The Team
Lyndel Quick
Lyndel has a deep love for embodied movement practice and encourages her students to be deeply present and to trust in themselves. Classes offer a creative flow of movement sequences and emphasise strong anatomical foundations, energetic alignment and creating space in the body through release techniques. Lyndel is the lead trainer and course director for The Loft 50hr Barre Teacher Training program. She completed the Advanced Diploma of Yoga Teaching (350 hours) with The Australian Yoga Academy in 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Teaching from Deakin University, majoring in Contemporary Dance. Lyndel also completed an Advanced Diploma in Dance Teaching and Management at Box Hill TAFE, focusing on ballet teaching. In 2016 she received the Australian Independent Dance Teachers Award and later in 2017 her studio The Loft won the People’s Choice, Health & Fitness at the ANZ Geelong Small Business Awards. Lyndel’s contemporary class material draws inspiration from somatic practices as well as structured modern dance influences. Lyndel is a certified Mat Pilates instructor and has a mindful approach to strength-based training. She teaches with humour, enthusiasm and love.
Monique Powe
Monique began dancing at age 3 at Danceworks Geelong where she trained for 16 years in various dance genres including; jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, highland and ballet. During her time at Danceworks, she was a competitive dancer and participated in guest performances such as Wakkakirri and Raise The Barre. After graduating high school, Monique completed 2 years of full-time training at The Ministry Of Dance, where she completed her Cert. IV in Dance, Cert. IV in Dance Teaching and Management, and Diploma in Elite Dance Training. Monique has had opportunities to perform in professional events including; White Night Melbourne, The Footy Show, Aus Tourism Gala, F1 Grand Prix and Australia’s Got Talent.
She is a current company member of Attitude Dance Company. Monique has been teaching for 5 years and has found a passion for educating and sharing her love of dance with students of all ages, bringing enthusiasm and fun to her classes.
Grace Hieinnen
Grace is a passionate and joyful teacher, who has loved ballet her entire life. She graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2019 after 5 years of full-time training. She spent time working with the Australian Ballet company in her graduate year, performing for audiences all around Australia. With a thirst for a change in scenery, Grace moved to Osaka, Japan in February, 2020. She danced with Universal Studios for the next two years, experiencing a worldwide pandemic from the other side of the globe. Upon returning to her hometown in Paraparap on the Surf Coast of Victoria, the itch to dance was stronger than ever before. While managing the bar at her family winery, she embraced new opportunities for her newest love, teaching. Grace teaches with her heart and soul; using her experience in the industry to bring out the very best in her students. She believes that ballet can offer something beautiful in anyone’s life; self-expression & exploration, creativity, joy and friendship.
Susan van den Ham
Susie’s classes are relaxed, authentic and creative, just like her! She studied dance at Box Hill TAFE graduating with a dance teaching and management diploma followed by a Bachelor of Dance at VCA in 2004 and a Post Graduate Diploma of Choreography in 2007. Susan’s interest as a dancer/maker/ observer of the moving body has further developed her independent exploration into Kinesiology, Body Mind Centering, Ashtanga Yoga, Shiatsu, Butoh and Dance for Parkinson’s. Drawing on these skills, Susan works across community engagement, managing, teaching and administration, with a particularly strong interest in choreographic play and facilitating contemporary dance classes and art experiences for people with a disability, youth and elderly. She has worked for numerous dance events and companies, including Dancenorth, Lucy Guerin, Gideon Obrarzanek, Kyle Page, Ilan Abrahams, Tracks Dance Company, Darwin Dance Collective, Alice Cummins and Adam Wheeler.
Sindi Renea
Stacey Carmichael
Stacey is a gorgeous soul and incredibly gifted teacher. She’s also a passionate performing artist and teacher. Having studied a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts (Dance/Drama) at Deakin University and a Dip Ed at Fed Uni, Stacey has gone on to establish her own contemporary dance ensemble, direct a number of musicals and plays within Geelong, is a regular performer (actor) within Geelong and Melbourne and is a teacher of performing arts both in private studios and within secondary schools. Stacey has trained for over 30 years in jazz, funk, tap and contemporary dance. She trained at Brave Acting Studios, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts London and was a participant in an international residency at Frantic Assembly London.
