KIM HARVEY
SCHOOL OF DANCE
2027 Guest Teachers
Contemporary
Cadi McCarthy
Cadi McCarthy has been actively engaged in dance as a professional dancer, choreographer, educator and director since 1996. Cadi founded Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub in the NSW regional centre, Newcastle in 2014. Cadi has received numerous awards nationally including: Create NSW regional mid- career fellowship, and a Churchill Fellowship in dance.
Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub supported by Creative Australia, Create NSW and across local governments, is a contemporary dance and multi-arts organisation for choreographers, professional dancers, multidisciplinary artists, emerging artists and young people. Based in Newcastle, NSW, Catapult provides a support structure for dance and multi-disciplinary artists and participants to develop their professional practice, gain skills and collaborate across disciplines through commissions, professional choreographic residencies, international exchanges, collaborative intensive practice, masterclasses, outreach programs and community classes. Her works for Catapult Company include: That Place In Between, Grappling for the Edge, At Sea, Drift, Awkward, Duel, Dance Terrain, as well as others.
From 2009 to 2012 Cadi was the Artistic Director of Buzz Dance Theatre. With the company she created 10 full-length works including Behind the Veneer, Restless, Fragile, Stop! Don’t Blink, Goodbye Jamie Boyd (a collaboration between Sydney based theatre company Monkey Baa and Buzz Dance Theatre) and Look the Other Way. In 2014 the work Look the Other Way received an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth and Community Dance. The community programs she established with the company include the largest Artist in Residence Grant (AIR) in Australia, further developed the Big Stretch program recipient of the WA Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community/ Regional Dance
As a recipient of a 2007 Churchill Fellowship, Cadi spent time working with dance companies in Denmark, UK, Germany, USA, and Canada. In the same year she was awarded a choreographic residency at Chez Bushwick in New York. In 2009 Cadi travelled to Taiwan as the Australian delegate of the World Dance Alliance, International Choreographic Project.
Before this position, she created the independent company Cadi McCarthy & Company in the ACT (2002 – 2009). As an independent artist in Canberra she was the recipient of the 2004 & 2006 Canberra Critics Circle Awards in Dance. She also danced professionally with Paige Gordon and Performance Group (1996 – 1998) and with Buzz Dance Theatre (1998–2001).
Classical
Viktoria Rosek
Viktoria Rosek - Bio coming soon
Lyrical
Jake Keen
Jake Keen is a Melbourne-based performer, choreographer and dance educator with a background in musical theatre, commercial dance and contemporary movement. Having trained at Transit Dance and worked professionally across stage and live performance, Jake brings a strong understanding of performance quality, musicality and movement detail into the studio.
As a teacher and choreographer, Jake is passionate about creating work that encourages individuality, intention and authentic expression. His classes combine dynamic movement and technical exploration with a supportive environment where dancers are encouraged to challenge themselves, take creative risks and develop their own artistic voice.
Musical Theatre Repertoire
TBC
2026 Guest Teachers
Classical
Alicia Townsend
Alicia Townsend has dedicated her life to being a dancer. She trained with her mother at the Annette Roselli Dance Academy before completing her training with the Queensland Ballet Academy and Queensland Ballet Pre-Professional Program where she also performed and toured with the Queensland Ballet Company.
Alicia then decided to venture overseas where she danced with the National Moravian–Silesian Theatre in the Czech Republic, The National Ballet of Ireland, English National Ballet (London), Greek National Opera Ballet and Ballet International Gala.
During her time as a ballerina, she has danced a variety of classical repertoire including the principal role of ‘Kitri’ in Don Quixote, amongst other roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Cinderella and more. She has also danced a vast variety of contemporary repertoire and has toured to countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Egypt, the Greek Islands and throughout Australia & New Zealand.
At 27 years of age, after a 9 year career and 7 years in Europe, Alicia made the decision to retire and return home to Australia to begin a life with her partner in Canberra.
In 2025, she will be pursuing her second dream which is studying a Bachelor of Midwifery and continuing to share her love of dance through teaching. Alicia has always loved teaching and has had years of experience teaching at the Annette Roselli Dance Academy where she has also choreographed award winning solos and groups. She also loved teaching baby ballet classes at various studios across London.
Contemporary
Omer Backley-Astrachan
Omer Backley-Astrachan is a choreographer and educator with a diverse artistic background. His body of work spans choreography, installation, film, multimedia, and research.
As a performer, Omer has worked with leading companies and choreographers including Kamea Dance Company, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Idan Cohen Dance Company, Jerusalem Dance Theatre, Marina Abramovic, Mel O'Callaghan, Kay Armstrong, Dean Walsh, Sue Healey and Joshua Thomson.
Over the past decade, Omer has been working within the heart of Australia's arts industry. He continuously engages with Sydney Dance Company, Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub, Dance Makers Collective, and FORM, all of whom play a crucial part in supporting his career and the development of his practice.
Omer has created four full-length works, including Rhapsody, Valley, TOHU, and his newest work, Common Place which will tour to Vancouver in November 2025. His body of work has been supported by organisations such as Create NSW, Ausdance NSW, Bundanon Trust, BrandX, Catapult, PACT, Readymade Works, and Critical Path, among others.
In 2018, Omer was appointed Course Coordinator at Sydney Dance Company's Pre-Professional Year, where, for the next five years, he mentored the next generation of leading dance creatives in Australia. Omer also created two works with the Pre-Professional Year dancers, including Fugue (2020) with esteemed composer Jane Sheldon and Folk (2021) for their Carriageworks season.
In 2024, Omer was appointed producer and associate artist with Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub. In this role, Omer collaborates with Catapult to support the independent sector in all its facets. Throughout his creative partnership with Catapult, Omer created three dance works, including Twelve Tall Trees (2017), Human Remains (2020), and Rhapsody (2023) which presented as part of the New Annual Festival. Omer actively advocates for progress in the dance sector. He does so through a multitude of roles including mentoring, producing, choreography and education.
Omer’s contributions have earned recognition through peer and press reviews, and presentations at renowned global venues.
Musical Theatre Repertoire
Alyssa Wallace
Alyssa Wallace graduated from the Kim Harvey School of Dance before completing her full-time training at ED5 International.
She has worked with leading choreographers including Stephen Tannos, Daniel Assetta, Sally Dashwood and Michael Corbett, and has performed alongside icons such as Rhonda Burchmore and Leo Sayer.
Alyssa brings her professional experience to the studio, where you could be learning musical theatre repertoire from hit shows like &Juliet, Hamilton, Wicked, SIX, Chicago, Matilda and more!
Alyssa will be performing the the Free-Rain theatre Company upcoming production of & Juliet in April 2026
Jazz
Sophie Dimoff
Sophie Dimoff trained in all dance genres at Kim Harvey School of Dance from 2017 to 2020 during her high school years, with jazz being her true passion.
She also completed two years at Brent Street, earning a two Diplomas of Dance (Elite Performance).
Sophie loves teaching jazz and sharing her passion for dance, inspiring others to enjoy stylistic movement and express themselves through performance.