Images courtesy of Marc Chang & MSS Image.
Our Director:
Ming-Li “Minx” Turhan
At the heart of Minx's brand is a passion and respect for the history and culture of street dances. As a creative and storyteller, she encourages her students to be strong advocates for dance culture and effortlessly creates an environment for everyone to express their own individuality and style.
With over 15 years teaching, choreography and judging experience, Minx is a versatile dancer who specialises in all styles of street dance from Hip Hop to Dancehall to Salsa, but is especially known for her prowess in Reggaeton and Latin Fusion. She has had the privilege of performing and teaching in Europe, North America, Asia and all over Australia.
Her proudest dance achievements include five Australian professional solo Reggaeton titles and featuring in So You Think You Can Dance Australia’s top 100 dancers. Her competition troupe, MFassis Crew, has won 15 National titles to date and continues to entertain crowds worldwide. She was also the youngest recipient of the “Award of Excellence for her commitment to the Australian Latin dance scene” in 2019.
As the founding director of The MBassy Dance Studio and with over a decade of experience in national event management amongst various street dance communities, Minx has the vision to strengthen the Melbourne street Latin scene through community-driven and collaborative projects.
Why choose The MBassy Dance…
Quality
Our instructors are of an International standard with teaching, training, competition, performance, and/or judging experience at a world level.
Welcoming
We believe anyone can dance and our studio is a zero judgement zone. You don’t even need a dance partner to join!
Legacy
Not only have many of our students become National champions, our teachers often coach other dance teachers!
What makes us different…
Our maestros…
Images courtesy of MSS Image.
Gökay “Kai” Turhan
Melbourne and Australia is lucky to have an international talent like Kai with his unique and gentlemanly style of Salsa On2!
With over 10 years’ experience in dance, Kai has a versatile background in ballet, modern, funk, and street jazz, however, he found his true calling and fell in love with dancing salsa On2. An eight time National champion in Turkey, Kai has also taught at and directed international dance festivals.
Kai’s teaching repertoire includes salsa, bachata, chachacha, kizomba, and men’s styling, and his prowess as a dance instructor and coach is attested by the scores of national champions nurtured under his guidance.
Kai is passionate about sharing his views on musicality and fusion of dance through Mambo Moderna with the Australian dance community.
Jane Casson
Jane, an accomplished dancer, has graced stages worldwide as a soloist with The Australian Ballet and The Royal New Zealand Ballet. Her performances have spanned the globe, from the UK and Wales to China, Japan, and France. A career highlight was her performance at the 2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, attended by Her Majesty the Queen.
Jane’s exceptional talent has been recognized with nominations for the Telstra Dancer of the Year Award in 2004 and 2007. In 2007, she was nominated for and won the esteemed Green Room Award for 'Best Female Dancer for her year's work with The Australian Ballet'.
Further enriching her dance education, Jane was the recipient of the Lissa Black scholarship from The Australian Ballet. This allowed her to study with renowned ballet companies such as The Paris Opera Ballet, Ballet de Nice, Ballet de Monte Carlo, and the Hamburg Ballet.
In December 2019, Jane made a triumphant return to the stage, joining the popular children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles. She toured nationally around Australia and appeared as a dancer on their ABC for Kids television series, Wiggles World.
Passionate about sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience, Jane enjoys guiding adult dancers in honing their performance and technical skills. She finds immense joy in helping them grow as dancers and artists in the studio. Outside of dance, Jane cherishes time spent with her young family and takes great pleasure in witnessing the dedication and growth of her adult dancers from one class to the next.
Tony Keeble
Tony Keeble has an infectious passion for the performing arts which shines through his teaching, performance, and choreography work.
Tony holds a Bachelor of Dance from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne and a Master of Teaching (Secondary) from Victoria University, Melbourne. With a strong background in Jazz, Contemporary, Classical Ballet, and Acrobatics, his skills extend to both choreography and teaching. As a professional dancer, Tony has performed in various projects and productions with companies such as Opera Australia, Ausdance Victoria, FX Entertainment, Puffing Billy, and Vertical Shadows Dance Company. He has also been featured in Dance Train Magazine.
