Events 2025
2025 events – for information only.
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Mariah-Jane Thies
workshop tour August- September 2025
Mariah-Jane Thies is an award-winning Canadian dance educator with a 40-year career dedicated to innovative and holistic training. Specialising in ballet and modern, she draws from brain science on stress, learning and developmental movement to create The Radiant Dance Teacher course suite to enhance both technical skills and embodied and real learning.
A registered RAD teacher, mentor, and teacher supervisor, Mariah-Jane holds a dance teacher degree from GMCC and is a certified Evans Laban-based Modern teacher. Her expertise and certifications extend into Brain Gym and Rhythmic Movement Training, where she focuses on integrating primitive and postural reflexes to optimize movement, learning, and performance.
In 2024, she was honoured with the RAD Innovation in Dance Teacher Award for her groundbreaking work on the ideal brain state for learning and performance and her leadership in building The Radiant Dance Teacher, a thriving community of 3,000 educators. She is also a requested content creator for The Library Aesthetic Dance Media, an exciting new online platform for dancers and teachers.
A sought-after speaker, Mariah-Jane presents internationally at conferences such as IADMS, NDEO, RAD, Body-Mind Centering and the World Congress of Dance, continually pushing the boundaries of dance education.
Click here to read the feedback from Mariah-Jane’s last Perth workshop in April 2024!
In conjunction with WACBTA, Mariah-Jane is offering an amazing smorgasbord of personal and professional development opportunities during her visit! Learn new skills and concepts, discover new strategies for old problems, and even develop new income streams!
Check out the list of options below:
Bring Mariah-Jane to Your Studio this September!
Fresh, Practical PD & Student Workshops – bookings now open. Elevate your studio with guest workshops from Mariah-Jane!
As well as the exciting range of external workshops she is bringing to Perth (see below), Mariah-Jane also has some availability during her visit for in-studio workshops, Masterclasses or seminars, private coaching of technique or choreography, or private Injury Release or Brain Gym/Reflex integration sessions, for metropolitan and regional studios.
Her workshops bring together brain-based learning, technique refinement, and creative artistry — giving both teachers and students tools they can use straight away.
What she offers studios:
For Teachers – practical PD sessions, coaching, class observations, and choreography polishing.
For Students – inspiring masterclasses, private coaching, and workshops on turnout, feet, alignment, artistry, and performance confidence.
For Studios – tailor-made programs: from a single evening, to a weekend intensive, or a week-long residency.
Whether you’d like to sharpen technique, boost performance quality before exams or competitions, or offer fresh professional development for your faculty, Mariah-Jane creates programs that fit your studio’s goals.
Perth dates are limited – now booking for September 2025.
Please contact Robyn Cooper on admin@wacbta.org.au or phone on 0417 170 969 if you would like to consider these opportunities for your studio.
Check some of the in-studio programme options by clicking here!
Availability as at 22 August is listed below (the coloured cells indicate available periods), but these are likely to fill quickly, so contact us now to reserve your times and Mariah-Jane will work with you to develop a personalised programme for your studio!
Upcoming Workshops
PLEASE NOTE:
If you are not able to attend in person, there will be Zoom options available. This can be watching the workshop live OR receiving the recorded workshop to watch at your convenience. This also applies to the 2 or 3 day workshops – participants who cannot make all the dates can choose a combination of live attendance, Zoom viewing of the live workshop, and/or watching a recorded session. The recording can be sent to you immediately so that you can watch it before the next session, if applicable.
BIG discounts are available for those who wish to attend multiple workshops!!
If you are booking workshops totalling 12 hours or more, use one of these discount codes at checkout when you make your bookings through Trybooking:
12-17 hours = 15% discount: Use code MJT12-17
18-24 hours = 20% discount: Use code MJT18-24
25 or more hours = 25% discount: Use MJT25+
Embracing the Future: A Symposium for Dance Educators
Embracing the Future: A Symposium for Dance Educators
Date & time: Friday, 29 August 2025 12.00pm – 2.30 pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $12.00 Refreshments will be served
Book through Trybooking
Overview: Why Attend?
• Discover cutting-edge approaches to dance teaching that support the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.
• Engage in thought-provoking discussion led by Mariah-Jane
• Network with other dance educators, exchanging ideas and forging collaborations.
• Learn about some of the hands-on workshops available with Mariah-Jane during August and September, which promise to provide immersive movement experiences, and practical sessions that you can take back to your classroom or studio.
• Gain fresh inspiration and practical techniques for addressing the evolving needs of students in a rapidly changing world.
Pre-concert prep for stage success (intro to Brain Gym)!
Pre-concert prep for stage success (intro to Brain Gym)!
