“He’s Got No Bodyflight”: The Jason Coleman Dance Studio War
Are 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.
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Comments
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.
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.
I am 100% sure that Jason Coleman’s Studios are state of the art and that the staff members are amazing dancers and teachers. But money can buy all of that. What i disagree with is that fact that Jason Coleman believes just because he has the money he can go and steal smaller dance studios names. I attend a Dance studio named Ministry of Dance, located in Penrith N.S.W. A studio where the owner has poured her heart and soul into what i consider a home away from home. I dont understand why someone can just go and take our name. If Jason is a brilliant as he says he is he should of made up his own name or at least have checked if the name existed. If any one googles Ministry of Dance. Coleman isnt the first link…. Want more info check out this myspace and ask any of the guys in the top friends
myspace.com/real_ministry_of_dance
Well obviously ministry in Penrith didn’t register their business name…??? Its not like their even paying their teachers AND their owners come to a dance studio I go to in Penrith to spy and get chore pretty laim dont you think??/
reply to lisa:
1. Yes they did register the business name, and thats also how they won the penrith local business awards 2 years ago.
2. They do pay their teachers as im pretty sure noone would work for free you goose.(and i also used to teach there)
3. I think you need to get ur facts right… as the owners dont need to do pathetic crap like that, they have their own unique dance style which has made us NATIONAL CHAMPIONS… plus they dont have the time as they are busy pouring their heart and souls into their studio.
i would love to know what dance studio you go to!!
You would think that you would be with us not against us … as without us you wouldnt have competition, and with no competition wats the point of competing.
i know that if it was another sydney dance school going through the same thing we would be fully supporting them all the way….
The owner had a dream for her dance school
and the name came from her heart she didnt just call it that because it sounds cool…
I go to the studio in Penrith and we were set up years before he thought of it. My teacher auditioned for so you think you can dance and he thinks he has the rights to the name? Just because he has more money than others he thinks he can walk all over them.
He has no idea what this is doing to our studio. We are all so close and it is like a second home. We built a reputation with this name and now he has gone and stolen it.
He needs better creativitiy and should come up with his own after all ours was a registered trade name first and now because he has more money he wants us to change the name?!?!
Jason Coleman stole Ministry Of Dance.
It is simple as that.. he saw the name and decided that because he has alot of money that he can just go ahead and steal our dance studio name..
i don’t know how he can live with himself knowing that he is ripping apart a dance studio that is like a small family.. I would really love to see him try and explain himself..
If anyone wants more info check out our myspace..
Jason Coleman is a sham……… MY daughter just finished attend his so called “Summer School” only to be disapointed with the content and the lack of organisation that was present. Jason was rude to several parents, was more interested in show boating himself and trying to drag as much money from the attending people as possible. We were charged $10 per adult and $5 per child to watch our girls dance. This money was for a supposed cost coverage?????? The promised afternoon tea never arrived and we were ferried out of the premises quickly after the lack luster performance. Jason Coleman is resting this school on his name, when what he should be doing is promoting his teachers and his students, not trying to take away from the paying dancers, by getting up front and dancing not with them, but showboating in front of the parents. I came to see my kids dance, not him. We will not be back net year, and sure as hell will not be going there for any clases. Lies, money grubbing and rudeness was all we found. Try a different school. It may not have the Jason name attached to it, but it will be a definite benefit to your children.
My daughter recently attended the enjoyable”Summer School” and really loved it.She truly appreciated being able to work with great dancer teachers, singing and acting coaches. But most of all the variety of professional choreograhers was an inspiring experiece.They worked her hard and she responded with I want more……………….Thank you to the team at Sutton street for a great Summer School!!!
Yes, the summer school was great….. Classes were not planned, students in some cases only got to do 2 classes in 6 hour day, spent the rest of the time “rehearsing” Acting coach….. if you call catching a ball and saying your name a coaching session, as for them being worked hard. My girls came out with a slight sweat only from the poorly cooled rooms and complained that the routines were all to easy. Dont get me wrong, the teachers were good and enthusiastic, but between the lack of organiastion and Jason running around like a peacock preening himself and sprouting how great this all is, things could have been a lot better. I even overheard in the coffee shop downstairs a supposed close friend of Jason’s saying that he has nothing to offer under 10’s and that this summer school was not great, not even good and she told him that. They were a school from Brisbane who apparently do lots of these schools with there kids, but she was not impressed with what Jason was offering, I tend to agree. I will be giving my $1000 to another summer school next year. Shame really, better management would have made them a force to be reckoned with, not a money grubbing publicity stunt that went wrong and ripped parents off……
Instead of investing in a dance studio he should of invested his money on some deodorant and some mouth wash!
