Dance magic at the Potato Shed with Adult Ballet on the Bellarine

IT HAS been more than a decade since Allegonda Deppe took the plunge and moved from Western Australia to Clifton Springs to enter “retirement”.

After closing her ballet school, she was convinced her teaching days were a thing of the past.

Gearing up to devote her time to other passions, Allegonda’s mindset suddenly changed when she walked through the Potato Shed in Drysdale and discovered an opportunity too rare to ignore.

“There was a dance studio and a theatre,” she says. “I opened The Ballet School at the Potato Shed soon after in August, 2008.”

Widening her school’s demographic in 2016 by introducing new classes, Allegonda now offers two classes for adults on the Bellarine.

“Level 1 is for people who have little or no experience in dance and the Level 2 advanced class is for people who have had many years of dance training and performance experience,” she said.

With more than 30 years’ experience in professional dance training and teaching, Allegonda describes her journey to dance as a continuing voyage of discovery.

“I have had such a fortunate career in dance teaching. Ballet has always been my teaching strength, but knowledge of other dance forms is imperative for any teacher. I am glad for my experience in contemporary dance, national dance, tap and Spanish dance.”

Unable to remember when she first tried her hand at dancing, Allegonda said she has visions of herself twirling around the living room in her childhood home. By the age of 10, she was organising and hosting neighbourhood dance concerts from her parents’ backyard.

Eager to transition from the small stage to the big stage, Allegonda began formal ballet training as a fiveyear- old.

“I went on to join the West Australian Ballet Company under the director of Mde Kira Bousloff and Mde Gundi Ferris,” she said.“But my yearning to teach was still nagging at me.”

Studying the Cecchetti method of classical ballet training with the West Australia Ballet, Allegonda developed a love and respect for the method.

Following six years of disciplined study, she achieved the fellowship level in teaching classical ballet, the highest level for teaching in the Cecchetti International Classic Ballet organisation.

Passionate about passing on her wealth of knowledge, Allegonda keeps her class numbers small and intimate to ensure all students receive appropriate attention.

Her dance school was a part of the first Bellarine Dance Fest last year, which saw dance schools from the Bellarine and the Geelong region come together in a non-competitive event.

The event will run on May 25 and May 26 this year, with master classes presented by special guest teachers Megan Connelly (Australian Ballet) and Robert Sturrock (Industry Dance Melbourne).

On February 10, workshops “An Introduction to Ballet” and “Burlesque dance” will be presented by Allegonda and fellow dance teacher Tessa Janus.

For more information, phone Allegonda on 0432 784 3