Date & time: Sunday, 31 August 2025 9.30am – 12.45pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00
Book through Trybooking
Overview:
Take Your Recital Preparation to the Next Level!
Transform Studio Effort Into Show-Stopping Stage Success
After the choreography is polished, are you ready to truly ELEVATE your concert preparation? All those hours in the dance studio deserve to shine where it matters most: On the Concert Stage!
A memorable concert isn’t just about flawless routines—it’s about creating a positive experience for dancers and their families. The best way to have clients return year after year is to ensure the concert is a GOOD EXPERIENCE for both dancers and parents alike.
But what do you actually DO beyond perfecting the choreography and staying organised? How do you transform concert day from a source of stress into a celebration of excitement and achievement?
That’s where this great course comes in! It is designed to give you SPECIFIC strategies and EASY-TO-APPLY tools for your studio so you can answer that all-important question: “How do I make concert day a highlight of the year?”
Course Highlights:
• In-Studio Preparation Strategies that go beyond the basics
• Discover the 3 types of practice every dance needs to succeed on stage
• Learn how to build confidence in your dancers instead of perfectionism
• Find out what an ideal last class should look like to set your students up for success
Don’t let your hard work stop at the studio door. Give your dancers (and their parents) an outstanding concert experience—and keep them coming back for more.
Enrol today and unlock the secrets to concert success!
Become a Brain Dance Teacher!
Become a Brain Dance Teacher!
Date & Time: Monday 8, Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 September 2025 9.30am – 1.00pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00 per 3 hour session – Total $225.00
Book through Trybooking
Overview:
Give Your Youngest Dancers the Best Start with the Brain Dance!
Why Our Littlest Dancers Need Extra Support
Kids today aren’t the same as they were five or ten years ago—life’s just different now! That’s why it’s more important than ever to help our youngest dancers develop those basic movement skills. Many kids come to class without the foundation they need, just because they aren’t moving as much at home. More screen time means less active play, and that can make a big difference in their growth.
What’s Missing—and How We Can Help
The early years are all about moving, playing, and wiring up the body and brain for big things ahead. But with busy lives and more time spent indoors, lots of kids are missing out on the activities that build strong movement patterns. Without that foundation, it’s tough to build those awesome dance skills we all want to see!
Say Hello to the Brain Dance!
Looking for a fun, simple solution? Meet the Brain Dance! It’s a playful series of little “dances” set to music, like nursery rhymes, that guide kids through all six key movement patterns their bodies and brains crave. These patterns are the building blocks for coordination, balance, core strength, and full-body movement.
Super-Charge Their Development
What makes Brain Dance even more amazing? It adds tactile and vestibular stimulation—fancy words for the touch and movement experiences that help kids grow strong and connected. Created by Anne Green Gilbert at the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, the Brain Dance is not just clever, it’s a blast! Kids love it, and you’ll love seeing their skills flourish, whether they’re just starting out or ready to take things to the next level.
Easy to Learn, Easy to Teach
This 3 half-day programme is designed to help you bring the Brain Dance confidently into your classes. You’ll get clear, step-by-step instructions, delivered live and available online, so you can jump in right away. It’s all about giving you the tools to help every young dancer shine!
Unlock dance’s secrets – become a certified Body Detective!
Unlock dance’s secrets – become a certified Body Detective!
Date: Sunday 14 September 2025
Time: Main session 9.00am to 12.00pm, with an optional second session offered immediately after from 12.30pm to 3.30pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00 per 3 hour session – Total $150.00
Book through Trybooking
Unlock the Secrets of Dance: Join the Body Detective Workshop!
Exclusive Opportunity for Dance Teachers – 14 September 2025
Are you ready to elevate your teaching and empower your dancers, whether they’re keen, struggling, or anywhere in between? We invite you to embark on an inspiring journey at our Body Detective workshop, designed specifically for dance educators who strive to make a difference.
Become a Dance Detective!
What does it mean to be a detective? It’s about curiosity, observation, and piecing together clues to reveal the bigger picture. As a Body Detective, you’ll learn to:
• Look for crucial clues in movement patterns
• Notice subtle details that others overlook
• Ask the tough, insightful questions that lead to discovery
• Uncover how the body works—in general and uniquely for each dancer
• Find solutions and strategies that foster progress for all students
Why Join?
As a dancer, the body is your instrument. But do you truly know how it works—in both design and your own unique context? This workshop offers you the tools and training to become a better observer, a more effective problem solver, and a champion for all your students.
Reserve Your Spot
Spaces are limited! Don’t miss your chance to become a certified Body Detective and bring transformational change to your classroom this year. Register today for the main workshop and add the optional second session for an even deeper dive.
Together, let’s unlock the mysteries of movement and inspire dancers to reach their full potential!
