Tamarah has some 20 years dance teaching experience and is a graduate of the RAD Teaching Certificate Programme (with Distinction). Tamarah taught for KJ for a number of years before joining as a co-director in 2017 and acquiring the studio in 2018.
Tamarah Gannon
Director
Simone Dawson
Senior Dance & Examiner ATOD
Simone brings her expansive knowledge and experience to the school. Being a Senior Examiner with the ATOD, Simone is a great asset.
Rebecca Blackmore
Drama Coach
Rebecca is a ‘triple threat’ trained in dance as well as voice/acting at QUT, NIDA and The Actors Conservatory. Rebecca brings her love of drama and musical theatre to the students.
Dominick Wong
Tumbling Coaach
Dominick is an experienced and sought after coach with a versatile background in gymnastics, acro, circus and martial arts and fitness and strength training.
Lisa Mellor
Adult Jazz & Tap, Tinytots
Lisa Mellor is a great KJD past student and is qualified to teacher status. Lisa teaches our Adult tap & jazz classes and assists with the tiny tots.
Kate Tomsett
Dance Teacher
A past KJD student since the age of 4 yrs, Kate enjoys teaching while she continues her studies leading to Medicine.
Chantelle Ward
Cheer Coach
Chantelle (Channie) is an enthusiastic and accredited L1 and 2 coach, who while still competing with Qld Cheer Elite, enjoys coaching our students.
Brigitte Freeme
Dance & Musical Theatre
A past student of Tamarah's Brigitte is passionate about the performing arts, especially musical theatre, and sharing this passion with her students.
Testimonials
What our parents and students say
Karen Jacobi Dance & Performing Arts Academy played a vital role in my up bringing and education. It is here I was not only taught how to dance but also was encouraged to follow my dreams, to see things through to the end, respect myself and others and most importantly to be confident within my self.
It was through Karen’s training and opportunities that she made available to me that I was able to gain my advance diplomas in ballet, jazz and tap. I was also able to study musical theatre through Trinity College under her teachings. My child hood memories are filled with concerts, eisteddfods and friendships that I will keep for life.
I am now a fully qualified dance teacher who runs my own dance studio, none of which would have been possible with out Karen’s support and guidance, Thank you.
Danielle Wilkin
MATOD, ARADBeing now an established member of the Queensland Ballet and having the opportunity to perform and tour extensively throughout Australia, Europe and Asia, I am happy to look back and remember the years of training I recieved at the Karen Jacobi Dance and Performing Arts Accademy.
My time there equiped me with a solid base of technique and performance experience which began my journey towards a full-time career in a world renouned ballet company. I have many fond memories of the friends I made at Karen’s and count myself lucky to have had such a friendly and supportive group of teachers and performers to encourage my technical and artistic abbilities throughout my school years.
Kathleen Doody
Queensland Ballet Company MemberKaren Jacobi has the wonderful gift of being able to teach and nurture a young dancer into a professional, she has structured her school and her classes to cater for beginners to advanced performers.
This is a school where your child will be taken care of no matter their skill level or if they wish to dance for fun or to pursue it as a career. I will always recommend Karen’s school, she is and always has been dedicated to teaching her joy of performance.
Erin Peters
Dance Captain – Carnival Cruise LinesKaren Jacobi Dance & Cheer has given my daughter the confidence and belief that she can achieve any goal that she sets her mind to and how to deal with curve balls when thrown her way. The high caliber of training that she has received since commencing in 2011 has helped her achieve her results of State, National, International Champion , her Top results for the past 6 years with her RAD Ballet & ATOD Jazz & Tap Exam Results, and her Eisteddfod results for the past 5 years.
A quote from Baylee: “Most people think that dance is easy and that training is boring, but to me it is truly a lot more than that. Dancing is something that involves a lot of hard work and effort – blood sweat and tears. It is something that requires commitment, and a lot of it. I train multiple times a week and never get sick of it. My training sessions are different than others. Mine are full of happiness, laughter and joy. When you have the best teams and coaches, training is never boring”.
Baylee has had the opportunity to learn so much from her training at Karen Jacobi Dance & Cheer , building her confidence, realizing her dreams by having the support from the teachers to allow her to do this, and them seeing something in her that she hadn’t. She has made some lifelong friends and learnt some important life lessons with her dancing at KJDC.