Faculty
Meet our teachers
Valentina Pavlova
Valentina Pavlova has over 20 years of experience teaching classical, repertoire, character dance, stretching and conditioning.
Valentina studied ballet for 8 years at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. After graduation in 1985 she worked as a principal ballet dancer at the Moscow Festival Theatre. In 1991 Valentina was invited by a prominent Russian choreographer Vladimir Vasiliev to join the State Kremlin Ballet of Russia as a soloist and principal dancer.
Her repertoire includes: Swan Lake, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Giselle, Don Quixote, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Napoleon Bonaparte, Tom Sawyer, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and The Walpurgis Night.
During her career, Valentina toured worldwide across Great Britain, Japan, Ireland, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Taiwan, China, Norway and Canary Islands.
Valentina has worked with prominent Russian choreographers like Yuri Grigorovich, Vladimir Vasiliev, Andrei Petrov and Marius Liepa.
Valentina has taught ballet classes for professionals when she worked in the Kremlin Ballet and in Moscow Ballet La Classique. Valentina also conducted rehearsals. She enjoys working with children, and has extensive experience teaching youngsters in Russia, Japan and Great Britain.
In 2004 Valentina choreographed a composition from ‘Swan Lake’ with students from Charles Campbell Secondary School.
From 2020 Valentina works as a ballet teacher at GWB studios. Valentina has also worked at Mitcham Rhythmic Gymnastics Club as a ballet instructor since 2005.
Valentina's former students joined and graduated from the world famous and most prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy in Saint Petersburg and Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow.
Valentina's students participated and won in international and Australian ballet competitions such as Taiwan Grand Prix, Asian Grand Prix, Youth America Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition, KAR, Follow Your Dreams, Get The Beat, CanDance Australia and SASDS (Eisteddfod).
Ayaka Ohara
Ayaka first started recreationally learning Russian ballet in Baku, Azerbaijan, when she was 3. When she moved to Adelaide, she started Rhythmic Gymnastics at 7 and became passionate for the sport. As her love for the sport grew, she moved into high performance at 10, training up to 16 hours a week. She began doing ballet once a week with Valentina as cross-training. She competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships for 5 years.
Ayaka started coaching rhythmic gymnastics in 2020 and loves working with others and helping them strive towards their goals. During her time coaching rhythmic gymnastics, she helped students gain confidence and improve, guiding some students from recreational stream to squad classes.
Allegra Cook
Allegra began her dance journey at the age of five, starting as a competitive dancer across a variety of styles, including tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and musical theatre. With a deepening passion for classical dance, she transitioned to focus on a more classical route, training at renowned summer programs such as the Joffrey Ballet School and Bolshoi Ballet Academy in New York City. Allegra has also achieved excellence in classical training, completing Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) examinations from Intermediate to Advanced 2. Currently, she is pursuing a Pharmacy degree at the University of South Australia, seamlessly balancing academic pursuits with her lifelong love of dance.
Sophie Polotnianka
Sophie’s love for dance began at the age of 5, starting with ballet and quickly growing into a lifelong passion. Over the years, her dedication has seen her expand her repertoire to include contemporary, jazz, acrobatics, and lyrical styles, honing her skills across diverse genres.
As a passionate dance teacher, Sophie is committed to inspiring students of all ages to express themselves through movement. With a strong foundation in ballet and contemporary, Sophie trained at Inlight Dance (formerly Martine Quigley Dance Education) and was a member of their Performance Squad. This experience opened doors to incredible opportunities, including performing in a Fringe show, filming a movie, competing in group and solo dance competitions, appearing in TV segments, annual concerts and participating in dance conventions like the South Australian Dance Festival.
Throughout her dance training, Sophie achieved outstanding results in exams for Ballet (RAD and AICD) and Jazz (CSTD Comdance). In 2022, she excelled in Stage 1 Dance, a subject she thoroughly enjoyed and performed at a high level.
Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Human Movement at the University of South Australia, Sophie is deepening her understanding of physical health, movement, and safety. She brings this knowledge to her teaching, ensuring her students benefit from both her artistic expertise and her commitment to fostering safe and healthy practices in dance.
Sophie is a dedicated teacher who thrives on watching her dancers grow and develop. She fosters a positive and supportive environment, embracing every opportunity to share her knowledge and inspire her students.