Vitality Dance Training – for brain-body intelligence & fun!
Vitality Dance Training – for brain-body intelligence & fun!
Date and Time: Monday 15, Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 September 9.30am – 1.00pm daily
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00 per 3 hour session – Total $225.00
Book through Trybooking
Vitality Dance Training – 3-Part Immersion
Learn to Bring Radiance, Brain-Body Intelligence, and Joy to Your Classes
Discover how to weave the principles of Vitality Dance into your own teaching through this dynamic 3-part training designed for dance teachers, movement educators, and wellness facilitators. You’ll walk away with tools to uplift your students’ coordination, confidence, and creativity — while supporting brain integration, nervous system regulation, and whole-body vitality.
This experiential training breaks down into three focused segments:
Foundations
Explore the underlying principles of Vitality Dance, including the power of Brain Dance, developmental movement patterns, and Brain Gym. Learn how these brain-smart tools create easeful, coordinated, and expressive movement.
Application Strategies
Discover how to adapt and layer these concepts into your existing classes. Whether you’re teaching adults, or seniors, you’ll gain strategies that make your classes more engaging, brain-friendly, and deeply supportive.
Progressions
Learn how to evolve and scale the work — from simple patterning to more complex choreography — while supporting nervous system resilience, fluid strength, and long-term movement vitality.
This training blends theory with plenty of joyful, embodied practice — so you leave not just knowing the work, but feeling it in your bones.
Open to dance teachers, movement educators, somatic practitioners, and anyone passionate about intelligent movement.
For more information, check out the programme on Mariah-Jane’s website!
https://www.radiantdancer.com/vitality-dance-programme
No prior experience with Brain Dance or Brain Gym required.
Teaching Young Children: Strategies and Skills for Success!
Teaching Young Children: Strategies and Skills for Success!
Date and Time:
Part 1 – Thursday 18 September 2025 9.30am – 1.00pm
Part 2 (Optional) -Friday 19 September 2025 9.30am – 1.00pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00 per session – Total $150.00
Book through Trybooking
Teaching Young Children: A Two-Part Series for Dance Educators
Nurturing Foundations for Joyful and Meaningful Learning in the Early Years
In this dynamic and practical two-part series, internationally respected dance educator Mariah-Jane Thies shares insights drawn from almost 40 years of experience teaching young children. You’ll gain essential knowledge and tools for working with this age group in a way that is developmentally informed, emotionally attuned, and deeply engaging.
This course goes far beyond choreography and classroom games—providing an integrated understanding of how young children learn and how to craft dance experiences that truly support their growth.
Drawing on Brain Gym and developmental movement patterns, Mariah-Jane will guide you in supporting whole-brain learning and optimizing the body-brain connection to enhance attention, coordination, and emotional regulation.
Part 1: Understanding and Foundations
• Learn how to manage your own emotional state to model regulation and foster a calm, connected classroom.
• Explore how learning actually happens in the early years—and how dance teachers can support real, embodied understanding.
• Discover how young children process information, and what this means for sequencing and structuring a dance class.
• Understand how developmental movement patterns lay the groundwork for posture, balance, coordination, and readiness for dance skills.
• Create an environment that nurtures safety, creativity, and joyful learning.
• Explore how Brain Gym tools can support focus, emotional balance, and integrated movement learning.
• Understand the importance of social interaction in this age group and how to harness it in your classes.
• Clarify age-appropriate physical expectations to support both safety and growth.
Part 2: Application and Integration
• Learn how to prioritize what to teach and when, using child-centered progressions that support natural development.
• Master classroom management strategies that support focus, flow, and cooperation without stifling creativity.
• Explore how to develop spatial awareness and movement concepts through playful, purposeful activities.
• Understand how to teach directly to the developing right brain using imagery, story, and metaphor.
• Practice using narrative structure and engaging imagery to deepen learning and bring dance concepts to life.
• Support young dancers in developing musicality and artistry through creative exploration.
• Learn the art of co-creation—inviting young children into the learning process while still guiding with intention.
• Integrate Brain Gym movements and developmental sequences into warm-ups, transitions, and dance explorations to enhance readiness and self-regulation.
Whether you are new to teaching this age group or refining your approach, this course will leave you with fresh insights, practical tools, and renewed inspiration for your teaching practice.
Students: Unlock Mobility, Strength & 3D Pointe Potential!
Students: Unlock Mobility, Strength & 3D Pointe Potential!
Date and Time: Sunday 21 September 2025 9.00am – 11.30am
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $40.00
Book through Trybooking
Pre-Pointe Training for Students Course Description
The Radiant Foot: Unlocking Mobility, Strength & 3D Pointe Potential
Transform your dancing from the ground up by learning how to truly train your feet—not just stretch and strengthen them. In this powerful and practical course, you’ll discover why mobility must come before strength and how releasing tightness can immediately improve plié, fondu, and ability to full pointe and utilize your highest 3/4 pointe.
