About

Providing exceptional dance education in Canberra since 1990, Lisa Clark Dance Centre is a leading performing arts school with a proud international reputation for excellence in Classical Ballet. Home to over 250 students, LCDC offers outstanding training across both vocational and recreational pathways, delivered in a supportive, professional, and inspiring environment where every dancer is encouraged to reach their full potential.

About Lisa Clark Dance Centre

Established in 1990, Lisa Clark Dance Centre began as a small ballet school of just 30 students, dancing once a week at a local community centre. More than three decades later, LCDC has welcomed thousands of students through its doors and grown into a thriving performing arts community supporting dancers from ages 3 to 18 and beyond.

Today, LCDC operates from its own purpose-built premises in Hume, providing high-quality training to over 250 students across both recreational and vocational pathways. Over the years, LCDC students have achieved outstanding success locally, nationally, and internationally. Graduates have gained entry into world-renowned institutions including the Australian Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Hamburg Ballettschule, New Zealand School of Dance, Houston Ballet School, VCA and WAAPA, with many going on to secure professional contracts with companies such as The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, The Moulin Rouge, Universal Studios and international cruise lines.

LCDC students have also represented the school with distinction at major international competitions, including the Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competitions (formerly the Genee International Ballet Competition), the McDonald’s Ballet Scholarship, Prix de Lausanne (Switzerland), and the Youth America Grand Prix (New York).

In 2011, the school evolved from the Lisa Clark School of Ballet into the Lisa Clark Dance Centre, reflecting both its growth and its expanding opportunities for students. This commitment to excellence continues today through professional performance experiences, including annual concerts held at the Playhouse Theatre or The Canberra Theatre at the Canberra Theatre Centre, and a diverse class offering across ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, acro, pre-school dance, and adult classes.

At its core, LCDC remains dedicated to providing exceptional dance education within a supportive, empowering, and inclusive environment — where students are encouraged to grow not only as dancers, but as confident, capable individuals.

Our Directors

Lisa Clark

Director

Jasmin Durham

Co-Assistant Director

Charlotte Clark

Co-Assistant Director

Our Facilities

Lisa Clark Dance Centre is proud to offer one of Canberra’s premier dance training facilities. Our purpose-built studios provide a professional and inspiring environment where students can train safely, focus deeply, and feel at home. For many dancers, the studio becomes a second home — a place where discipline, creativity, and community come together.

LCDC features four spacious studios across two levels, each fitted with sprung floors designed to support safe and healthy dance practice. All studios are equipped with barres, mirrors, reverse-cycle air conditioning, and Tarkett dance flooring — a professional non-slip vinyl specifically designed for dance.

The centre is also equipped with a piano and full audio-visual facilities, allowing us to support a wide range of classes, rehearsals, coaching sessions, and performances.

Additional facilities include private changing cubicles, a designated student area for preparing for class and storing bags, a private common room for senior students, bathroom and shower facilities, and comfortable café-style waiting areas for parents.

LCDC also features a dedicated Pilates studio with three reformer machines. This space is used by students in our Day School program to support strength, conditioning, and injury prevention, while also offering small-group reformer classes for parents and adults during weekday evenings. The studio is also used for specialised training support, including pointe readiness assessments, physiotherapy consultations, and other student wellbeing services.

We also have a purpose-built, soundproofed singing studio used for professional recording and singing lessons. For more information about singing lessons, please visit www.jarednewall.com.

The entire centre has been professionally designed and approved by the relevant authorities and is fitted with comprehensive fire and security systems. Ample on-street parking is available for families.

At LCDC, every aspect of our facility has been thoughtfully designed to support dancers at every stage of their journey — from those taking their very first class to students pursuing advanced training and professional pathways.