Camberwell District Ballet

Professional ballet in Melbourne.

Both my daughters have been at Camberwell District Ballet School for over 3 years now, and the results speak for themselves. The quality of teaching here is genuinely outstanding. The teachers are knowledgeable, attentive, and bring out the best in every student. My daughters have achieved results I'm incredibly proud of - progressing through their exams with flying colours and growing in confidence and technique with every term. On top of that, the community is wonderful and the end-of-year performances are a highlight for our whole family. If you're looking for a ballet school that delivers real results in a warm and supportive environment, Camberwell District Ballet School is the one.

I had a similarly distressing experience with this ballet school many years ago - I see nothing has changed. The female owner seemed to me vulgar and rude, and she and another teacher were belittling and unkind in class. The male owner was seen yelling disparagingly at another parent. When I objected to anger in the classroom, my daughter's enrolment was terminated without any consideration for her. Videos of students were being recorded without permission, and I held concerns about male access to the girls' changing room. I would give this school a big miss. It holds lots of promise, but fails to deliver on decency.

I have 3 children and had my fair share of expreince with after school classes and lessons. This place left me completely shaken up and speechless. The owner old lady is ego- centric and mean- spirited. At the end of year concert, she yelled at me with such anger in front of everyone just because I asked if I could stay as a helper (I have a working with children check and also there were a couple of mum helpers there already) given my daughter is the youngest in the group. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving a 5 year old alone for more than half a day at the backstage of the concert venue in an unfamilar suburb. She kept on screaming at me asking me to get out and then replaced my daughter’s part in the show on the spot. My 5 year old was absolutely petrified and heartbroken. The other little girls were super upset by it as well. The whole thing was so ridiculous, guess who was the paying customer! She also “kindly” reminded me no refund on the $300 I paid for the concert inc costume and tickets. Yes I want my girls to learn classical ballet as I did for the entirety of my childhood. But child safety always has to come first. If the ballet school does not respect that it is a big no no. I have also witnessed her body- shaming a 6 year old in my group, telling her that she is wearing the largest size of costume and her tummy is sticking out. To sum up, the owner does not care about the kids, neither has the right character for working with children. All she wants is the complete power over you. What a joke.