Directors

Benjamin Ella

Assistant to the Directors

Australian dancer Benjamin Ella is a Soloist of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and graduated into the Company in 2009, promoted to First Artist in 2016, and to Soloist in 2017.

Benjamin was born in Melbourne to former ballet dancers Christine Walsh and Ricardo Ella. After initially training as a tennis player, at the age of 11, he joined his parents’ ballet school, the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet in Melbourne. Aged 15 he won the Alicia Markova Bursary to train with a full scholarship at The Royal Ballet Upper School. Performances at the School included roles in Soirée musicale, Piano Concerto, and Napoli. Benjamin’s awards as a student included a silver prize at the 2008 Youth American Grand Prix. In his final year in 2009, he performed Le Corsaire pas de deux at the Critics’ Circle National Dance awards and was named joint Outstanding Graduate of the Year at The Royal Ballet School alongside principal of the Royal Ballet Vadim Muntagirov.

Benjamin’s repertory with the Company has included Hans-Peter/Nutcracker, Prince (The Nutcracker), Mercutio and Benvolio (Romeo and Juliet), Bluebird, Florestan (The Sleeping Beauty), Albrecht and pas de six (Giselle), Benno (Swan Lake) and roles in The Dream, Dances at a Gathering, Solo Echo, Symphonic Variations, Multiverse, Obsidian Tear, Cinderella, A Month in the Country, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, ‘Rubies’ (Jewels), Rhapsody, Viscera, Chroma and ‘Diana and Actaeon’ (Metamorphosis: Titian 2012). He created roles in Flight Pattern, Light of Passage, Untouchable, Symphonic Dances, Woolf Works, See Us!!, Dusk and The Dante Project.

Australian Conservatoire of Ballet and Ballet Conservatoire Administrative Officers, Lecturers and Examiners

Hannah Bertram ACBA

Development Manager

Hannah commenced her dance training at the age of four at a small ballet school in rural Victoria. Throughout her extensive training, she pursued professional education at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet and the Victorian College of the Arts, collaborating with some of Australia's most esteemed teachers, choreographers, and dancers. During this period, she performed in numerous professional ballet productions at the State Theatre of Victoria, including notable works such as "Romeo and Juliet," "Sleeping Beauty," and the widely beloved "Swan Lake."

Hannah has ten years of teaching at dance schools in Victoria and has led workshops across Europe. She has extensive performance and competition experience, performing in many modern productions statewide. Over a decade, she has taught and lectured at recreational and pre-professional levels, guiding students into professional dance careers.

Hannah’s studies across diverse dance genres culminated in her attainment of Certificates II, III, and IV in Classical Ballet and Performing Arts, a Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management, a Diploma in Cecchetti Ballet, and a qualification in the International Character Dance Syllabus. Additionally, she serves as a lecturer for the Ballet Conservatoire. Complementing her dance credentials, she has obtained a Diploma in Business and Marketing, which has facilitated her involvement in various roles within the dance industry.

Hannah is an accredited lecturer with Ballet Conservatoire and serves as the business development manager at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet.

Amanda Bollinger ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner and Lecturer

Amanda graduated from the Berlin State Ballet School in Germany, where she studied the Vaganova method of classical ballet. She was former member of Metropol Theatre Berlin, was principal artist with the Space Dream Musical Theatre, the Ballett-Compagnie Deutschland and Disney’s multi-million Euro production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.

Amanda is the Director of Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy and accredited international Lecturer and Examiner of Ballet Conservatoire Classical Ballet Training and Assessment Program.

Sarah Clisby ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner, Lecturer and Assistant Coordinator

Sarah was born in Adelaide, where she began her dance training at her mother’s local school at the age of two. After determining to pursue a career in ballet, she commenced her professional education at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet in 2016, studying under the direction of Christine Walsh. She graduated with an Advanced Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance). During her tenure at the institution, Sarah performed in numerous professional full-length ballets, undertaking both corps de ballet and soloist roles, including the Lilac Fairy in "Sleeping Beauty," the Snow Queen and Arabian Soloist in "The Nutcracker," and the White Swan in "Swan Lake." Additionally, she has collaborated with Opera Australia for multiple seasons and served as a guest artist for various youth ballet companies in both Melbourne and Adelaide.

In conjunction with her dancer training, Sarah has achieved her teaching credentials in the Ballet Conservatoire syllabus. She is a fully qualified Ballet Conservatoire teacher, with substantial teaching experience across all levels at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet, in addition to guest teaching engagements in dance institutions in Australia and overseas.

