Energetiks Blog Contributors

Emily - Born in England, Emily trained at the Jayne A Coleman Academy of Dance in the UK for 16 years in all styles of dance before embarking on a career as a dancer and dance captain with Royal Caribbean Cruises. After spending six years dancing and travelling the world (and its oceans!) she made the move to Australia and began working for Energetiks in their retail department. Alongside her love for dance, Emily has a passion for reading and writing and recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, prompting an exciting move to join the Energetiks marketing team. Emily brings her experience of the international dance community as well as her love of the written word to the Energetiks blog. In her spare time Emily enjoys reading, painting, and sketching, and is currently learning photography and digital illustration. Emily's artwork can be viewed on her instagram page.

Siobhan - Siobhan Mitchell is the creator of The Adolescent Dancer. She trained vocationally in ballet before going to the University of Roehampton (London, UK) to study for a degree in Dance Studies. While training she became interested in the science of movement and injury and it was at Roehampton that she was formally introduced to dance science. Siobhan went on to study for a Masters in Dance Science at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London, UK) and it was there that she developed a real passion for research. Since then Siobhan has completed a Masters in Research in Health and Wellbeing at the University of Bath (UK) with a focus on growth and maturation and was awarded a full studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council to study for her doctorate in Health and Wellbeing in 2014. Currently, Siobhan is in the final year of her PhD which focusses on the psychological implications of growth and maturation in dance. More specifically, the implications of maturity timing upon health and wellbeing in elite dancers. Alongside studying for her doctorate, Siobhan works with dance teachers and dancers to raise awareness of growth and maturation and its physical and psychological implications for young dancers.

Lara - Lara has danced since the age of four, training in a range of styles including jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical and commercial. She has been involved in SFD exams and competed in several dance competitions. In 2015, Lara had the opportunity to perform at DCI as well as participate in the Melbourne Storm Cheer Squad Clinic. In the final year of completing her degree, she created a short documentary on dance which was later nominated for a JERAA award. With her passion for dance alongside her love for all things media, she is thrilled to be part of the Energetiks team! 

Elly - Originally from Albany, Western Australia, Elly is a dance writer, social media manager and photographer for Energetiks. She began dancing as a young girl, training initially in ballet, and then later in contemporary, jazz, lyrical, character and flamenco as well. She has a strong background in circus, specifically aerials and contortion and has developed a thorough and meticulous understanding of the human body and proper stretching techniques through her years of performance and study. At seventeen she commenced full-time training at the National Theatre Ballet School in Melbourne, receiving a comprehensive education in human anatomy and diet and nutrition along the way, and has been sharing her knowledge and experience of dancing, performance and teaching with Energetiks readers since 2012. In her *limited!* free time you'll usually find Elly behind the camera, at the ballet (possibly still behind a camera!) or making art (including her colourful pointe shoe creations).

Alexandra - Alex began dancing at the age of four in her hometown of Ballarat in Regional Victoria.  She commenced her classical training at the Carole Oliver School of Ballet.  In 2010, at the age of 15, she was accepted into the Australian Ballet School, and in 2013 she moved to Brisbane to commence her pre-professional training at Classical Coaching Australia (with Janine McGrath).  Two years later Alex left Brisbane to accept an exciting opportunity to further advance her pre-professional training at the esteemed John Cranko Schule in Germany, 2015, where she currently resides. Some of her accolades to date include: Open Classical Championship- The Phoenix Cup (Australia, 2010), The William Carse Young Performer Award 2010, Lucie Saranova Memorial Award, Gold Medal Finalist (2010), and the Lucie Saranova Memorial Award Silver Medal (2009) - and most recently, performing in Louis Stiens’ Four Seasons – Summer, as a Demi Soloist with Stuttgart Ballet (John Cranko Schule 2016).

In 2013 Alex started her instagram @ballerina_bites to share her passion for creating delicious, whole-food recipes that fuel her day as a dancer. The account has since become hugely successful and inspires dancers and dance students the world over to approach food and cooking as a healthy and nourishing way to to support their bodies and enhance their dancing. To keep up to date with Alex's recipes, check out her website www.ballerinabites.org and enjoy her posts right here on A Dancers Life.

Sheree - A dancer for over 15 years, Sheree has graced the stage as a performer, dancer, and dance captain both in Australia and abroad. Retiring from the professional dance world, Sheree immersed herself in her second love - natural medicine, completing a Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy (with Distinction). She now works as a clinical naturopath but still enjoys moving her body through dance when she gets the chance. As a contributor to the Energetiks blog, Sheree shares her knowledge, experience, and love of dance, with her further expertise in health and wellness.
You can follow her naturopathic journey @naturopathic.essence or learn more about natural health and how a naturopath can help you at www.naturopathicessence.com

Thalia - Thalia took ballet classes with Jackie Hallahan at the Canberra Dance Development Centre for 10 years before moving on to study classical music and play the French Horn in various orchestras and ensembles in Canberra. She then moved to Melbourne to study graphic design and joined the marketing team at Energetiks after graduating. Now, as Senior Graphic Designer at Energetiks, she enjoys a fun and colourful career that combines her greatest passions: creative arts, fashion and dance. Through her work and writing for the blog, she demonstrates how dance can remain an important part of your life, even if it’s not in the way you first planned.

