Awards, and the Amnesty International Freedom of Speech Awards, which is a testament to his creativity and talent.

As a sought-after guest teacher at conservatoires worldwide, he has taught at The University of the Arts in Amsterdam, University of Stavanger, and Hamburg Contemporary Dance School. Jason’s unique style of teaching comes from the fusion of contemporary and hip hop,

Throughout his career, Jason has also been a highly skilled dancer, performing with world-renowned dance companies such as Akram Khan Company, Wayne McGregor, Shobana Jeyasingh, and Candoco Dance Company. His experience as a performer has given him a deep understanding of the art of dance and has allowed him to bring that knowledge to his teaching and choreography.

Born in Canberra of Polish parents, Joanne studied ballet with Katerina Druzins until the age of eleven, after which she went to Bryan Lawrence and Janet Karin, both former Principals of The Australian Ballet. At the age of fifteen Joanne was accepted into The Australian Ballet School and in 1977 she was accepted into The Australian Ballet Company, reaching the rank of Principal in 1982 where she remained until 1986. Throughout her dance career, Joanne had the privilege to work with many choreographers including Glen Tetley, Graeme Murphy, Jiri Kylian, and danced leading roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Onegin, Romeo and Juliet, to name a few. She was awarded the Pavlova Prize by Serge Lifar in 1981 and the Inaugural Dance Australia Award for the most popular Female Dancer. In 1987 Joanne began teaching, freelancing around Melbourne and also adjudicating for the RAD and Cecchetti Society. In 2002 and 2003 she was Ballet Mistress for The Dancers Company Tour, having been a Guest Artist on the first tour in 1980. Since 2004, Joanne has taught the graduate year female students of The Australian Ballet School.  

Born in London, Kate trained at the Royal Ballet School. She joined London Contemporary Dance School for a post-graduate year and joined London Contemporary Dance Theatre under the directorship of Sir Robert Cohan. Later she joined Rambert Dance Company with the appointment of Christopher Bruce as Artistic Director. In these repertory companies she worked on new and restaged pieces with a variety of choreographers.   Pursuing a freelance dance career she worked as a long-standing member of Michael Clark Company, with DV8, Mark Baldwin Dance Company, Jeremy James and Dancers, Martha Clarke, Michael Keegan- Dolan, Arthur Pita and Aletta Collins. Kate retired from performing in 2012 and took up a post as Producer, Frieze Projects, followed by two years as Programme Director at Siobhan Davies Dance, and five years as Associate Director at Michael Clark Company.   She is currently Artistic Director and Professional Training Lead at Central School of Ballet in London. Kate is also a trustee of The Dance Professionals fund. Kate has been the recipient of the Critics’ Circle national Dance Award for ‘Best Female Artist’, and a joint recipient with colleagues of the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance with London Contemporary Dance Theatre for their season at Sadlers Wells.

Robert Parker trained at the Royal Ballet School and joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1994, then under the directorship of Sir Peter Wright. He became a principal dancer in 1999, where he collaborated with artistic director and acclaimed choreographer David Bintley to create many leading roles for the company. He made guest appearances with the Royal Ballet and performed in many galas around the world.   His accolades include a Critics Circle Dance Award nomination and an Olivier Award nomination in 2001 and a Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Male Artist in 2003. After retiring from Birmingham Royal Ballet, he passed his RAD Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma with distinction and completed a Master’s degree in Philosophy in Education. Robert became Artistic Director of Elmhurst Ballet School in 2012. That same year, he was appointed President of the London Ballet Association. He is regularly invited to adjudicate and deliver master classes at various international ballet competitions around the world. 

An experienced choreographer, dance educator and presenter, Peter trained in Dance and Choreography at the Victorian College of the Arts (Australia), Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (UK) (Trinity Laban Scholarship Awardee) and the University of Roehampton (UK) (Overseas Merit Scholarship Awardee). Peter’s body of choreographic work for theatres, sports arenas and national events has moved between spectacle and interdisciplinary art. An advocate of synergistic collaborations between dance and disciplines such as film and music, Peter’s creative methodology is anchored in Release Technique and Improvisation. He has led performance projects, seminars and workshops for professional dancers, dance teachers and students in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. He has spoken at the National Dance Education Organisation Conference (Minneapolis and Los Angeles), World Dance Alliance Global Dance Summit (Canada), World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Conference (South Korea and Taiwan), and the Australian Youth Dance Festival (Melbourne). In 2022, he was panel moderator and speaker at the SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival. In Singapore, Peter has presented dance in projects under the Ministry of Education and various Institutes of Higher Learning. He was Conference Panel Speaker at the IBGPS (2019 and 2021), and jury member for a range of dance competitions including YAF (2020 & 2021). Peter holds a doctorate in Dance and masters degrees in both Choreography and Dance Studies. He founded The Presence Project, a project-based contemporary dance ensemble that performs interdisciplinary work, and advocates collaborative dance-making.

Born and raised in Australia, Ms Yarra Ileto is a Singapore-based award-winning independent artist-educator, with extensive experience as an arts leader, teacher, professional dancer, choreographer, and international judge. She is the principal tutor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Dance Synergy and senior lecturer at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts/ University of the Arts Singapore (NAFA/UAS).

Throughout her professional full-time dance career, Ms Ileto worked with world-renowned choreographers, performing, and touring extensively on international platforms across Asia and Europe as a pioneer member of The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company. Whilst performing as a senior artist with The Arts Fission Company, Ms Ileto co-facilitated community outreach programs, leading dance and art classes with children ranging from 3 to 15 years of age, focusing on technique and artistic development. As an enrichment teacher and lecturer, she has groomed students to pursue professional development through dance education assisting secondary students through Direct School Admission (DSA) and vocational school admissions through contemporary dance training.

Ms Ileto holds a bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours in Performing Arts (Dance) and furthered her studies, by obtaining a master’s degree in Pedagogy and Practice with Distinction. Ms Ileto is also a recipient of the National Arts Council’s (NAC) prestigious Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest honour for young people in the arts.

Supatchai Lappakornkul was born and raised in Bangkok Thailand. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Western Music, Kasetsart University and the Diploma in Dance, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) with Best Graduation Award. After his graduation Supatchai served as adjunct lecturer at NAFA and Singapore Raffles Music College. He has been dancing with numerous of international such as Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music, Singapore Da:ns Festival, World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific to name a few. As choreographer, he presented his works in both and international platforms such as BCB Dance Collective, Singapore Da:ns Festival or on media platforms., Alexandre Magazine or Desassossego Short Dance Film Festival He is now a dance artist for National Contemporary Ballet (Singapore) and Bangkok City Ballet (Thailand). As well as a certified pilates instructor