Join our Community of Teachers!
The Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.

Katherine Holmes
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Founder of ECSD and teacher
currently teaching...
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Music Theatre
Ballet
Singing
Katherine is an RAD and ISTD trained dancer, and dance teacher. She has danced professionally in Cabaret shows in Japan, and has performed in musicals ( The national dutch tour of 'Crazy For you', 'Into the Woods', '42nd Street', 'Bye Bye Birdie'...to name a few) variety shows and televised awards shows overseas. Whilst living in Holland for 7 years, Katherine taught ballet, tap and jazz to dutch children and adults - from tiny 2 year olds to grandmothers. Katherine has been trained and successfully examined at the highest levels in all forms of dance - RAD Ballet, ISTD Modern dance and ISTD Tap dance. She has also completed high level exams in both Singing and Drama with AMEB and Trinity College London, and has completed AMEB exams in both Piano and music Theory. She also holds a bachelor degree in Music Theatre, and is currently studying her Masters of teaching in both Primary teaching and Secondary teaching in Dance, Drama and Music. Katherine created and co-managed an R&B / Disco band 'Groovecentrix' for some years, and most recently has worked as a fill-in singer for the 'Blues Brothers Tribute Show Australasia Tour', playing the role of 'Twiggy'. She also worked for Tribute Entertainment Australia in the 'Tribute to the Superstars' mega show, and has performed in several cabaret shows around Melbourne. Currently she is a backing singer for the 'Diamond Down under' Neil Diamond tribute show, and Elvis to the Extreme (Marcus Jackson). She is also the mother of an 11 year old and 7 year old who both love to dance and sing!
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0413507696

Tarquinn O'Toole
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Teacher
currently teaching...
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Lyrical
Ballet
Music Theatre
With over 15 years of performing arts experience, Tarquinn thrives in teaching the arts to eager and creative students. She is currently studying Professional Screenwriting at RMIT, writing/directing various independent short films and hoping to move on to musical theatre and playwriting. Tarquinn excelled in Theatre Studies and Dance during High School, acquiring top marks and awards yearly. She specialises in Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Ballet dance styles while also educating students the importance of technique and conditioning in these styles. She has also performed in such shows as 'Hook', 'Little Shop of Horrors', 'Sister Act', and dance Concerts with previous schools including 'The Nutcracker', 'Clue', and 'Wizard of Oz'. Tarquinn is excited to continue teaching at ECSD and work with students current and future!
0413 507 696 (Katherine)

Shane Marshall
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Teacher
currently teaching...
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Boys Breakdance
Hip Hop
Shane has taught and performed both throughout Australia and internationally. Some o f the companies and events he has worked for include 'Silvers Circus', 'Indigenous Hip Hop projects', 'Off the Street Hip Hop', 'Fun Fit', 'Monster Energy', Cultural Infusion', 'Shadow Wars', 'Australian Breakdance Championships, 'Masters Jam', 'Space Jam' and 'Freestyle Session Australia'.
​The boys and gals from Emerald City love jamming on with Shane! They are thrilled to have this extremely cool, passionate and good-hearted person leading them.
emeraldcityschoolofdance@gmail
0413 507 696 (Katherine)

Tara Snelling
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Teacher
currently teaching...
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Tap
After enrolling in ballet class at the age of 4, Tara has studied and trained in various genres of dancing including Cechetti and RAD ballet, ISTD and Glenn Wood Tap, Southern Federation of Dance in Jazz Syllabus, and ATOD Hiphop. Growing up in the country, Tara moved to Melbourne to pursue university studies as a speech pathologist and at the same time experience the various arts and culture the city had to offer. Tara has years of experience teaching dance, in particular her favorite genre, tap dancing. Over the past 10 years Tara has fallen in love with Rock n Roll dancing and now teaches regular classes in this style. She has competed in the Victorian Rock n Roll Dance Association (VRRDA) competitions and achieved high results including the Open title at Camperdown in 2022. Her passion for dance teaching is centered around getting people to enjoy dance who may have otherwise thought they couldn't. She believes dancing should be enjoyed by everyone! Tara is no stranger to the stage. She has performed in cabaret shows, in rock n roll performance troupes, and regularly performs in the pinup arena as her pinup persona, Miss Tiara Sparkle, taking home the crown and title of Miss Vintage Pinup Australia Miss Moderne in 2021. Tara enjoys exploring music in other areas and regularly goes to karaoke and is currently learning ukulele.
Tara - 0421 399 398