Our Teachers
WHO ARE WE
Welcome to Tutu Dance Company.
Annelise and Therese Colman are sisters who grew up in Margaret River and both recently returned to the South West after nearly a decade away. Both began their dance journeys in the late 1990s under the guidance of Renee Paull (nee Walker) at Jazz Attack Dance Studio in Margaret River, which then became Leeuwin College of Performance.
All teachers have their Working With Children Check and Senior First Aid and Resuscitation.
OUR TEACHERS
Annelise, Director
Annelise began her dance training in regional WA studying Cecchetti Ballet, contemporary and theatrical dance. She was awarded the Cecchetti state scholarship for the highest mark in her advanced ballet exam and invited to audition for the Australian Ballet School.
She went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and during her final year undertook secondments with Leigh Warren and Dancers, The Australian Ballet and performed in Coppelia with the West Australian Ballet company.
Annelise has taught and choreographed for several prominent dance schools in Perth and the South West and is now the principal director of Tutu Dance Company. In addition to running Tutu, Annelise also teaches the senior ballet students at the Studio of Classical and Contemporary Dance in Bunbury and runs the contemporary and lyrical dance classes at Dunsborough School of Ballet and Dunsborough Dance Co.
Annelise continues to undertake training and professional development courses and has more recently begun assessing and adjudicating for both high schools and private dance schools.
Therese, Associate Director
Growing up, Therese studied jazz, classical ballet, contemporary and acrobatics with Leeuwin College of Performance.
She competed at South West competitions, and participated in workshops at WAAPA, with the West Australian Ballet, Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company and Ochre. She also trained with Leeuwin Gymnastics and Luna Circus.
Therese spent her 20s working as a professional dancer having undertaken commercial dance course at The Dance Collective in Willagee, performing for corporate events, charity balls and flash mobs.
He career saw her move overseas, spending two years with international performing arts company Rumours Entertainment in Dubai UAE, specialising in pole dance, aerial hoop and aerial silks. She then moved to San Diego California to continue her work as a pole dancer and aerialist, and ventured into the world of burlesque.
Therese moved back to the South West in 2017 and also operates Suspensions Aerial Arts and Burlesque which specialises in burlesque classes for adults, workshops for Hen’s Parties, girls weekends and retreats, as well as providing entertainment for community, commercial and corporate events in the South West.
Angela
Angela began her dance training at the age of 3 at a busy and prestigious dance school in Perth where she was trained in the C.S.T.D and R.A.D syllabuses. She completed all theatrical examinations and went on to gain her Teachers Certificate in 2004 and Diploma in 2007. Angela’s extensive dance background saw her travel, perform, compete, and win prestigious competitions with genres including jazz, tap, lyrical, slow modern and hip-hop. With her background in children’s entertainment and dance teaching, Angela was able to successfully land a position working for distinguished companies Warner Bro’s and Nickelodeon Productions. As a children’s entertainer, Angela performed in copious shows and engaged in regular character work. Angela also worked professionally as a cheerleader for both the Perth Wildcats and Perth Glory. Angela also participated in numerous professional workshops during her dance career continuing the development of new skills and styles. Angela’s love and dedication to dance continues to evolve as she has two daughters who are following her footsteps.
Kate
Kate started dancing in high school after being accepted into the specialist dance program. After training 4 years, she eventually graduated top of the class and was accepted into APAN (Australian Performing Arts Network) full time certificate 4 course in 2014. After spending the year studying full time dance and participating in many performances around Perth, she graduated, receiving her certificate 4 and began her dance teaching career. Kate also trained in a hip-hop crew called ’Envy’ since 2013where she travelled to compete in numerous competitions interstate over the years, taking out Grand Champions and winning bids to overseas competitions. ‘Envy’ competed at the Dance Worlds competition in Florida in 2015 and 2018. They placed 7th place out of 40 different counties, representing Australia. Kate also Choreographed a Duo that competed at the ICU Championships in Florida who made top 5. She has a major passion for hip-hop, choreographing and building confidence in her students through classes and performance.
Chanel
Chanel Livesey embarked on her dance journey in Perth, training in contemporary, jazz, and RAD Ballet across various dance schools. She completed ATAR Dance, and was accepted into Steps Youth Dance company, igniting a profound passion for contemporary dance.
With a Bachelor of Education specialising in Theatre Studies from the University of Notre Dame, Chanel seamlessly blended her love for dance with her teaching qualifications. Whilst pursuing a career as a primary educator, she continued training and teaching at The Dance Collective in Willagee. Chanel's commitment to dance education reached new heights when she took on the role of a dance teacher at John Curtin College of the Arts. Building on her successes, she has now relocated to the South West, where she currently holds the position of a dance teacher at Margaret River Senior High School.
Lily
Lily has been dancing for 15 years in the South West, studying the Cecchetti Ballet syllabus. She has trained in many other styles of dance including lyrical, contemporary, neoclassical, Spanish, hip hop, jazz, Scottish dance and a number of aerial arts. Within her Cecchetti studies she has completed several formal exams and performances along with completing Advanced One in RAD (Royal Academy of Dance). Lily has danced for and represented both Leeuwin College of Performance and Tutu Dance Company in multiple competitions around the South West. Lily has been an assistant teacher since 2020 and will be instructing her own classes this year upon closely shadowing and being coached by our senior teachers over the last couple of years. She is excited to share her passion and love for dance with our students!
Elleni
Elleni Lambert began her dance training with Leeuwin College of Performance she moved to Margaret River at the age of 7. She has trained in Cecchetti ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop and heels. Elleni has completed exams in Cecchetti ballet, Jazz and Tap all with Honours. Elleni completed a Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management through Transit Dance in Melbourne in 2020 as part of her Year 11 school program. Elleni’s love of dance has seen her compete in many competitions in the South West and in Perth. In 2020, she qualified in 13 routines for the National Revolution of Dance Competition. Elleni enjoys choreography and seeing dancers develop.
Charlotte
Charlotte began her dance training studying hip-hop in Canada. When Charlotte moved to Australia, she joined Dance Central in Fremantle studying contemporary, lyrical and classical ballet. Charlotte then moved to Margaret River, where she began dancing with us here at Tutu Dance Company. Charlotte has continued to study lyrical, contemporary and classical ballet and began assisting junior classes in 2021 as a student helper. She recently represented Tutu Dance Company at the Elite Eisteddfod in Busselton, competing in the senior lyrical section of which she received a placing for. She has also been involved in a number of dance events at Margaret River Senior High School including the Arts Fest and YOH Fest. Charlotte will be taking on an assistant teacher role at Tutu next year, further developing her teaching skills in the hope to undertake additional training and courses at WAAPA or similar training facilities. Charlotte is excited to work with our junior dancers in 2024!