Meet the teachers
Larissa Hughes
Owner and teacher
Larissa quickly showed her love of dance when she stepped into her first pair of ballet shoes at the young age of five. For the next 12 years she would study RAD ballet and jazz with New Zealand Academy of Modern Dance (NZAMD). This led to major exams including Solo Diploma at the age of 17, which is the highest level in NZAMD. She expanded her dance into hip hop and contemporary and in her last year of High School was given the opportunity to teach dance kids dance classes.This was just the beginning.
Larissa’s love of dance teaching would continue during her years at University in New Zealand where she took classes covering a wide range of styles including ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical and musical theatre. In 2010 Larissa moved to Australia where she took on teaching roles at dance schools in Tocumwal, Shepparton and then Melbourne. She taught classes in a variety of dance styles with students of various ages. In 2014 Larissa travelled to and spent some time in London and during her time there, continued her passion to teach dance.
In 2019 Larissa was given a great opportunity to continue the dance arm of Creative Learning Centre in Moonee Ponds and so established Creativity Dance Studios. Larissa’s love for teaching dance to kids has grown even more. She enjoys watching the children learn and for her it is all about the students.
Nicole Cain
Teacher
Nicole’s passion for dance began at the early age of three when she performed on stage for the first time. Dancing and performance would become a big focus in her life over the next 14 years, studying Royal Academy of Dance ballet and New Zealand Association of Modern Dance (NZAMD). She also studied Hip Hop and Contemporary Dance.
Moving with her family to Northern Victoria in 2007. She auditioned for a place at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance in Melbourne and became a
full-time student there in 2010, completing a certificate in Performance Development which included dance, singing and musical theatre.
Nicole first started teaching kids dance classes in Shepparton in 2008 whilst still at High School. She taught Fairy Ballet in Melbourne and syllabus ballet in Warrnambool, where she also took private lessons choregraphing Contemporary, Ballet, Hip Hop and Jazz Dance competition pieces for students. Nicole began teaching kids dance classes at CDS in 2019. She loves that the students get to be themselves, want to learn new styles and can be expressive in a fun and welcoming environment. Nicole has extended her love of teaching into the school classroom and in 2023 commenced as a full-time grade three teacher.
Emma Rusinovic
Teacher
Growing up in Moonee Ponds, Emma’s passion for musical theatre began at the age of four, when she undertook voice and drama lessons at Showbiz Performing Arts Studio in Niddre. Three years later, she started dance training with jazz, hip hop and musical theatre, followed by ballet, contemporary and tap. Under the umbrella of the Commonwealth Society for Teachers of Dance, she completed ballet exams up to grade six.
​
Emma’s love of dance and musical theatre would see her compete at competitions and Eisteddfods in both lyrical and musical theatre. At High School she was involved with the Lyrical Team and in year 12, she became Team Captain. This year saw the team placed first overall in the Competition.
​
After graduating from High School, Emma stopped dancing and turned her focus to teaching. Being a dance teacher keeps her connected to her deep-rooted passion for dance and being able to be a small part of the formation of the personality and stage presence of the students who pass through her classes, is very rewarding.
​
Her favourite genres to teach are lyrical and creative ballet. Emma loves the supportive and welcoming aura she feels from the students at CDS and focuses on making the most of the time with each class. She loves seeing the students try new steps or techniques even when they have never tried them before.
Lily Clark
Student teacher
Alex Roberts
Student teacher
Alex has been dancing since she was 3 years old with Lily. Alex enjoys lyrical the most but also does jazz and ballet and contemporary also she is keen on sports playing cricket and hockey and also enjoys guitar, she is looking forward to sharing her love of dance with the younger students
Lily has been dancing since she was 2 year old. She joined Creative learning centre with Robyn and her passion for dance has grown ever since. She started doing creative ballet and has taken up more and more genres through the years. She now does creative ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz and strength and stretch. She has expanded her love of dance and has started teaching the younger students. She loves to help them grow and share her passion with them.