Miss Zara has over 20 years of dance experience and knowledge. Fuelled by passion and conviction, Zara completed her Diploma in Dance Teaching and Management with Distinction in Melbourne before returning to Canberra to take on the Directorship of National Capital Ballet School in November 2010. Having originally trained in NSW, Zara studied extensively in RAD, Laurel Martyn OAM's syllabus, Cecchetti, and Christine Walsh's Australian Conservatoire of Ballet (based on the Vaganova) syllabus. She has been taught by luminaries as Jacqui Hoole, Suzanne Duffy, Dianne Parrington, Janet Karin OAM, Christine Walsh AM to name a few and to whom she attributes much of her knowledge and inspiration today. This led Zara to Canberra, where she was offered the position of Director of National Capital Ballet School. Zara had been the owner, director, and Primary to Senior teacher at National Capital Ballet School, Canberra for 10 years. Some of the many successes over the years include local, national and international ballet competitions, as well as having a number of students gain entry into prestigious schools in Australia and abroad. Zara is an avid balletomane, inspiring as much as she is inspired, the reason for which she has sought to continue to invest in bringing out amazing guest artists to her hometown to perform alongside her student from places afield as Cuba, the US, and from Russia including the incredible Joy Womack in her school's 2017 production of The Nutcracker. Zara's focus is upon helping and guiding each dancer, regardless of level or achievement, to realise their individual potential.

Jaime has been a part of the school since she was 5 years old. Having been trained in Classical Ballet, in the Russian system and the RAD syllabus, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop over her dancing years. Jaime started assisting, under the guidance of Zara Bartley (former Director of National Capital Ballet School), at age 14 and, 6 years later, is now one of our amazing ballet/preparatory teachers and our newest Acrobatics teacher. Jaime completed her RAD Advanced 2 as a very competent dancer and was given many opportunities to dance soloists roles alongside of professional guest artists from Cuba, Russia and the US in school productions. Jaime worked diligently as a student, under the tutelage of Daniel Convery, Zara Bartley, Adam Blanch and Joseph Brown, just to name a few, and she danced roles such as, one of the 6 friends in Coppelia and Kitri’s friend in Don Quixote as well as the Spanish solo in Don Quixote. She also danced the Arabian and Spanish soloists in The Nutcracker in her final year as a student. These opportunities ensured Jaime grew as a very high technical dancer which is a skill she passes on to her students. “Dancing along such incredible dancers such as Joy Womack, Joseph Gatti, Joseph Phillips, and Ryo Kato was an honour and a dream come true and really inspired me as a student at NCBS”. Jaime also has a gymnastics background where she trained at an elite level with The Woden Valley Gymnastics team at a national level, this training has also inspired her in becoming qualified as an Acrobatic Arts instructor, where she has studied in both Module 1 and Module 2 successfully. Jaime also holds a Diploma in Remedial Massage Therapy and is interested in anatomy and injury prevention. She is a bright and bubbly teacher at TSI and a lovely team member.

Ky has grown up in Canberra his whole life. He trained in gymnastics at the Woden Valley Gymnastics Club for 11 years and achieved Men’s National Level 9. He also went to the Australian National Gymnastics Championships 3 times and won a bronze medal in 2015. Over the past 5 years Ky has coached Gymnastics and holds a Gymnastics Australia MAG Intermediate coaching qualification. After finishing his Gymnastics training, he took up ballet at NCBS after watching their 2017 production of Don Quixote, where he was inspired by watching professional dancer, Ryo Kato. Ky trained under Daniel Convery for two short years and in 2018 he travelled to Russia where he was invited to attend the Bolshoi Ballet Academy summer intensive. At the end of the two-week summer intensives with world renowned teachers from the Bolshoi, he was invited to Moscow for a 3-year training program in the Russian boy’s stream. Ky qualified for the German Nationals for Pas de Deux in 2018 while on a 3-month school international exchange program and was given a scholarship for a 6-week intensive ballet program in the Philippines in 2019. In Ky’s final year of dancing he was selected to dance in the world superstars of ballet gala, featuring a solo opportunity, during this he danced alongside of star international guests such as Taras Domitro, Joseph Gatti, and Adiarys Almeida. Ky is currently studying a Certificate III in Fitness at CIT and has a long-standing interest in photography. Ky is a high achiever and succeeds in whatever he puts his mind to.

Nicole is originally from Canberra and moved to Sydney to study dance full-time. She has completed her Diploma in Performing Arts through Brent Street Performing Arts, Sydney. Nicole has trained in all styles of dance as well as training in singing and acting. She also loves working with kids and has a love for teaching and choreography. Some of her career highlights include a range of music videos working as both choreographer and dancer, corporate events such as the Meeting and Events Conference Sydney and the Asia Pacific International Conference for 2017 and dancing behind artists such as Kate Ceberano, Andrew O'Keefe and Damien Leith. I have also represented Australia at the Hip Hop International World Finals in Las Vegas and am a resident dancer on The Today Show on Channel 9.

Faith Ajaye is a dance instructor, performer and choreographer. She’s been dancing for 15 years, focusing primarily on the styles of hip hop & dancehall. She has performed and toured internationally, as well as all around Australia. Faith has had many opportunities to dance in TV commercials, music videos and corporate events. She’s been teaching for 4 years now at a variety of dance studios & primary/high schools. Faith loves to vibe with all her students, making it a fun place for everyone to grow & learn.

Frances Tait Hallam is a Junior Teacher at The Studio International and has been teaching ballet there since 2016. Frances has over 20 years of dance experience and specialises in teaching classical ballet and jazz to our youngest students. After graduating from NCBS in 2012, Frances successfully auditioned and attended the Adelaide College of the Arts in South Australia, where she was taught by leading names in the industry in classical ballet and contemporary dance. Frances is a compassionate and kind teacher, who is generous with her knowledge and experience, especially when encouraging her students to try new things. She is currently studying a Bachelors of Physiotherapy at the University of Canberra.

Lil has been teaching in Canberra for the past 13yrs, starting with hip hop and jazz and progressively incorporating musical theatre, contemporary and lyrical styles. Lil has competed in many local and interstate competitions for all styles from the ages of 13-18yrs and is now focusing on teaching students of all ages to carry on her love of dance.

Sarah has been a performer her whole life and is beyond thrilled to be a part of the TSI Family. She started dance lessons at TSI when she was 6 years old and continued to dance under the tutelage of Zara and Daniel until 2020 where she started working in an administration role at the studio. Through her time at TSI she learnt various dance styles such as ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and Russian character. She performed in many of the school’s major productions such as Don Quixote (2017) and The Nutcracker (2018). Sarah is currently studying a Bachelor of Genetics at ANU but she can still be found on stages around Canberra, pursuing her love for theatre. Some of her favourite productions include Pride and Prejudice (2019), Jasper Jones (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2020), Secret Bridesmaid’s Business (2020) and most recently Be More Chill (2021) where she appeared as a featured dancer. Sarah looks forward to seeing all your beautiful faces from the office at The Studio International! Come and say hi or email me via TSI’s website.

Siobhan is from Canberra, Australia. She began gymnastics at the age of 6, before moving to dance at 16 years old. She moved to Sydney at age 18 to study dance full time at Village On Broadway and Ev & Bow Fulltime Dance Training Centre. After finishing her second year, she secured her first international dance contract with Celebrity Cruises, and has completed three contracts with them as a production cast dancer, aerialist and aerial captain, giving her the opportunity to see North America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean! Siobhan is very excited to be teaching at TSI and has already had a positive impact on the students.