A curated guide to dance schools Australia · United States

Southbank · Melbourne

Dance Schools in Southbank

Southbank holds the densest cluster of national dance institutions in Australia. Two of the country's most significant — The Australian Ballet School, the official feeder to The Australian Ballet, and Chunky Move, the contemporary dance company — operate within a few blocks of each other inside the Melbourne Arts Precinct. There are no generalist children's recreational studios in Southbank, and that absence is structural: the precinct is built around institutional companies and venues, not local school networks. The two active schools below sit at opposite ends of the dance spectrum.

Where they sit: Kavanagh Street, alongside the Arts Centre Melbourne and the National Gallery of Victoria (The Australian Ballet School) · Sturt Street, two blocks south of Hamer Hall (Chunky Move).

Pre-professional classical training

The Australian Ballet School is the country's national pre-professional ballet training institution, founded in 1964 by Dame Margaret Scott and operating as the official feeder school to The Australian Ballet. Programs span Early Learning classes from age three, public part-time training, and the full-time vocational program for ages 11–21 with boarding and scholarship pathways. The school sits on Kavanagh Street, immediately alongside the Arts Centre Melbourne and the National Gallery of Victoria in the Melbourne Arts Precinct.

Southbank

The Australian Ballet School

Ages 3–21

Australia's premier ballet training institution in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, established in 1964 as the official feeder school to The Australian Ballet.

  • Ballet
  • Contemporary
  • Children's Dance

Contemporary company classes for adults

Chunky Move is one of Australia's longest-running professional contemporary dance companies, with a dedicated Southbank studio two blocks south of Hamer Hall. The company runs year-round public classes for adults at beginner and open levels, taught by professional dancers — a different model from Australian Ballet School's pre-professional pipeline, and the only adult-community contemporary classes inside the Arts Precinct.

Southbank

Chunky Move

Adults only

Ages 18+

Contemporary dance company in Southbank offering year-round public classes for adults at beginner and open levels.

  • Contemporary