Just a few points… (and yes I did attend the Summer School)
* If your daughters were complaining so much about it being too easy – why didn’t you ask for them to be moved up to an older age group ?
*Unorganisation; While i have to agree to some point they do need a little work, they have only been open for JUST UNDER A YEAR. It was there first Summer School, so you can’t exactly expect perfection.
*We had the largest Summer School in Australia… enough said.
*The 43 degree weather – well don’t you expect hot studios ?
*The rehersing time was also needed. If you were a dancer yourself you would understand that you can’t put on a performance on the last day and be trusted to remember everything you learnt. 6 hour days – 1hr Warmup, 1.5hr Class, 1.5hr Class, 1hr lunchbreak & either another class & rehersal time or just rehersal time. Fair ?
*Money. Hello teachers such as Kelly Aykers (A-MAZING), Rhys from top 20 2008, Etienne Khoo (chore’d for sytycd this year) and so on – they do cost alot to hire !
*Acting Coach – She had 1hr with each group. Introduce herself, explain what shes done etc etc (Hello. Prisoners, Mother in Shout, many more). Then She taught us about muscle memory and how we can learn to let our bodies remember performances naturally without much thinking during it etc etc. She did have to relate acting to dance, which she did very well.
& I just have to say, I attend The Ministry of Dance, and it is the best thing I have ever done. Since I started (from the beginning with the workshops last June to classes held now) I have noticed myself improve and improve. Even my other dance school teachers (another point – no “you can’t attend two schools” buisness at ministry. you cant own a dancer) have commented, along with teachers from the ministry, family, fellow students. I have never felt so inspired to dance and god damn am I enjoying every hour of it:D
Your just jealous you don’t have the ability and knowlegde Jason does to open a school like his:)
PS. Kelly Aykers, Dance Director, is freaking the best out.
She is so dedicated, determined and understanding of all the students even though she’s run off her feet busy. She only wants the best for them.
I LOVE KELLY:D
I own a successful dance school and I fully belive that if you put 100%+ per cent into your school and how you teach it should not matter who opens near you whether it be Jason or not.
I have had many schools open near me and threaten that they will take my students but that is never the case if anything after 2 years they close down.
I believew you need to show respect to parents, happieness to the students you teach and provide the best teaching you can.
We actually have our cecchetti exams at the Ministry of Dance and my students love it! I have not lost a student to the Ministry of dance but they do look forward to doing their ballet exams there and I thank them for that. My ballet enrolments have doublled thanks to them.
Believe in yourself and what you offer, don’t bag others.
As a dance community I belive we should help eachother.
I actually insist my students take classes else where (when they reach their teenage years) as it enables them to learn new styles,techniques which helps them with auditions and helps them to continue to love dance and not become stale.
If Jason Coleman believes that people are trying to smear his name because they are jealous than he is truly misguided. While it sounds as though he has set up a vivacious centre in which students can come to learn and develop their skills in dance, i have to admit its a real shame he couldnt use this abiltiy and knowledge people so ardently claim he possesses to create his own name. You want to talk unprofessional? I say not being bothered to think up your own name and trying to shut down a little studio is unprofessional.
Therefore, I highly doubt that anyone could be jealous of him considering the disgusting stunt he thinks he can get away with.
jason coleman is an idiot. he stole our dance studio name. my teacher auditioned for so you think you can dance and when she told coleman that ministry of dance was her dance school he liked and took it. we love that dance school and don’t take it from me come and see for your self we all love it. its a great school with great teachers and if you all think to join jason’s ministry i wouldn’t. jason i might be 13 but im telling you right ow i like so you think you can dancebut YOUR GOING DOWN and not in a backbend(if you can do one).=P
get over it! That Penrith studio has nothing anyway the students are teaching the owners to dance lol At least Jason Coleman is qualified and recognised!!! Give it up
lisa – if you were not so “worried” why do you have go and look and spy at a small dance school in Sydney for? if he sooo talented then why would it matter what the Penrith school does or doesn’t do? why does it matter really, not about the school its about the name he stole.
