"He's Got No Bodyflight": The Jason Coleman Dance Studio War

Australian Post Posted by Clem Bastow at 9:22 AM on August 22, 2008

Jason Coleman.jpgAre the suburban dance schools of the country out to smear the name of affable So You Think You Can Dance Australia judge and frosted tips enthusiast Jason Coleman? That's the word from the man himself, who reckons that the stage mothers and fathers of the country are unimpressed with his decision to have a break from choreographing major events while stepping into the razzle dazzle world of ten-year-old prima donnas. His competitors have hit him with everything from rumours of impending bankruptcy to his supposed lack of skills as a choreographer.

One competitor admitted his nose was out of joint, saying the well-known choreographer was "selling a dream that doesn't exist".

 

Coleman, who recently moved back to his home town to set up his Ministry of Dance academy, stuck by his guns and his talent.

"If people are losing students, it's because they're teaching with no love," he said.

This might seem like harmless biffo to your average reader, but dance schools are hard. core. Despite attending only two "old school hip hop" classes before a near death experience mid-uprock, I still receive at least two SMS a day from my old dance school; they're like an obsessed ex-boyfriend. I can only imagine what their peers are doing to Coleman.

Comments

Nadia Ambruosi

Posted September 18, 2008 1:42 AM

From the moment my family and I walked into Jason Coleman’s, The Ministry of Dance Studio. Without saying a word to each other, we all thought the same thing. It was SENSATIONAL. Let me tell you at this stage it was still an unfinished project. Just to give you an idea of size. One of the dance rooms was bigger than the whole dance school my girls were currently at. And this was the first of twelve rooms yet to be seen. From the minute we stepped into to the door. We have been treated with nothing but respect, politeness and made to feel comfortable and at home. It felt to good to be true. The place had a Hollywood feel about it. It was like you were in a whole new world. You could see this place was going to be professional. You could see this place was going to be a threat to all the other dance studios. So I can definitely understand the war happening within the other dance schools. Our decision to leave our previous dance school was difficult to make. The girls had been there for over five years. They were in elite classes and doing well. Singing and dancing has been a big part of their lives. They just love it. Funny enough the first time Jason met the girls he said to them just dance like you love it. You could see the passion in his face. Jason is just gorgeous. He is wonderful to the girls and they just adore him. He will always go out of his way to acknowledge them, and us. So for us, being at The Ministry of Dance, we could not be happier. In the short time we have been there, the girls have had theatre auditions, fashion parades; photo shoots and met heaps of celebrities. And the studio hasn’t even officially opened yet. To see the excitement in their eyes that’s when you know you’re in a good place. To see them give their best in class because they love the teachers, that when you know they’re in the right place. You can see the level and technique of the classes is exceptional. Each class is taught to perfection yet in a positive way to bring the best out of each individual student. Their private singing studios are amazing. Actually every part of the studio is A+ standard. Even the bathrooms have a Hollywood feel. Oh lets not forget the red gloss floor entry. (We can just pretend that the red carpet to some celebrity event ha!) So we would like to thank you Jason for bringing Hollywood to Melbourne. We would also like to thank you for employing the most wonderful gorgeous and friendliest staff ever. Thanks for bringing us the comfort we needed from a studio. As most people know a dance studio at times feels like a second home. So for all the people out there complaining about your studio, quite frankly they are just jealous and very unprofessional. Unfortunately there are a lot of selfish people who find it hard to understand what you have done will only be an asset to the Musical Industry in Melbourne. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all so much it’s an honour to be at your studio…we love it.

Julianne Burley

Posted October 28, 2008 9:54 AM

I recently traveled to Melbourne with my two daughters to attend the Melbourne International Tap Festval. This festival was held at the Ministry of Dance. I cannot express how impressed we were with not only the facilities but also how warm and inviting the atmosphere was. Jason was present on at at least 3 of the days we were there. He was extremely friendly and very proud of the ministry. All the other staff members were extremely proffesional whilst at the same time warm and friendly.
We were lucky to wtch Jason teach some classes to a group of 6 year olds and seemed to genuinely love what he was doing.
we also witnessed the ausitions for the full-time class which was very well organised.
If we lived in Melbourne I wouldn't hesitate to send my daughter to the Ministry of Dance as it obviously provides a professional yet caring environment where everyone is there for just the right reason - For the love of dance.

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