My name is Michelle Heine and I was born in Zambia. I, myself, began dancing at a very young age at the June Cloete Dance Academy at age 3. I joined the Zimbabwe National Ballet Company at 16 and by the age of 17 I was the youngest dancer to be offered a contract at Sun City, South Africa. I performed in 3 contracts in amongst meeting my husband.
After retiring from dance I went to become the Public Relations Manager at Sun City Resort, Southern Africa where I was responsible for 3 hotels and an entertainment center. During that time, it was decided that we wanted to raise our children in Australia. Unable to find the quality of classes I was looking for, I eventually began teaching dance to my children in my garage in Calwell and ever since then, the studio has grown, improved and seen thousands of shy young faces become capable young adults over more than 3 decades of ‘Legs’.
‘Legs’ is a unique school and we have a very high standard of training. We’re well known for our old-school ways that makes dance, as a discipline, famous. We’re nationally recognized as being leaders in the Canberra dance community. From bringing the first international choreographers to Canberra to our award-winning end of year productions, we are well known for setting the pace for dance in Canberra.
As a teacher, my passion and strength as a teacher is coaxing the full potential out of my students. There are numerous ‘Legs’ alumni who are performing professionally all over the world yet some of my proudest moments as a teacher are when students who are thriving in all sorts of industries, send me a message to thank me for the skills ‘Legs’ gave them and the life lessons they learnt under my guidance.
Dance gave me the opportunity to perform professionally and experience a lifestyle that I never could have dreamed of. It taught me time management skills, the value of hard work, the patience and tenacity to push through adversity and gave me the confidence to build and run a successful business after I’d hung up my dancing shoes. I’ve been affording the same gifts to my children and students for over 30 years and that is what ‘Legs’ is and will always be built on.