Jaya is owner and director of two dance companies, Studio J and Sapphire Dance. A dancer-entrepreneur at heart, Jaya has been the driving force behind both companies success. Jaya started dancing as a hobby in her early 20’s, and eventually decided to learn Bharatanatyam at the age of 32. Since then, Jaya has gone on …
Our Studio Manager, Joshinder, has been dancing, choreographing and teaching since 2002. One of the first Bollywood dance instructors in Melbourne, she released Australia’s only ‘Get Fit with Bollywood Dance’ DVD nationwide in 2006. Joshinder later moved to Pakistan, where she was one of the leading choreographers in the country at the National Academy of …
Described as a “rare soul”, Gerard has the extraordinary gift of being an equally exceptional dancer, teacher and choreographer. Gerard has trained extensively in hip hop, Bollywood, contemporary, jazz, Latin and commercial. He is founder of Provokativ Dance and is respected as one of the best in the industry. A highly sought after artist, Gerard …
With over 18 years of dance experience, Ida is a Kathak dancer who trained under guru Shri. Harish Gangani. She has trained across all three gharanas (styles) of Kathak – Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras. Ida was one of the youngest to complete her diploma in Kathak and went on to complete her bachelor degree in …
Raina Peterson is one of Australia’s very few professional practitioners of Mohiniyattam, which they learned from their guru Smt. Tara Rajkumar. Raina is also a dancer-choreographer with a background in Kathakali (classical theatre), Kalaripayattu (martial arts), folk dance and Bollywood, and will soon be starting a yoga school. Together with dance partner Govind Pillai, their …
Govind is one of a few Australian male practitioners of Bharatanatyam. With an international track-record of sell-out productions and festival appearances, he has choreographed, directed and performed at venues and events including the Victorian Arts Centre, Sydney Opera House, Midsummer Festival, Woodford Folk Festival etc.and has roles as Director of Karma Dance, Board Member of …
Divya Shreejit Kumar is a Bharatanatyam artist with an active practice in performance, teaching and choreography. Learning from the age of five, she completed her Master Diploma in Bharatanatyam under Smt. Priya Dinesan. Her 25 years of classical dance practise includes a brief stint at Mohiniyattam. In Melbourne she joined Karma Dance and resumed her …
Imdad is originally from Chennai, India and specializes in styles such as urban, lyrical, popping, locking, housing, Bollywood and South Indian dance. In India, Imdad performed and choreographed for ‘Strangerz’ dance crew, winning numerous titles including World of Dance (India). Imdad is currently Director and Choreographer of urban Bollywood dance company Desi United. Imdad teaches …
Rashan started learning Kandyan dance in Sri Lanka, at the age of 10. He later went on to learn Bharatanatyam, and graduated from the Kalakshetra in Chennai, India. Rashan was the first Muslim Bharatanatyam and Kandyan dancer in Sri Lanka, and his dedication to dance has been unwaivering. Since arriving in Melbourne 4 years ago, …
‘To dance is to extend yourself – larger, more beautiful, more powerful’. Pragya believes dancing is a soulful experience for her. Being a professional Bellydance and Bollywood dance instructor, she never skips a beat to learn and experience number of other dance styles such as Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Contemporary, Hiphop, Jazz, Kathak and more. Director …
We teach traditional, semi-classical, modern and cross-cultural Indian dance, with classes available both in-studio and online. Our teachers are independent artists of South Asian heritage, who are top of the industry in their respective art forms. We offer performance courses (in-studio) that enable you to master a dance routine and get featured in our professionally produced dance videos. We also offer online classes and dance-on-demand tutorials.
We’re so confident that you’ll be able to learn dance at Studio J, that we’re the only dance studio to offer a dance guarantee. If you complete a course and find that you’re unable to learn the dance routine, then we will refund your fees. It’s that simple. We’re here for our dance family. Dance. Guaranteed.
Jaya Karan, Founder
Melbourne’s home of Indian Dance
‘Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.’ This has been a big year for Studio J. In October we celebrated our two-year birthday. I feel proud and grateful towards each and every person who walks through our door. Studio J is focused on adult learning, and that itself can be …
People over-estimate what they can achieve in one year, but underestimate what they can achieve in ten years. When I look at Jaya, and her journey over the past twenty years, I fully understand what this means. The subtle magic of always moving forward, one joyful step at a time. And consistently building – relationships, …
