A Successful International Summer School at The McDonald College
Another very successful International Summer School was held at The McDonald College prior to Term 1.
The incredible faculty included:
- Alexander Campbell, the Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance
- Claire Calvert, currently a First Soloist with the Royal Ballet Company
- Paul Boyd, who is currently a resident choreographer with the Queensland Ballet Academy
- Iohna Loots, ex-soloist with the Royal Ballet Company, who taught classical ballet and repertoire classes
- Sarah Bakker, ex-musical theatre dancer/singer on Broadway and the West End, did jazz with the students
- Alex Rolfe, who conducted Gyrokinesis ® classes
- Sian Sherwood and Kristen Hockley both did an incredible job with the junior students in ballet, repertoire, lyrical, jazz, and musical theatre.
- Kate Dunn, Head of Musical Theatre and also an ex-dancer from the West End and Broadway, gave some acting lessons for dancers.
Due to inclement weather, the final day demonstration had to be relocated to the Fraser Auditorium, which was a tight squeeze for all the students’ parents, relatives, and friends. However, it was still a lovely chance for the students to showcase what they had learnt during the week.
Sue Haack, Emily Burns and Sienna Micallef all did an amazing job of assisting with the significant volume of administration and the marketing was excellently managed by Jenny Markwart and Gabe Pace.
ISS 2026 is planned for 12th – 16th January 2026, and we look forward to welcoming more students and faculty from around Australia and internationally.