Explore the incredible design of your arches—your body’s natural springs—and learn how to activate them to act like the shank of a pointe shoe, supporting both power and elegance. We’ll dive into the 3D point of the foot, showing you how to achieve that sculpted, lengthened look through full-body integration, avoiding toe gripping and crunching toes.
You’ll learn why brain-body connection is essential for achieving this level of articulation and why therabands on the floor aren’t enough. Instead, you’ll experience weight-bearing strategies that develop true strength, function, and control—so your feet can support your artistry safely and beautifully.
Best of all, you’ll leave with hands-on tools you can use at home or before class to continue building mobility, strength, and healthy alignment—without pain or strain.
**Perfect for pre-pointe, pointe, and any dancer wanting fully functioning and healthy feet.
Teachers: Rethinking Pointe training for spectacular results
Teachers: Rethinking Pointe training for spectacular results
Date and Time: Sunday 21 September 2025 9.00am – 12.45pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $75.00
Book through Trybooking
Pre-pointe training workshop (for teachers) – Observing the student class, plus a special Bonus for Dance Teachers: Q&A Session — Rethinking Pre-Pointe Training
Immediately following the student course, join us for a special Dance Teachers’ Q&A Session
where we’ll challenge outdated approaches and reveal what truly prepares a dancer for pointe
work. This session will address the most common misconceptions in pre-pointe training and
offer practical insights you can bring back to your studio right away.
We’ll explore the Top 3 Mistakes commonly made by teachers and students alike:
1. Over-focusing on Strength Alone
Too often, pre-pointe training starts and ends with “make them stronger.” But without addressing mobility, joint articulation, and proper fascial engagement, strength becomes restricted and less effective—and can even lead to compensation patterns that delay progress.
2. Isolating Calf Strength
The calves are only part of the story. A narrow focus here ignores the critical role of the intrinsic foot muscles, arches, and the brain-body connection needed for full-foot articulation and resilience en pointe.
3. Focusing Only on the Body, Not the Dancer
Pointe readiness isn’t just physical. We’ll explore how ignoring the development of a
dancer’s noticing and sensing skills, inner motivation, at-home safety awareness, goal setting, and functional anatomical literacy can set them up for confusion and burnout.
Pointe work demands not just physical readiness but also maturity, discernment, and
body-brain connection.
This Q&A offers a chance to rethink your approach to pre-pointe training—so it becomes not just a checklist, but a truly empowering rite of passage for your students.
Bring your questions and walk away with a more holistic, functional, and dancer-centered
framework.
Injury Release Method Training to support injury recovery!
Injury Release Method Training to support injury recovery!
Date and Time: Monday 22 September 2025 9.30am – 12.00pm
Venue: Perth School of Ballet, 36 Jersey St, Jolimont WA 6014
Cost: $80.00
Book through Trybooking
Injury Release Method Teacher Training Workshop
The Injury Release Method Teacher Training is a powerful course designed for dance teachers, mature dancers, and movement professionals who want to support real recovery from chronic or lingering injuries.
Rooted in applied kinesiology, Brain Gym, and emotional release techniques, this method addresses the nervous system trauma often left behind after injury. Participants will learn hands-on tools to help dancers regain mobility, confidence, and coordination. It’s practical, somatic, and transformative—for your students and yourself.
Open to:
Dance teachers, student teachers, physiotherapists, chiropractors, and movement educators
In this workshop, participants will:
Learn what the Injury Release Method is, why it works, and how to apply it Gain an understanding of how trauma and the Moro Reflex affect healing Learn applied kinesiology techniques and how to perform muscle testing (in standing and lying positions) Experience guided partner work to support hands-on learning Receive step-by-step handouts for ongoing use and reference Understand safety protocols and cautions for working with injured dancers Participate in Emotion Code Clearing to help release emotional residue related to past injuries Personally address and resolve your top 3 injury patterns—because your healing matters too!
This training is ideal for anyone who wants to help students:
Regain confidence and trust in their bodies Improve flexibility, coordination, and control Experience true freedom and ease of movement Reduce risk of re-injury by addressing root causes
Whether you’re a dance teacher who’s seen students quietly struggle after an injury…
Or a movement professional looking for deeper tools to support dancers’ recovery…
This training offers practical, effective techniques you can start using right away.
Spots are limited, and we’d love to see members of our teaching and wellness community take advantage of this opportunity. This course gives you the opportunity to create a new income stream by offering one-to-one sessions with your students to help them heal!