Sarah is an accredited international lecturer and examiner for the Ballet Conservatoire Classical Ballet Training and Assessment Program. She has extensive experience in delivering seminars and conducting examinations in various educational institutions across Australia and internationally. Additionally, Sarah holds the position of Assistant Coordinator, where she assists in administration and contributes significantly to the enhancement of training and assessment processes within the program.

Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner, Lecturer and Philippine Representative

Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas is a former Principal Dancer with the Philippine Ballet Theatre, where she performed lead roles in many of the company's classical and neo-classical ballets, including Madame Butterfly, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Raymonda, Carmen, Andres KKK, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Giselle.

Throughout her career, she has collaborated with top choreographers and international partners. In addition to her work with PBT, Maritoni was a member of the Basel Ballet in Switzerland and danced with the Eglevsky Ballet in New York. She was also a merit scholar at the Neubert Ballet Institute at Carnegie Hall.

Maritoni has served as both a teacher and principal at the Philippine Ballet Theatre Conservatoire. In 2001, she founded the Danspace Ballet School at the Manila Polo Club, later expanding it to Assumption College in San Lorenzo. Her contributions to ballet education continued when she became a qualified international examiner and lecturer for the Ballet Conservatoire Classical Ballet Training and Assessment Program, where she currently serves as the Philippine representative.

After serving as president of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines, Inc. (ABAP), she was honored with the ABAP Leadership in Dance Award in 2023.

Nina Anonas ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner and Lecturer

Nina Anonas performance portfolio includes soloist roles with Ballet Philippines and Manila Metropolis Ballet, which ultimately led to her receiving a full scholarship at the Ballettabteilung der Musikhochschule Frankfurt. She later became a soloist with the Junge Ballett Compagnie and was featured as an artist with William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt in Germany.

Nina is the founder of École de Ballet Manille, where she served as artistic director for 23 years. She also co-founded ESS Ballet Jeunesse, a long-standing partnership with Elizabeth Seton School of Las Piñas. Additionally, Nina is a founding member of the Association of Ballet Academies Philippines, the country's longest-running association of dance schools.

As a qualified international lecturer and examiner of Ballet Conservatoire Classical Ballet Training and Assessment Program, she has extensive experience lecturing at seminars and conducting examinations at schools across Asia and internationally. Nina currently heads the Bachelor of Performing Arts degree program at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, where she oversees its administration, teaches core performing arts courses, and leads research initiatives for the program.

She is also the author of “Let’s Learn Ballet,” a teaching manual for professional ballet teachers that includes an illustrated guidebook for beginning ballet students. Her research credentials include paper presentations at international conferences, which have been published and are now recognized as technical indices for dance. Nina holds a postgraduate degree in Educational Management and is currently pursuing her doctorate.

Joanne Grace ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner and Teacher

Joanne’s dance journey began at the age of three, and she has since trained in various styles, including classical ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. Her performance background includes musicals with the Arcadians and Guild Theatre Groups, which further fueled her passion for musical theatre.

Joanne achieved Associate status with the Royal Academy of Dance (ARAD) and has taught at prestigious institutions, including Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and the Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts. She also spent 12 years at the University of New South Wales, where she mentored future dance educators.

Her credentials include a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Dance/Drama, a Master's in Dance Teaching, and a Bachelor of Education. She is qualified in multiple classical ballet syllabi and is an active adjudicator for all dance styles in regional eisteddfods.

The Joanne Grace School of Dance was the first full-time training institution in the Illawarra and has garnered numerous accolades, including a Local Business Award for Illawarra/South Coast in 2020. The school is also a registered location for the Progressing Ballet Technique Program and is known for its preschool training programs.

Joanne is an accredited international Examiner of the Ballet Conservatoire Classical Ballet Training and Assessment Program.

Jacqueline Kornmann ACBE

Ballet Conservatoire Examiner and Teacher

Jacqui has had over 40 years of teaching experience, and was also a former international dancer for IM Company, Japan. Jacqui moved on to gain her Bachelor of Education into the education system where more students could have access to the Art of Dance. Jacqui became an assessor for VCE Dance Performance Examinations and an Ausdance Skills Set Trainer for dance during this time. Jacqui also holds her Associate Diploma (Cecchetti) and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, is a former VET Dance and VCE Dance trainer and is a qualified teacher of Jeanette Liddell’s Modern Dance Education syllabus.

Jacqui is a qualified teacher and accredited examiner of the Ballet Conservatoire and she is former Director and Founder of iDance (Echuca) and Jacquelines School of Dance (Tongala and Kyabram).