Teagan - Originating from Melbourne, Teagan completed her studies at The Australian Ballet School, graduating with her certificate III & Advanced Diploma in Dance.  Her Australian Ballet credits include Graeme Murphy's 'The Nutcracker' & National tours of Leigh Rowles' 'Nutcracker - The Gift of a Dream.'

Teagan made her professional debut with Sydney Dance Company in 2005. During her 4 ½ years with SDC, Teagan performed much of Graeme Murphy’s repertoire & toured extensively with the company throughout Australia, Asia, Europe & America. In addition to her Principal position with SDC, she was also asked to perform for International Galas, Festivals, The Australian Dance & Helpmann Awards, Movies, TV Series and has been a sponsored dancer of Australia's leading Dancewear range, Energetiks, for the past eight years.

Teagan was poached from Sydney Dance Company to Opera Australia by Graeme Murphy for his production of ‘Aida’. She was a Principal dancer with OA for many of their highly acclaimed productions, as well as lending herself to the State Opera of South Australia, Queensland Opera, & both the Adelaide & Sydney Festivals.

Henry - Henry’s dance career began at 9 years of age and at just 11 years he became Australian Juvenile Graded Latin Champion and went on to later be an Adult Latin and Ballroom Champion and South Pacific Champion.

Henry has appeared in numerous TV shows including ABC’s ‘Strictly Dancing’, Ch 10’s hit show ‘So You Think You Can Dance and Ch 7's ‘Dancing With The Stars.’  He was invited by Mr Jason Gilkinson, to appear in NBC’s smash ‘Superstars of Dance’ which then followed with 'Burn The Floor' which he performed in San Francisco and New York.  While in the USA he appeared on thier versions of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

Henry was responsible for creating a dance number for the lead roles in the brand new musical King Kong and was also engaged as a performer in the musical.  He has featured in Baz Luhrmann’s new movie ‘The Great Gatsby’, and was also responsible for teaching the lead cast (the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan) how to dance for the movie.  Henry is now performing in the USA series of ‘Dancing With The Stars.’

Elysia - From Melbourne, Australia, Elysia trained as a classical ballet dancer for fifteen years and spent a year as a senior associate of the Australian Ballet School.  In 2008 a change was in order so she started Salsa classes, which was soon to become her new passion. She now brings her ballet background into her new Salsa art form and has progressed quickly in her new world - now regarded as one of Australia's finest Salsa talents.

Elysia has been invited to teach and perform all around Australia and has traveled all over the world with her dancing including New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong & New York. She also competes, performs and teaches with her dance partner and they have been successful in both state and national level competitions. 

Layla - Layla Burgess is a ballet dancer from the Gold Coast, Australia. She locally studies at Atelier full time, under the hand of Prudence Bowen, Heidi Landford and Nika Neal. Starting her training at the age of 3, Layla has learned all ranges of dance. In her early teens she chose to focus solely on ballet as she felt it was her strongest passion. Layla has received distinctions in all her RAD exams and recently received 93 for her Advanced 1. She has won the Brisbane repertoire along with scholarships, and aims to compete in many more competitions throughout 2015.

Due to divine timing it was in 2013 that Layla entered the Energetiks Model Search and made it all the way to the finals in Melbourne. She had the greatest time competing with the girls and to her excitement was called back for another photoshoot. Since then Layla has done numerous shoots and always looks forward to working with Energetiks. For more information check out her instagram @laylaburgess. Layla is excited to share tips, tricks and all things dance in her blog posts.

Holly - Born and raised in a little country town called Warragul, an hour and a half outside of Melbourne.  Holly began her training at The Australian Ballet School (ABS).  During her 4 years of training at the ABS she performed in many ballets and tours around Victoria, with the school and the company.  She then went on to train with Mr Brian Nolan and received an offer to train at The Central School of Ballet in London.  As she was only a young 16 year old, she decided to come home to Australia and train at The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet, where she has loved dancing for the past 5 years.  Holly has received many scholarships and awards, along with many other opportunities throughout her years of dance.

Have you got a story worth sharing, some good advice, a review, or some dance inspiration to share? If so, you could become an Energetiks guest contributor and have your entry published on our blog. For more info submit your idea or article here, along with your name, dance background and any other relevant information and we'll be in touch.