Meet the Aussie dancer chosen to run one of the world's most prestigious dance schools
At 13, Melissa Toogood took a deep breath and made a call that changed her life.
The teenage dancer from Campbelltown had just watched students from Newtown's School of Performing Arts at the annual Schools Spectacular. She was blown away.
'I called the school and I asked to audition,' she says. 'I was scared. But, hey, it paid off.'
She was accepted and began taking her first steps towards an international contemporary dance career.
'You can't wait for an opportunity to come your way. I'm a shy person, but when it's mattered, I'm willing to put myself out there,' she says.
Three decades on, Toogood's stellar career has just taken a giant leap. She has been appointed dean and director of the Juilliard School's dance division in New York, one of the world's leading performing arts institutions.
She will be responsible for nurturing a new generation of contemporary dancers and will have up to 90 young dance students under her wing. It will mean largely moving away from performing, but at 43, she is ready to step out of that limelight.
'I still want to live an artful life,' she says. 'But I don't want to be the one making it all the time any more. I'll be able to put together all these skills that I've already been working on into one job, at a time when I feel more inspired to help other artists with their careers than my own.'
Toogood has spent most of her career in New York. She went to the United States at 18 to pursue her dance studies, and since then she's worked with many leading dance companies and choreographers.
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Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Meet the Aussie dancer chosen to run one of the world's most prestigious dance schools
At 13, Melissa Toogood took a deep breath and made a call that changed her life. The teenage dancer from Campbelltown had just watched students from Newtown's School of Performing Arts at the annual Schools Spectacular. She was blown away. 'I called the school and I asked to audition,' she says. 'I was scared. But, hey, it paid off.' She was accepted and began taking her first steps towards an international contemporary dance career. 'You can't wait for an opportunity to come your way. I'm a shy person, but when it's mattered, I'm willing to put myself out there,' she says. Three decades on, Toogood's stellar career has just taken a giant leap. She has been appointed dean and director of the Juilliard School's dance division in New York, one of the world's leading performing arts institutions. She will be responsible for nurturing a new generation of contemporary dancers and will have up to 90 young dance students under her wing. It will mean largely moving away from performing, but at 43, she is ready to step out of that limelight. 'I still want to live an artful life,' she says. 'But I don't want to be the one making it all the time any more. I'll be able to put together all these skills that I've already been working on into one job, at a time when I feel more inspired to help other artists with their careers than my own.' Toogood has spent most of her career in New York. She went to the United States at 18 to pursue her dance studies, and since then she's worked with many leading dance companies and choreographers.
The Age
5 days ago
- The Age
Meet the Aussie dancer chosen to run one of the world's most prestigious dance schools
At 13, Melissa Toogood took a deep breath and made a call that changed her life. The teenage dancer from Campbelltown had just watched students from Newtown's School of Performing Arts at the annual Schools Spectacular. She was blown away. 'I called the school and I asked to audition,' she says. 'I was scared. But, hey, it paid off.' She was accepted and began taking her first steps towards an international contemporary dance career. 'You can't wait for an opportunity to come your way. I'm a shy person, but when it's mattered, I'm willing to put myself out there,' she says. Three decades on, Toogood's stellar career has just taken a giant leap. She has been appointed dean and director of the Juilliard School's dance division in New York, one of the world's leading performing arts institutions. She will be responsible for nurturing a new generation of contemporary dancers and will have up to 90 young dance students under her wing. It will mean largely moving away from performing, but at 43, she is ready to step out of that limelight. 'I still want to live an artful life,' she says. 'But I don't want to be the one making it all the time any more. I'll be able to put together all these skills that I've already been working on into one job, at a time when I feel more inspired to help other artists with their careers than my own.' Toogood has spent most of her career in New York. She went to the United States at 18 to pursue her dance studies, and since then she's worked with many leading dance companies and choreographers.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Their own little groups': TikToker slams Sydney culture
A UK expat has been slammed for warning people against moving to Sydney, saying his negative experience of Australia made him return home within six months. TikToker Dan Lezar, who appeared in the Netflix series Cheat: Unfinished Business, said he made 'the mistake' of not 'living by the beach', which meant he was unable to live the 'Aussie dream'. Instead, Mr Lezar lived in Newtown in Sydney's inner west, where he had come to play cricket. 'I've never struggled with mental health until I went there,' Mr Lezar said. 'It's so hard when you don't live in the same area. Everyone has their own little cliques, their own little groups, so it's very hard to break into that. 'It would take me like 30, 40 minutes to get anywhere near a beach.' Mr Lezar said that while some people go to Australia to 'find themselves', he 'lost' himself. 'My issue was where I was living, it felt like I was back home, there wasn't a lot to do, yet I was on the other side of the world with no friends,' he said. He also said that when it was sunny, the beaches would be 'so packed' you didn't want to be there. The Netflix actor is from a small town in South Wales, in the UK and said rent prices shocked him. Mr Lezar revealed he was paying $350 a week for a room in Newtown while friends in Bondi were paying up to $500 a week in rent. 'If you are not from London and you go to Sydney you realise how expensive it is,' he said. Many in the comments were quick to slam his take. 'Why are people so obsessed with living by beach? Especially in Sydney? There is so much more to our amazing country than Sydney,' one commenter wrote. Across 2023-24, the net overseas migration from the UK to Australia was 446,000, down from 536,000 a year earlier, according to the ABS.
