Mordialloc Dance Studio Teachers

Emma Green
Dance coordinator
Emma started dancing at 5 and has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop and musical theatre. When she was sixteen, Emma began training at Patrick Studios Australia where she was in the Senior Elite program for two years. After finishing her VCE, Emma began her Full Time Dance training with PSA in the Performing Arts Course and gained her Certificate 3 and 4 in Dance (2013).
Emma transferred over to the Musical Theatre Course in 2014 and graduated with a Diploma in Musical Theatre at the end of 2015. Emma performed in the show ‘Spring Awakening’, ‘Twisted Broadway’, and played the role of Cassie in ‘A Chorus Line’.
This is Emma’s 7th year teaching at MCC and has now taken on the roleas Dance Co-Ordinator. Emma is passionate about dance and cannot wait to meet all the smiling faces at MCC.

Jess Cogley
Jess began training in jazz and tap at the age of 9, and eventually picked up all other styles throughout her teenage years. Jess obtained her Certificate 3 in Performing Arts (Dance) at DanceWorld Studios, graduating in 2010, before beginning her full time dance training at Patrick Studios Australia in the Professional Development Course in Performing Art (Dance). Through this course, she trained extensively in jazz, commercial, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, musical theatre, tap as well as singing and acting training; learning from some of the best teachers and choreographers in Melbourne.
Jess has performed at many corporate and charity events around Melbourne, gained experience in dance in television and has competed throughout Australia. Jess is a qualified Exercise Scientist, after having completed her Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at Deakin University in 2017. In 2018 she will be commencing a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) at Monash University. Jess took on the position of Dance Coordinator in 2017, and has been teaching at Mordialloc Community Centre the past 9 years.

Tamika Sheehan
Tamika started as a gymnast here at MCC from 2003-2014 working all the way up to WAG level 7.
Tamika then pursued her other dream of becoming a dancer!
Tamika danced at MCC for 6 years before being accepted into full time dance at Spectrum School of Dance in 2019. Tamika worked at MCC as an assistant dance teacher whilst studying her course. Tamika has now been teaching as a dance teacher since 2020.

Ruby Paterno
Ruby is a Melbourne based dancer and artist. She is passionate about following creativity through dance.
Ruby has recently graduated from Transit Dance’s Pre-Professional Contemporary Pathway with a Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance) and a Certificate IV in dance teaching and management. She is also currently studying a 200 hour vinyasa yoga alliance accreditation to become a yoga teacher.
In the future, Ruby hopes to pursue a freelance dance and art career, creating contemporary dance works and continue expanding her teaching skills and knowledge.

Tahlia Cengia
Tahlia started dancing from the age of 2 at Broadbent Dance Academy, where she was a part of the competition team. She also performed solos from the age of 9 years old.
Tahlia moved to Mordialloc Dance Studio, where she also competed in Elite Team and further became an assistant a few year following.
Tahlia developed her understanding of dance during her VCE studies and has now moved on to study Law.
Tahlia wants to continue her passion for dance through teaching her students and hopes to develop these skills to improve their confidence from a young age.

Zahra Rumbelow
Zahra been dancing from the age of 7 and has been dancing ever since.
She started her dancing passion with calisthenics which allowed her to compete in a team environment and solo. She studied Dance in her VCE studies and involved herself in the dancing community by assisting with choreographing school dance performances and aerobic routines.
Zahra’s passion for dance lies in Acro and has been teaching for over 2 years now. She wants to continue to grow as a teacher, whilst continuing to improve and develop the skills of her students.

Kathleen Pope
Kathleen has been dancing as a student at Mordialloc for 17 years in a range of classes including ballet, jazz, acro and contemporary and been an assistant the past few years. Alongside teaching, Kathleen will be studying communication design at RMIT. The studio has become a second home and she is so excited to create a fun and safe place for students to grow just as Kathleen’s teachers have done for her.

Sage Kloprogge
Sage has been dancing since the age of 2, and has continued as a dancer at MCC for over 12 years as well as competing in the “elite” competition team and as a soloist.
Sage furthered her dance training, studying dance (elite performance) at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance in 2022.
Sage has been assisting at Mordialloc Dance Studio since 2019, becoming a dance teacher in 2022.
Assistant Dance Teachers
We also have an enthusiastic team of assistant teachers helping in our junior classes. These assistants are students of ours who are now able to learn the skills of teaching dance from their senior teacher. Our assistant teachers this year are; Meg Lewis, Tia Roberts and Sienna Quill.