The Jazz Centre, Malvern East: Dance, Song and Performance Classes on Burke Road for Almost 40 Years

For almost four decades, a studio on Burke Road has been teaching Malvern East's children, teenagers and adults to dance. The Jazz Centre School of Performing Arts was established thirty-eight years ago at 29 Burke Road, East Malvern, where it is still located today, and it has become a highly regarded school with a reputation for nurturing a lifelong love of dance.

A lifelong passion for dance

The Jazz Centre's mission is to show children the magic and enjoyment of dance, to teach technique and skill at the highest level, and to help students develop their full potential in grace, musicality and artistry of stage presentation. With almost 40 years of teaching and performing experience behind it, the school aims to provide a healthy atmosphere in which students can thrive.

A remarkable breadth of classes

The school says no other dance school in the Malvern area offers students the same breadth of opportunity to develop their performing arts talents. Alongside the traditional jazz, tap and classical ballet, taught to the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus, the curriculum includes singing, hip hop, music theatre, drama, circus, acrobatics, lyrical, contemporary, pom and cheerleading.

Classes cater for ages three and up, from beginners to professionals, pre-schoolers, juniors, teens and adults. There's a unique pre-school program for children aged three to five, introducing them to all styles of dance and acrobatics, which the school says helps young children gain physical confidence and skills and make friends.

Recreational or competitive

Students can choose how far they want to go. Recreational classes suit those who simply want weekly dance classes for fun, with two concerts a year at mid-year and at the end of the year. For advanced dancers and those who show great promise, the performance stream takes training to the next level, with a variety of styles and performance opportunities throughout the year, typically around three competitions and two public performances. The school's cheerleading teams also compete, win awards and perform at events around the state.

Teachers from the professional stage

The Jazz Centre takes particular pride in its teachers, who have performed in productions including Tap Dogs, Cats, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Me and My Girl, Sisterella, Disney and Oliver. Students benefit greatly from that experience and the teachers' willingness to share it.

Leading the school is Director and Principal Choreographer Gaynor Maxwell. Gaynor trained in Adelaide in classical, jazz, tap and theatrical arts, performing in theatre, cabaret, television and with the South Australian Ballet Company, before six years dancing with companies across Europe and the Middle East and two years as a lead dancer in the United States and the Bahamas. Since returning to Australia in 1976 she has focused on teaching and choreography, co-founding a community dance company in Adelaide, choreographing for the Adelaide Arts Festival and running her own Melbourne dance group, Bodytrax. She is a registered teacher and panel member of the Royal Academy of Dance and one of Melbourne's leading jazz teachers, choreographers and adjudicators.

Visit The Jazz Centre

The Jazz Centre is at 29 Burke Road, Malvern East. The 2026 timetable, special activities and enrolment forms are on the website. To book a free trial class, call 03 9572 3770 or email thejazzcentre@gmail.com.

Contact

The Jazz Centre School of Performing Arts
29 Burke Road, Malvern East VIC 3145
Phone: 03 9572 3770
Email: thejazzcentre@gmail.com
Website: thejazzcentre.com.au
Hours: See 2026 timetable on website

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