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Our Dance Teachers

Rebecca Allan
Rebecca is an accomplished dancer, dance teacher and children's educator. She has been dancing since she was two and a half years old and in this time has studied ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and tap. Rebecca has been teaching at Dance Northside since 2007.

Rebecca’s passion for teaching and education led her to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Studies (specialising in Early Childhood) at the University of Canberra. During this time, Rebecca discovered the value of dance and movement for young children as tools for self-expression and discovery of the world. Her dance teaching philosophy's foundation is both her passion for teaching the youngest of students, along with her understanding that the earliest movement experiences create strong links to success in formal education.

Besides teaching for Dance Northside, Rebecca is the Director of Kaleen Cubby House, has taught within the ACT primary school system and continues to work with local community groups and raising her young sons, Jack and Thomas.
Erin Gale
Erin is an experienced dancer and dance teacher and is currently completing her Masters of Education with Charles Sturt University.
She started dancing at the age of four with the Jill Glastonbury Ballet Academy. She has trained in a range of dance styles and has taught tap, Cecchetti ballet, jazz and lyrical dance. Erin enjoys choreographing and has received several awards at choreographic competitions.

Erin joined Dance Northside’s adult contemporary class four years ago and has recently joined the team to teach ballet and jazz classes. She has also choreographed on the Advanced Performance Team. Her main goals in teaching are to build skills, confidence and creativity in her students, all within a fun and supportive environment.
Laura Gerstenberg
Laura is an experienced and knowledgeable dance teacher, with a passion for working alongside individuals living with additional needs. Laura holds a Certificate III and IV in Disability Studies and has worked extensively in the ACT specialist education space. Laura is nearing completion of her Social Work degree and currently works as a Clinical Youth Worker with Headspace.

Laura is a strong believer in providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for her students, believing that dance provides an opportunity for anyone to shine, no matter their abilities.

Laura began her dancing journey at the age of two, with the Jill Glastonbury Ballet Academy. In 2007, when Dance Northside emerged, Laura continued her dance training in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Hip Hop. At 13, Laura developed an interest in teaching and started training alongside Rebecca Allan with Dance Northside’s youngest students. Laura taught the Kids Creative Movement (now Minis Creative Movement) classes and enjoyed this role. In 2016,

Laura took a break from dancing to focus on her studies but is excited to have the Dance Northside Community teaching in the Mini’s, Kid’s, Junior and Youth classes.
Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin has loved to dance since she was very young. She was first introduced to dancing at the age of three, starting in ballet. At age four she took up Irish Dance, and trained competitively in the style for nine years, representing the Liz Gregory Academy at state, national and international level. Caitlin was ACT State Champion for four years running, from 2009 to 2012. She consistently placed in the top twenty nationally, with her best result being 9th place in 2011. In 2013, Caitlin travelled to California to compete in the North American National Championships, open to dancers from across the globe, where she placed 38th.

Caitlin met Holly in 2012, through the primary school dance competition known as Wakkakirri. Since then, Caitlin has taken five years of contemporary classes and two years of jazz classes at Dance Northside. She has also been part of the Dance Northside Performance Group since 2016, allowing her to gain experience in other styles of dance and perform extensively across Canberra. In addition to teaching at Dance Northside Caitlin is undertaking a degree in International Relations at the Australian National University. Caitlin gains so much happiness from dance and aims to inspire the same joy in young dancers.
Cara Martin
Cara began dance at age five with Dance Northside. She has trained in Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary and Ballet. Cara is in her fourth year as a member of Dance Northside’s performance team, and has performed extensively throughout Canberra.

She has also attended Capital Dance Studios and Play the Dance Agency to expand her Hip Hop and jazz training.

Cara has undergone teacher training with Dance Teacher Rebecca Allan. She now teaches Junior Hip-Hop on Wednesday and Kids Jazz on Thursday.
Niamh Martin
Niamh began ballet at age four with Jill Glastonbury’s Ballet Academy. In 2007 when Holly took over, Niamh continued with Dance Northside and fell in love with the studio.

She is now experienced in ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical and hip hop. Niamh was also a part of the Dance Northside Performance Group for four years and enjoyed performing throughout Canberra.

She has furthered her dance training with QL2 Dance, Dance Central and Capital Dance Studios. In 2015 Niamh began her teacher training with Rebecca working with Dance Northside’s youngest dancers. Since then she has taught a range of classes and ages and has also enjoyed choreographing on both the Intermediate and Advanced Performance Teams.

In 2019 Niamh moved to Sydney and began her degree in Forensic Science and Law at the University of Technology Sydney. She returned to the studio as Acting Studio Manager at the end of 2019 while Morgan was on maternity leave and enjoyed working in a different role.

Due to the Covid shutdown, Niamh is continuing her studies from home and is extremely excited to spend time at Dance Northside while she is here. She will be teaching Minis Creative Movement Monday, Youth Contemporary and Turns, Kicks and Leaps for the remainder of the year.

Even when she’s away, Dance Northside holds a very special place in Niamh’s heart, and she loves sharing her passion for dance with students in a kind, respectful and community-minded environment.
Shayla Tarrant
Shayla started dancing at age three, where she won a scholarship in her first year for ballet. At age five Shayla started training in Irish dancing, winning several awards in local competitions. In 2009 Shayla joined the Dance Northside community, training again in ballet, then adding contemporary, jazz and hip hop to her styles repertoire.

By 2014, Shayla joined the Advanced Performance Team in its' inception and as a result, has performed extensively around Canberra. Shayla took a break from performance group in 2017 when she graduated from year 12 but has re-joined the team for 2020.

In 2014 Shayla underwent training with Rebecca Allan and Amy Foreman assisting their classes for 3 years. She took on her own Creative Movement class in 2017. Since then Shayla has taught multiple styles and age ranges at Dance Northside. In addition to Dance Northside, in 2019 Shayla completed her Certificate 3 in Early Childhood and Care while working at Kaleen cubby house since June 2018.
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