As a Choreographer, Tony has worked on numerous musicals in secondary schools, in addition to his role as National Coordinator at Wakakirri, which provides regular story-dance programs and workshops as part of Australia's largest Performing Arts events for schools.
His desire to share his love of dance with the next generation creates a nurturing and welcoming classroom for students of all ages.
Steve Fernandez
Steve’s passion is sharing his love for social dancing with his students.
With over 10 years of teaching experience, Steve’s journey began in 2006 when he worked as a professional dancer on board the MS Holiday for two years. Since then, his teaching career has spanned many dance schools throughout Australia, training with some of the best Latin teachers in the country.
Steve has competed internationally and placed 8th in the world in 2010. With several National titles to his name, he is not only a decorated competitor, but a passionate instructor.
Steve's classes are entertaining with easy-to-follow instructions, and his goal is to make sure his students can dance with anyone in the world, in any nightclub, to any style.
Images courtesy of MarK Taylor & MSS Image.
Images courtesy of MSS Image.
Poorang Haghjoo
An Australian made Latin dance addict, Poorang is a familiar and well-loved face in Bachata social dance and competition community.
With the belief that competitions are one of the pathways to self-growth regardless of the results, Poorang holds multiple Australian titles. He is also certified by Korke y Judith (founders of bachata sensual (Spain) as a Bachata Sensual Official Instructor, and a Certified Judge by Billy Fajardo (World Salsa Summit Director-Miami).
Poorang mostly focuses on techniques and concepts with a flavour of fun socially safe leadable combos. Coming from years of experience in sports and belly dance, he also has a well-rounded street Latin dance background having trained salsa, bachata, samba, and reggaeton.
Poorang has always believed in being born-to-learn and continuous growth, so he places a strong emphasis on learning basics and foundations, soft and safe lead and follow, and advocates one-on-one goal based long term coaching.
Ria Patel
Movement and creativity have always been an integral and special part of Ria Patel’s life. She began her journey as a dancer in Indo Jazz – a fusion of Kathak (form of Classical Indian dance) and Jazz, Bollywood and Contemporary, performing around Australia and India; very soon after, she pursued a career in acting in U.S and Australia.
With over 15 years of dance experience, her love for movement inspired Ria to explore her body further in Yoga. She's completed over 250 hours of teacher training in Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, and Restore yoga from Bali, India and Australia. She encourages her students to connect to themselves, spiritually, emotionally, and physically; and aspires to create a nourishing space where they have the option to choose how they practice. Ria offers Yogic philosophy that is simplified (respectfully) and accessible, while providing a better understanding of the alignment for the asana practice too.
Her experience as a dancer brings great body awareness and as an actor, she brings another layer of empathy to connect with her students on the mat. Yoga leaves her feeling connected and whole, and this is her intention for students as they complete each class.
Lyda Chan
Lyda's journey into wellness has been intricately woven with her belief in the transformative power of yoga. For her, yoga isn't just a practice—it's a sanctuary where she discovers serenity amidst life's hustle and bustle, and an invigorating space to uplift her spirits when needed.
Her devotion to yoga led her to delve deeper into its essence, prompting her to pursue teacher training in 2016. Since then, Lyda has been sharing her expertise, guiding practitioners in yoga and Pilates. Upon returning to her hometown of Hong Kong in 2017, she devoted six fulfilling years as a full-time teacher at Pure Yoga, the city's largest yoga studio.
Lyda's holistic approach extends beyond yoga; she is a certified Australian personal trainer and fitness professional. In her classes, she seamlessly blends her understanding of anatomy and body movement with dynamic sequences and the rich heritage of Sanskrit pose names. Her teachings encompass explanations of how poses influence the body, ensuring adjustments cater to individuals of all ages, abilities, and fitness levels.
Driven by her passion for yoga, Lyda's primary aim is to empower her students, helping them discover their physical strength and inner calmness. In her classes, participants embark on a journey towards self-discovery and well-being, guided by Lyda's expertise and heartfelt dedication.
The MBassy Dance is proudly sponsored by MSS Image Professional Photography
