Faculty
Fun and Friendly Instructors

Our Faculty

There for You When You Need Us

“Dance teachers want to see their students succeed beyond their expectations. We cannot make students work hard, dedication is something they must find for themselves. Teachers can only give them all their knowledge, information and time and try to inspire them to do their best. What they do with all of it afterwards is totally up to them, it’s all about attitude.” - Vassie Catalano


The Studio V faculty is led by Principal & Artistic Director Vassie Catalano and includes a team of professional creative personnel, performers & instructors, all of who bring creativity, inspiration and a world of experience into the classroom. Through their energy and passion each faculty member is dedicated to giving students the skills to help them make the transition from ‘student’ to ‘artist & performer’.

2024 Faculty

Our Qualified Teachers

Our teachers come from different training backgrounds and are fully qualified; have First Aid Training, Working With Children Certificates and are committed to the STUDIO V objective. Each teacher brings with them their own unique style and industry experience and ensures that all tuition complies with the safety regulations of Ausdance. 

Our Faculty

Halina has been teaching for over 25 years in Jazz, Classical, Kinder Dance and VCE Dance Units 1-4. She is an SFD examiner, Co-Head of the SFD Classical Style and Head Lecturer of the SFD Teaching Certificate Course. She is also a teacher of French, Dance, Biology and Junior Science as well as Choreographer of Musical Productions at Ivanhoe Girls Grammar. Halina was the very worthy recipient of the 2015 SFD Outstanding Achievement Award.

Amelia Tang joins the Studio V teaching faculty in 2023 and brings with her over a decade of dance teaching experience across multiple genres, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Adult & Kinder Classes. Having studied dance for over 20 years, Amelia now enjoys teaching and examining other dancers. Amelia has been accepted by the SFD as a Trainee Examiner, with the scope to become a formal SFD Examiner. We are very excited to welcome Miss Amelia as our Senior Tap teacher, who will lead the way in this genre at Studio V. 

Caitlin is a multi-award winning performer, who has worked extensively as an actor, choreographer, director and producer over the past two decades. 

With a Bachelor of Creative Arts from the University of Melbourne, alongside a Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting) from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Caitlin has been lucky enough to work with a huge range of international artists on stage and screen. 
Cecily has trained in Jazz, Tap and Ballet since she was 3 years old. Cecily is a graduate of ‘Showfit’, a full time Musical Theatre course at Centrestage Performing Arts School, obtains a Certificate IV in Pilates (Mat & Reformer) with Breathe Education and is about to complete her Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction in 2021 with National Pilates Training. In 2018 and 2019, Cecily was given the great privilege of being Dance Captain for the Australian Tour of ‘Fast Love - A Tribute to George Michael’. Cecily absolutely adores teaching and is celebrating her 7th year of teaching at Studio V in 2021.
Amanda grew up dancing with Vassie as children, in fact they were Jazz Duo partners! Experienced in Jazz, Classical, Tap and National; with exams in SFD, RAD, and Commonwealth, Amanda completed level 10 Jazz SFD by the age of 14 with Honours. By age 15 she was accepted in the Victorian College of the Arts where she completed her VCE and studied contemporary dance at Rusden Deakin University. Amanda has completed a Diploma of Performing Arts at Dance World 301 and is an SFD Tap Examiner.

Jess was 2 years old when she had her first dance lesson, her love of dance has grown to include all styles. She has completed the entire Southern Federation of Dance syllabi in Jazz & Tap and is on track to complete her Classical Advanced exam in 2024. Jess holds a SFD Teachers Certificate, and enjoys sharing her passion for dance. Jess is currently training full time after being accepted in the Cert 4 in Dance Teaching and Management course at Kelly Aykers studio.

Liana has been dancing for 18 years at Studio V and has completed her Level 10 Jazz Exam with Honours, Level 10 Tap Exam, Senior Elementary Ballet exam and her SFD Teachers Certificate. She is the perfect all-rounder, a Triple Threat, who is trained in all styles. Liana currently is teaching Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Acrobatics and Poms at Studio V, whilst juggl-ing a degree in Business & Financial Planning at RMIT. Liana hopes to inspire the same love for dance in her Studio V students as her teachers inspired in her.

Alex commenced her dancing journey in 2007 and has continued her love of dance by joining Studio V in 2012. Within this time Alex developed a passion for teaching and has since completed her Teachers Certificate with the SFD. Alex’s caring and nurturing nature has seen her thrive in teaching the Junior School students, including our Toddler, 3YO and 4YO classes. Alex is also studying Science at Melbourne University, whist pursuing her passion as a Dance Teacher and a Senior Advanced Dance Mix student. 

Bridget has danced at Studio V for over 20 years. She is technically trained in ballet, jazz, pointe, contemporary, hip hop, commercial jazz, and dance fusion. She has completed her Bachelor of Health Science, and is currently studying a Master of Occupational Therapy at LaTrobe University. Bridget completed her SFD Teacher’s Certificate in 2018, and since then she has taught both junior and senior students in ballet, jazz, pointe, fusion, hip hop, and contemporary.

Annalise has been dancing at Studio V for over 15 years. Whilst studying Year 12 in 2021, Annalise completed her SFD Teachers Certificate & her Level 10 Tap exam, also completing her Level 10 Jazz and Elementary Classical exams in previous years. Annalise was awarded the Premiers Award in 2021 for her VCE Dance Studies, having scored in the Top 1% of the State for the subject of Dance. Annalise now teaches Toddler Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Poms to younger students at Studio V, meanwhile undertaking a Bachelor of Wildlife and Conservation Biology at La Trobe University.

Alisha has been dancing at Studio V for over 15 years and has completed her Level 10 Jazz exam with Honours, VCE Dance units 1-4, and her Elementary Ballet Exam. She has been trained in all styles of dance including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, Acrobatics, and Hip hop. She is currently studying Psychology (Honours) at La Trobe University and is teaching levels 1-3 in ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics.

Gemma has been dancing for over 15 years, and her joy for performing has only grown since joining Studio V in 2018. She has studied and completed exams in CSTD, RAD and SFD syllabus and is technically trained in a variety of styles including Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop and more. Gemma has completed her Level 10 Jazz, Level 10 Tap and Elementary Ballet exams as well as studying VCE Dance Units 3 &4 whilst in Year 11, and more recently earnt her Southern Federation of Dance Teaching Certificate. She continues to advance her own dance training as a senior student, whilst passing on her passion for dancing to the students at Studio V.

Experienced and Highly Qualified Dance Instructors

Assistant Teachers Program

Assistant Teachers Program

Studio V offers an Assistant Teachers program to all students from Level 5 and above. We train our students to become the future teachers and leaders of tomorrow via our fun and effective assistant’s program.

Our Assistant Teachers Program is a fabulous program whereby students from Level 5 and beyond have the opportunity to volunteer their time throughout the week to assist our Dance Teachers in all of our Junior Classes. This enables students to see first hand how the class is run from the other side of the fence (exposure to Class Lesson Plans, Teachers Meetings etc). This experience helps Assistant Teachers build confidence in one day becoming a Dance Teacher themselves, whilst at the same time teaching many transferable life skills from a young age: Leadership, Pro-activeness, Responsibility, Efficiency, Care & Compassion for others, and the list goes on.

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