Sandra Clack
Sandra is a much-loved member of our teaching team! She is also one of the most highly qualified teachers and a senior examiner for Cecchetti Ballet Australia. She also proudly holds the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma. Sandra has a passion for teaching and has successfully run her own ballet school since 1980 of which the first five years were spent in Hamilton before moving to Geelong in 1985. Many students have gone onto full time dance and are currently working within the industry both in Australia and Overseas. She is one of five Cecchetti Grade Panel members who choreographed new syllabi from Pre Primary to Grades 6 as well as Dance Spectrum One & Two. These new syllabi are being used throughout Australia as well as overseas. Sandra loves sharing her love of Ballet with her advanced students at The Loft.
Bianca Cesar
Bianca first started at The Loft as a student about 8 years ago, and thankfully for us, she never left! Bianca is a physiotherapist, barre and ballet teacher. She grew up in Melbourne and started dancing at an early age in tap, jazz and ballet. It wasn’t too long before she decided to concentrate extensively on ballet and went on to complete all her RAD exams as well as participating in solo and group competitions and studying VCE dance. Her caring nature and love of helping others led to a career in Physiotherapy, where she has practiced both in Melbourne and Geelong for the last 15 years, predominantly with children and adults with disabilities. Bianca rediscovered adult ballet at The Loft and the Australian Ballet School over a decade ago and continues to dance regularly. She recently started studying specific post graduate dance physiotherapy courses and completed The Loft 50-hour Barre Teacher Training. She is also a qualified Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) teacher. After sustaining her own knee injury years ago, she has firsthand knowledge of injury management and extensive knowledge of anatomy and rehabilitation for safe movement practices.
Tegan Drever
Tegan is a passionate and energetic teacher who aims to help people explore their body’s capacity and yearning to move. With a Diploma of Leadership and Management, supporting individuals to grow and challenge themselves in a judgement free environment is at the heart of Tegan’s teaching style. Tegan’s love of dance started early at Hightone Dance Academy, performing in various junior musical theatre productions with The Bellarine Jongleurs. Later, she trained full time at Dance Factory in Richmond working with Kelly Aykers, Paul Davis and Etienne Khoo. She’s performed in many local community theatre and dance productions, highlights included performing with Blunt Productions in ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, with Collision Ensemble in ‘Trapped’, ‘Trois’ and ‘Forbidden’ and with Theatre of the Damned in their productions of ‘Altar Boyz’ and ‘Chicago’. Tegan was also a Parallax Company dancer from 2013-2019 and still currently teaches Tap with them. Her choreography credits include: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ -Blunt Productions, ‘It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman and ‘If/Then– Theatre of the Damned and Aladdin Jnr with GSODA Junior players. Tegan also loves dressing up as a fairy and facilitating ballet programs for little people down the coast.
Jess Walters
Evan Dowling
Millie Breen
Millie started dancing at the age of 3, training in Classical Ballet and completing up to Advanced 1 Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. She has also trained in contemporary, lyrical, jazz, musical theatre, tap and hip hop. Millie has performed in concerts, showcases and competitions and fell in love with performing onstage. Millie began teaching younger students at her dance school and here discovered a love of teaching and sharing her passion for dance. Millie is now currently studying a Bachelor of Performing Arts at Deakin University and participates in local Geelong theatre shows. Besides The Loft, Millie also teaches at Parralax Performing Arts and leads performing arts programs for adults with disabilities at Encompass Community Services.
Enrol
For over 17 years our beautiful movement studio has been located in Newtown, Geelong; perfectly situated between the Barwon River and the café precinct of Pakington Street. In 2016 we also began offering classes in the gorgeous riverside town of Inverleigh. Recent events have reminded us of the value of a regular movement practice and the strength found in community. We look forward to welcoming you to our studio and sharing our unique holistic approach.
Classes
The studio offers regular weekly dance and yoga classes as well as special events and workshops throughout the year. The Loft has a philosophy of supporting the development of dance and yoga in Geelong.