The Jazz Centre was established thirty-eight years ago, at 29 Burke Road, East Malvern, where it is still located today.The Jazz Centre has developed a diverse teaching programme over the years and offers a wide range of classes suited to the varying needs of each individual. No other Dance School in the Malvern area or nearby offers its students the breadth of opportunity to develop their Performing Arts talents. Subjects such as singing, hip hop, music theatre, drama, circus, acrobatics and cheerleading, along with the more traditional jazz, tap and classical ballet (with the RAD syllabus) are all part of The Jazz Centre curriculum. The centre has also developed a unique pre-school program for children aged 3 – 5 years introducing them to all styles of dance and acrobatics.
The Jazz Centre particularly prides itself on the number of highly talented teachers who have inspired our students over the years, giving them the best possible training to develop their dance skills. These teachers have performed in, Tap Dogs, ‘Cats’, ‘A Chorus Line’, ‘West Side Story’, Me and My Girl’, ‘Sisterella’, Disney, Oliver. Students greatly benefit from the exceptional talent and experience of our professional teachers and their unstinting willingness to pass on their knowledge to our students.
Our Mission:
To show children the magic and enjoyment of dance, to teach technique and skill of dance at the highest level, and to help and nurture our students develop their full potential in grace, musicality and artistry of stage presentation.
Gaynor Maxwell – M.R.A.D & C.S.T.D. – Principal
Director and Principal Choreographer of The Jazz Centre, Gaynor trained and worked in Adelaide, studying dance in Classical, Jazz & Tap disciplines as well as Theatrical Arts, and performing in theatre, cabaret, television and the South Australian Ballet Company. Gaynor then travelled to Europe where spent six years dancing with numerous dance companies, performing throughout Europe and the Middle East in theatre, casinos, night clubs, and for television and film. A further two years were spent in the United States and the Bahamas as lead dancer with the top American producers, George Reich & Leonard Miller. Gaynor returned to Australia in 1976 and concentrated on teaching and choreography. A Co-founder of the Adelaide Contemporary Dance Company Community Celebrations, she choreographed and directed numerous works for the Adelaide Arts Festival and Come Out Children’s Festival. Further work continued in Melbourne with her own dance group Bodytrax and choreographing for theatre restaurant shows, cabaret, television and corporate functions.
Frequent trips to Europe and the United States for further studies in Jazz made Gaynor one of Melbourne’s leading Jazz teachers, choreographers and adjudicators who has trained many of today’s great artists. Gaynor is also a registered teacher and panel member of the Royal Academy of Dancing. She has also completed Graduate Diplomas in Film & Television and Traditional Chinese Medicine.