Jason Coleman to host Peninsula School of Dance’s 65th anniversary gala celebration

One of the Mornington Peninsula’s longest-standing performing arts institutions, Peninsula School of Dance (PSD), will celebrate 65 years of dance, community and cultural impact with a landmark Gala Dinner hosted by internationally renowned performer, producer and choreographer Jason Coleman.

The special event will take place on Saturday 3 October 2026 at the RACV Cape Schanck Resort and will bring together past and present students, families, alumni and community supporters for an elegant evening celebrating the rich legacy of the school.

For Coleman, hosting the evening is deeply personal. A former student of the school, founded in 1961 as Rosebud Ballet School, he has often credited founder Sandra McKay OAM (Sandra Allan) as the teacher who instilled his lifelong love of dance.

“Rosebud Ballet School was my home,” Coleman previously shared in an alumni interview for the school’s Legacy Project. “It was my school, my club, my friends. It was my happy place.”

The Gala will also recognise another family whose connection reaches right back to the school’s beginnings. Hellen Sky, acclaimed dancer, choreographer, digital artist and co-founder of Dancehouse, will attend the celebration, where her family will be honoured for their role in the founding of Rosebud Ballet School.

It was Hellen’s mother who first approached Sandra Allan about teaching ballet in Rosebud, offering to organise a hall, a piano and a group of students if Sandra would travel to the Peninsula to teach. Sandra agreed, and in 1961 began teaching 23 students at the Rosebud Memorial Hall, laying the foundations for the school that continues 65 years later.

Hellen went on to forge her own significant career in Australian dance and was a co-founder of Dancehouse, an organisation she once described as “a home of independent movers” that supports “the bold, the brave, the rare, the fragile.”

The 2026 milestone also marks 20 years of leadership by current Director Melanie Gard, who took over the school from Sandra in 2006 following her remarkable 45-year tenure.

From those first 23 students at Rosebud Memorial Hall, PSD has grown into a thriving multi-generational performing arts community, now supporting more than 300 students each week across ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, hip hop, acro and musical theatre.

“Peninsula School of Dance has always been about more than teaching dance,” said Gard. “It’s about creating connection, confidence and community. To now celebrate 65 years of the school, alongside my own 20th year as Director, feels incredibly meaningful.”

The Gala will feature canapés and a two-course dinner, guest speakers, live dance and musical performances, and a specially commissioned alumni performance work. Guests will also receive a preview of the school’s 65-Year Legacy Project, an initiative focused on preserving archives, photographs, artefacts and alumni stories through professional documentation and a commemorative documentary.

Recent alumni success stories continue to highlight the school’s impact beyond the Peninsula. Olivia Gard has recently commenced a professional performance contract with Disney Cruise Line, performing in major Broadway-style productions aboard the Disney Wish, while Australian Idol finalist Lachie Clue also trained at Peninsula School of Dance during his formative years.

Past and present alumni have gone on to work nationally and internationally across professional dance companies, musical theatre productions and the wider arts industry as performers, teachers, choreographers, technicians and creatives.

Despite its growth, PSD remains firmly connected to the local community through performances, partnerships and programs that support participation across all ages and abilities.

“Dance schools like PSD become part of the fabric of a community,” Gard said. “We see students grow from tiny preschool dancers into adults pursuing incredible opportunities and often returning years later with children of their own. That continuity and connection is something really special.”

The 65th Anniversary Gala will bring that story full circle, from the family who helped bring Sandra Allan to Rosebud in 1961, to alumni such as Jason Coleman returning to celebrate the school that helped shape their careers, and a new generation of dancers carrying that legacy forward.

Tickets for the PSD 65th Anniversary Gala Dinner are now available, with alumni and members of the wider Mornington Peninsula community invited to join the celebration.

For Gala and ticket information visit https://peninsuladance.com.au/psdgala/.

Peninsula School of Dance. Photo credit Sharlene Harvey