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.
Miranda Turner
Teacher
Growing up in Brisbane, Miranda began her dance journey with ballet at the age of 12 at Shilleena's Dance Academy. Her passion for dance quickly saw her progress into other genres; jazz, contemporary, tap and pointe, receiving honours for both her Elementary Ballet and Level 7 Jazz exams.
After leaving High school, Miranda turned her sights to Musical Theatre. She auditioned for a place at the RAW Dance Company in Brisbane and studied there during 2018. Another successful audition, saw Miranda move to Melbourne to extend her Musical Theatre studies at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance. During the course she appeared in two Showcases including a solo dance performance to a song from the classical show ‘Sweet Charity.’ In 2020 she graduated with a Diploma in Musical Theatre. She has since appeared in a new musical at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2022.
Miranda’s first opportunity to teach kids dance classes came in 2017 during High school. Her love of teaching continued in Melbourne whilst studying, where she taught Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical and Hip Hop. In early 2021, Miranda joined the team at CDS. The warm and accepting environment always excites her to come and share her love and knowledge of dance, inspiring and challenging the students to express themselves, have fun and making goals through dancing. Miranda enjoys her teacher-student relationship, witnessing their growth both personal and through their movement and dancing.
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 student
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.