At the end of the day he knew this name was already in existed and he STOLE it, plan and simple. Doesn’t matter if they registered or not he still stole the name, and he knows he done it.
Its going to court anyway so there is a law that been broken just got to be proven, which it well be every dog has there day & his name is Jason Coleman **woof woof**
Ok Lisa.. umm if we got nothing explain our success the past year??
In January at Nationals we got
-National Champions for Hip Hop
-Won Battle of the Stars for small group
At Penrith Estedford we again Won the Hip Hop
At Sydney Estedford we came third.. losing to Brent Street and Urban Dance (umm both of which are full time schools…)
And at the Australian Dance Challenge we Won again in the Hip Hop, Quote from Judge.. “This group did everything we ask for in a hip hop performance and more, they really stood out from the rest”
Not to mention the number of places we have recieved for Jazz/Lyrical/Contempory
So if we teach out teachers.. yet i go there everyday and work my butt of to umm learn from my teachers to then go and compete succesfully how come you who obviously learn from umm real?? dance teachers dont have anything to show??
Im only stating the facts here lisa.. i hope u can prove me wrong for ur sake…
To Student At Ministry,
I read with laughter at your response. You are obviously star struck with the whole “Jason Coleman” name. Lets just recap some of your answers shall we.
1. Move my kids up to an older age group…. Hmmm, I did ask, but was told that they couldn’t as both were to young. It didn’t matter that what they were learning was way to easy, even Kelly said this would be a walk in the park for them… So, moving them up, they wouldn’t do because of age, not experience…
2.Unorganized, don’t have to mention that again. That was obvious to all, but the “only open for one year” response is a bit weak. I have organized bigger events in less time. Its all about the quality, not the money you bring in.
3.Largest summer school in Aust, check your figures, was big, but not the biggest.
4. 43 degree heat, yeah studios would be hot, but after spending all that money and no heating or cooling….Even the smallest studio puts this in for there STUDENTS. Another money driven issue..
5. Rehearsing time needed….. I love this one. Both my girls new the routing after the class. It was THAT EASY. If you were a committed dancer and had any talent, YOU would have too, but obviously you need the practice and the “extra” help to get you through..
6. The teachers… Kelly is a director there, she is paid staff, not “Hired” for the workshop, as for the others, they came on at a reduced rate for the exposure. He used the shows stand out people to get more in his door, and in return they got more exposure. Simple business really.
7.Acting Coach. Just expected a bit more, maybe this should have been advertised as a info session. I watch the class, more throwing a ball and remembering names than anything else. Personally, thought this was a waste of time, nothing really gained.
As for being jealous, far from it. Jason bullied a standing name of another business for his own devices. If it was not for the show, you probably wouldnt even know who he is or even attended a school he opened. There are standout teachers there (Kelly,Carrie and Laura) but as for Jason, he has a lot to learn about people and business skills. At the summer school he was rude and not impresses with taking any criticism about the program. You are obviously very young and impressionable and love the feeling of dancing somewhere that people who are “D” grade celebs frequent. No, not jealous, just concerned that Jason is offering up something that he cant deliver on. I know for a fact that he is barley there now………
Thanks for you comments, maybe a bit more life experience, a few more years and taking of those rose colored glasses might help in your professional development..
Personally, as both a student of Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance and an ex-student of three other dance schools, I believe Ministry of Dance is beyond amazing! I think people outside MOD, who believe Jason is ‘idiot’ or ’showboater’ are simply too focused on who he is as a professional. I’m almost certain that if Jason wasn’t a big a success and as famous as he is, these ludicruous comments would not be made. Everyone is too focused on trying to taint his name, but how many of you have actually personally attended classes at the Ministry of Dance? This school is phenomenal! Upon entering the building it’s like you’ve entered a whole new world. Jason has used his wealth and his name as an amazing choreographer/dancer/director to create a school that can’t be compared to any others and succeded! All of the above negative comments are weak and lack supporting evidence.
I agree with ‘Dancergirl’, dance schools should be supporting each other to create amazing performers for the world, not trying to bring each other down. For several months I attended the Ministry of Dance whilst still attending another dance school and my teachers were more than happy to allow me to do that and supportive of it.
