About us

The school
The method
The teacher




The School


Brooks School of dance was established in 2004. Its aim is to promote the love of classical dance and music among young dancers as well as adults. The philosophy behind the school’s approach is that ballet classes provide a healthy physical activity not only for professional dancers. Classical ballet promotes good posture, strength, flexibility and coordination. As a character builder it encourages
self-discipline and self-confidence. At the artistic level it develops an appreciation of music and at the same time is great fun.

The school offers the following classes:

Creative movement (from age 3) These classes offer a rewarding experience of creative expression and are designed to enhance movement skills, imagination, musical and sensory awareness.
In this class we explore physical concepts such as personal and shared space , directions, rhythm, speed, and energy. Our routine exercises include balance, strength, flexibility and coordination through which the children learn about the complexity of their own body, it's movement range and controlling the movement. At the core of the lesson we use movement stories to stimulate the child's imagination. These stories are inspired by our everyday life. Each lesson has a different theme.

Pre ballet (from age 6) These classes are structured as a combination of creative movement in preparation for classical ballet. We teach the basic postures and ballet movements using an integration of musical games and stories. Great emphasis is placed on coordination and flexibility.

Ballet (from age 8) The classes are taught using the Vaganova method that emphasizes artistic expression in ballet together with a high level of technique.

Studio location:

Wyndham Gate Commercial Centre - Unit 107, first floor, 22-30 Wallace Avenue, Point Cook.


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The Method

Introduction to the Vaganova Method of classical ballet taught in the Brooks School of Dance.

There are a number of methods in use around the world for teaching the art of classical ballet.
The English method- R.A.D (Royal Academy of Dance), the Italian method- Cecchetti, and the Russian method Vaganova, are the ones most used. All of them are very efficient and successful in teaching classical dance to young dancers and all lead to professional results, that is, to become a professional dancer, provided it is accompanied by the right attitude, willpower and of course talent.

Having experienced both R.A.D and Vaganova methods, I chose to continue the Russian ballet heritage (from which emerged some of the world’s best dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Rudolph Nuriev and Michael Baryshnikov) and teach the Vaganova method.

Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951) began her career as a brilliant dancer at the Maryinsky Theatre, but her worldwide recognition came after she left the stage for good in 1916, in favour of her search for a personal approach to ballet on the basis of a critical examination of the experience of her contemporaries. The Russian stage at the time was influenced by the French and Italian schools. The French school, being graceful but unnecessarily artificial and sweet and the Italian school, which had a high level of technique and virtuosity, had led Vaganova to be more conscious of her desire to investigate the "science of ballet" to find effective means of training classical dancers.
She sought in her pupils, emotional expressiveness, strictness of form and a resolute and energetic manner of performance. Vaganova developed a meticulous teaching process where a considerable complexity of the exercise is directed at the creation of a virtuoso technique. But the main aspiration was to teach dancers a conscious approach and deep understanding of the correct coordination of every movement. Vaganova’s system aimed at teaching pupils to "dance with their whole body", to acquire harmony of movement and to widen their expressive range.
The Vaganova method is an eight- year study program. Each year is divided into several lessons that are built in a gradual manner from easy to difficult, simple to complex. These structured classes are a basis on which changes and improvements are constantly made according to the pupil’s ability, the conditions and the progress made. Or as Vaganova herself wrote in one of her last articles: “Look at life around; everything is growing, everything is moving forward. Therefore I recommend keeping in touch with life and with art."
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL BALLET, Russian Ballet Technique, Agrippina Vaganova

About the teacher

Born 1978, Ayelet Brooks discovered the joys of dancing at the age of five and hasn’t stopped dancing since... Her training by Lydia Feingersh in Tel-Aviv also included ballet summer schools at Tring outside London and the Kirov School of Ballet in St. Petersburg. For the past ten years she has been teaching classical ballet and creative movement in Melbourne and overseas, introducing the magical world of music and dance to young people and adults.