Tanya Pearson , Director

Russian born Tanya Pearson has had an extensive career in dance in Australia and overseas. In 1965 she settled in Australia and established her own ballet school.

In 1971 she founded the Sydney City Ballet Company and maintained the role of Artistic Director, taking the company to states and regional cities throughout NSW. Tanya Pearson has been honored by the Rotary with an award for 'Services to the Community' and this year she was honoured by the Northern Beaches Eisteddfod & Manly Daily for her contribution to the Arts over the years.

In 1991 Tanya Pearson was appointed classical principal of David Atkin's Dynamite Dance Studios. From 1985 to 1995 Tanya Pearson was a Director of the City of Sydney Cultural Council. For more than a decade she has led many study tours to Russia, England, Europe and America for both students and teachers. Tanya Pearson is in high demand as a guest teacher and adjudicator in Australia and overseas and is a registered teacher of The Royal Academy of Dancing.

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  Kellie Conolly RAD (RTS), Associate Principal of Junior School

Kellie Conolly commenced her early training with Tanya Pearson studying character, modern dance and jazz.  

She  began  her  teaching  career  in  1987 at Ballet Academy Northside, then joining the Tanya  Pearson  Classical  Coaching  Academy  in 1998. She completed both her Royal Academy of Dance Student Teaching Certificate and Teaching Certificate Programme with distinction. During this time Mrs Conolly was promoted to Junior School principal of TPCCA. She took a short absence from her teaching position in order to with the birth of her daughter, returning as faculty member in 2007 and resuming the role of Junior School Principal.

Our Part-time Junior school offers RAD syllabus classes from Pre-primary level to Grade 5. Students have the opportunity to perform in an Annual Academy concert as well as in eisteddfod groups and competitions.

Vana Campbell DipABS, Associate Principal of Junior School

Vana Campbell was born in Canberra and studied classical ballet, contemporary, jazz and flamenco under Janet Karin and Bryan Lawrence. She was accepted into the Australian Ballet School and graduated in 1974. She performed as soloist in ballet companies overseas including Frankfurter Ballett Bühne, Germany. Ms Campbell returned to Australia, married and raised three children whilst teaching at Jill McHugh’s Ku-ring-gai School of Dance since 1993.

She joined the Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy faculty in 2000, teaching both Grade and Majors level students and was appointed Principal of the Junior School in 2007.

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Farewell to our beloved Miss Rita

We are all so saddened by the recent passing of one of our most valued, treasured and loved teachers – Miss Rita Dubovsky. The loss of this magnificent teacher to the dance world in Australia is immeasurable and she will be so missed by so many throughout the world.

Miss Rita first began teaching with Tanya Pearson approximately 30 years ago. She had recently moved to Australia and through the common language and Russian heritage Tanya and Rita formed a strong friendship and passion for dance and teaching that would continue to grow and develop through the years. Miss Rita introduced a unique style of Character teaching never seen before in Australia. She was the first in introducing Character solo’s and groups to Eisteddfods and instilling a rich cultural knowledge of European dance & history in Australia. Anyone who has had the blessing of experiencing Miss Rita as a teacher will all agree that she brought a tremendous passion, energy and exuberance in her teaching. With her strong opinions and her rich Russian accent still strong after many years – she would make students laugh and cry with her funny anecdotes and sayings, her questioning of students on geography and history and her persistence in instilling a true understanding of history and the significance of certain styles of dance. She had a total passion and belief in her work and her students.

Miss Rita’s legacy will continue strong and she will remain in the hearts and minds of so many. May we all share the wonderful stories of Miss Rita forever and carry with us her passion for dance and for life. There will be no other Miss Rita but her spirit will continue through so many dancers and teachers for many many years to come.