As for ‘Concerned Parent’, you’re simply trying to destroy the image of a wonderful place. Your daughters attended a five day Summer School and you’re basing all of your judgement on this, which is simply juvenile…If you’re daughters truly are as amazing as you say they are, they would be booking jobs left right and centre and you wouldn’t even consider putting them into the Summer School. You have to keep in mind, it was organised by age – lots of students who attended the Summer School attend it to learn, not everyone is going to be amazing dancers, the teacher was obviously catering for the majority of the group – as professionals, the teachers obviously opted for an easy routine to suit the ability of the students within the class – so perhaps the other students weren’t finding the routine as ‘easy’ as your daughters, or maybe you’re just overlooking how talented your daughters really are.
Finally, as for Jason ’stealing’ the title ‘Ministry of Dance’…get over it! They are two separate schools and if you truly believe that he is destroying the ‘original MOD’ just by having the same name, then you have bigger issues.
Note: There is a reason Ministry of Dance performers are booking jobs all over the place, it’s not because they’re living through Jason Coleman’s name, but because they are truly talented individuals.
Bianca….
i am sure that jason colemans ministry of dance is fabulous, and im sure you guys down in melbourne are fantastic..
But the owner of the penrith MOD is being forced to change her studio’s name all because she is the little person… she came up with that name on her own and having someone take ur name for the same thing (a dance school)then being forced to change it. How would you feel if that happened to you???
Its just not fair for her…
If she never auditioned for SYTYCD he would never have that name for his school… so in a way he does have her to thanks…
Bianca, You are half correct. I dont fully understand how talented my girls are as they develop and train daily to improve themselves daily. Also, I personally am not a dancer, just a parent who has spent the last8 years watching the development of my two in there classes… But in saying that, I based my comments on not only the Summer School, but also the fact that my girls had attended MOD from its inception. I continually gave it chances to develop and bring forward what was continually sprouted as being on offer and it was never (and still hasn’t for most) been delivered on. Things at MOD are not as rosy as you might make out. I have just heard that Kelly Aykers has left ( rumored to be a falling out with Jason) and that a few other KEY instructors are leaving….. Now, some of the others, I dont think would make a difference, but Kelly leaving is a big statement on the quality that will now be on offer there. Bianca, you have a right to attend any dance school you want, my issue (like many others) is that a dream is being sprouted that cant be delivered by MOD. Direct quote from JC at the summer school (overheard spoken to this parent) “I have out 1.2 million into this studio and all you parents do is complain, if you dont like it, go elsewhere” This parent was only asking about a change in the summer school program, not complaining. JC needs to understand that these “Parents” are the ones paying for his studio. Without us, his 1.2 million is just a big ass white elephant.
As an adjudicator of dance, I find coleman inept. I’ve seen the work coming out of his studio and it’s not good. My children go to one of Melbourne’s longest running professional dance studios and my 9 year old’s technique runs rings around anything of his so why would I even consider moving them. My son is about to do his second dance tour of Disneyland so his teacher is obviously on the right track. Don’t be star struck by his celebrity. He’s not very good and hides behind the tv show. Personally I wouldn’t waste my money or time or put my children’s dance careers at risk with him. 6 of my students left me to go to him and within a term 5 were asking to come back and 1 was so disillusioned, she gave up dancing altogether. The main complaint was the terrible standard and lack of discipline. He was just interested in the fees being paid but the kids were learning nothing.
Does it really matter. One studio is in NSW and one is in VIC! They are hardly going to steal each others business. JC wouldn’t have been able to register the same business name as an existing one so what’s the problem. I reckon the original Penrith business would have had a lot of free PR simply by JC choosing a similar name and all of the subsequent discussion. Otherwise they would still have been a suburban icon – not a national name. Get over it. I’m in Perth and would not ever have heard of the name except for the association with JC. Get a life.
Its not as simple as you may think…
the owner of the penrith studio registered her business name in 2006-2007 (registered) and yes you can register the same business name if it is only the slightest bit different.The problem is at the time of her registering the name it was not up from trade marking therefor she could not trade mark her name. She then auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance, and had her studio name on her forms… jason coleman then made his school and called it the same, but being in different states he can name it the same.
The name then become available for trade marking… and because jason has alot of money he would be able to trade mark the name before this penrtih studio would be able to , which would force her to change the name of her studio which she had come up with first and has built a reputation in sydney with… jason coleman can trade mark his name just for the use in victoria so that we can both have the name and it wouldnt affect us, but instead hes bein selfish and trying to trade mark it for all of australia. Soo at the moment they are in the middle of a legal battle.. Its a matter of Money vs Principal