Dancing Teachers
Ballet Teachers
Highland Dancing

Jane Pirani

Jane trained with the Ann Roberts School of Dancing before changing tack to study fine art for three years in Brisbane and then Sydney. After completing her degree she went back to her first love and became a professional dancer in France. Here she worked for two years with Maggi Sietsma who is now the artistic director of Expressions in Brisbane.

A serious knee injury brought her performing career to an abrupt halt leaving the way clear to develop skills in teaching, directing and choreography. She began Extensions in 1986 and was artistic director for eleven years before taking over as artistic director of Dance North in 1997. As a freelance choreographer, she also made works for Expressions, Queensland Ballet, Adelaide Centre for Performing Arts, Dance North and Buzz Dance Theatre. As artistic director of Extensions Jane worked with 50 to 60 young performers every year creating large scale productions performed in Townsville and at youth festivals in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Xian City, China and Aberdeen, Scotland. It was during this time that Jane started to direct large scale community events such as VP50 where she worked with 650 school children to create a lantern extravaganza for the closing celebrations.

During the seven years that Jane directed Dance North she took the company nationally and internationally with new works produced each year by her and guest choreographers. She produced large scale community events such as Volcanoes (1999), Sleeping Beauty (1999), Bonfire to the Future (2001), Military Tattoo (2001) and The Dancer and the Dance (2003). The most memorable collaboration, "Luuli," performed with the Lardil dancers from Woomera Aboriginal Islander Corporation, Mornington Island, toured across the top of Australia, regional Queensland and capital cities over three years.

She expanded the Company’s school’s programme to include residencies in particular schools that ran over two or three terms.  Jane also saw a need in the community for creative movement for young children and began the hugely popular Small Wonders to fill this gap. She has continued to fill this need through the Ann Roberts School of Dance with Kreative Kids and the expansion of the Tiny Tots classes.

As director of the school of dance Jane is dedicated to providing a balanced programme to students that equips them with technical, expressive and social skills. The various programmes run by the school including Moving ARTS address curriculum issues and above all aims to allow children to express themselves kinesthetically.  This can be a liberating experience for young children who are still learning the intricacies of communicating through language. When a child moves they use their own language to connect - there are no rules about construction and delivery.  They can simply be themselves, discover who they are and have tremendous fun.

Jane’s recent choreography includes works for the New Zealand School of Dance, Extensions Youth Dance and Ulysses, the senior performance group of the Ann Roberts School of Dance.

Andre Reynaud

Andre trained as an engineer in his native country, France. He worked in the field for several years In France and Africa in the Sudan. During his student days Andre spent all of his spare time designing, making and operating puppets. This grand passion took over and transferred itself into the theatre where he began a new career as a lighting designer in his late twenties. It was during this time that he worked in the same company as his future wife, Jane Pirani.

In 1982 Andre became an Australian resident and added another skill to his portfolio - theatre design and construction which he continues to do to the present. His first commission upon arrival was for his mother-in-law’s school of dance - the Ann Roberts School of Dancing. From there he has designed for the Choral Society in Townsville and Cairns, North Queensland Opera Music Theatre, Dance North, Extensions, Seaview Steak, Trellis of Lizards, New Moon Theatre Company, Expressions in Brisbane, REM in Sydney, Tropic Line, Hard Sun and the James Cook University theatre course. Andre has designed over seventy works for theatre since he came to Australia 

Andre also designs costumes, character suits/mascots and over-sized puppets. In fact Andre has become famous for his mascots. The recycling alien Baggit, Townsville Croc’s second costume and accessories, Captain Catastrophe, Jabberwocky, Fred the Frilled neck lizard for the NQ Games, Penguin for the Warrina Ice Skating Rink, Aslan the lion from the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe and the animal heads from Alice in Downunderland are but the tip of the iceberg of Andre’s creations.

At the close of 2004 Jane and Andre took over the Ann Roberts School of Dancing. Andre manages the administration of the school and all production aspects. Andre’s experience in the theatre is vast and comprehensive so he is an ideal leader to nurture and promote the arts industry in Townsville at a training level.  Andre believes that the school and its diverse programmes such as Moving ARTS , Ulysses and Kreative Kids is a vital step that will strengthen the cultural identity and practice of young Australians.

Andre continues to design and facilitate sets for the theatre and special events. His recent achievements include Sweeney Todd and Wind in the Willows with Fiona Perry and the Townsville Grammar School and several productions for Ulysses Butterfly and Extensions Youth Dance.