Dalcroze Australia
Formed in 1971, Dalcroze Australia exists to promote Dalcroze Eurhythmics music education. We offer workshops and professional training across Australia, and Australian Dalcroze teachers also teach in the UK, Canada and Asia.
Dalcroze Australia
Formed in 1971, Dalcroze Australia exists to promote Dalcroze Eurhythmics music education. We offer workshops and professional training across Australia.
Dalcroze Australia is recognized by the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and FIER (Fédération Internationale des Enseignants de Rythmique) as the official Dalcroze training centre in Australia. Dr Sandra Nash OAM represents Australia as a member of the Collège of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva.
The Dalcroze Australia committee comprises members from across our vast country, representing interests in a range of Dalcroze Eurhythmics Applications.
STUDENT GRANTS
Dalcroze Australia offers a limited amount of funding to Australian Training Track students to assist in the completion of their Dalcroze teacher training. To be eligible for a grant, the applicant should be an Australian resident or citizen and a current financial member of Dalcroze Australia; the applicant should have already begun working on the Dalcroze Training Track; and should show commitment to completing the training and working as a Dalcroze practitioner in Australia.
Applications for assistance are considered in two funding rounds ending 30 June and 31 January. Please download the Grant Application Form here, or contact info@dalcroze.org.au for more information.
patron
Dr Joan Pope oam
When Joan was seven
… at her Saturday morning barefoot-creative dance-education lessons with Dorothy Fleming, she loved the music the accompanist ‘made up’. Years later she found out Mrs Vincent was a graduate of London School Dalcroze Eurhythmics.
When Joan was seventeen
… on a year-long family trip to England, her mother encouraged her to attend the London Training Centre of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.
When Joan was seventy
… she commenced a PhD on the ‘pioneering’ Dalcroze Eurhythmics teachers in Australia and New Zealand. The research revealed how Dalcroze experiences had inspired her mother who attended classes in Perth with Irene Wittenoom the first Australian graduate in 1918, later participating in given by touring Ethel Driver, Cecilia John and Heather Gell in 1923 /1924 and incorporating ‘rhythmic work’ in her physical education and folk dancing work at Claremont Teachers College.
Joan ‘lifelong learner’: BA, Dip Ed. [preschool] (UWA); B Ed [Arts in Education]. M Ed [Early Childhood Studies] (ECU); PhD [Historical Music Education] (Monash) gaining the ASME Sir Frank Callaway Award. Licentiate Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Aust. School Music and Movement, Sydney); Diplộme Superieur (Institut Jaque-Dalcroze Geneva); Advanced Cert.Art & Design (TAFE. WA); LRAM (mime), LRAM (speech & drama) (London).
The Committee
Katherine Smith
President
Katherine holds the Master of Music in Performance and Research, the Bachelor of Music in Performance, and the Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Western Australia. She has completed the Dalcroze Licentiate (DEIEB) with Dalcroze Australia, supervised by Dr Sandra Nash OAM and Dr Joan Pope OAM. Katherine also holds the Australian Kodály Certificate (KMEIA). Initially trained as a classical clarinettist, Katherine worked for several years as a freelance orchestral and chamber music clarinettist, performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles in Perth, and teaching clarinet with the Education Department’s Instrumental Music program. Katherine is currently the Music Specialist and a foundation staff member of Riva Primary, a public Inclusive Education school in Perth. Here she teaches music to children aged 4 - 12 from diverse cultural backgrounds with a range of special education needs in an inclusive setting. Katherine has also worked in Early Childhood music settings including the University of Western Australia’s Junior Music School, and as a sessional academic in Music Education for Edith Cowan University. Katherine has delivered many workshops in the Dalcroze approach at the state and national level including teaching at Dalcroze Australia Summer Schools, and has presented papers internationally at the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (online, 2022) and at the International Dalcroze Congress (Geneva, 2023). Katherine is passionate about movement and singing in school, the role of embodied learning in music education, and inclusive practice.
cindy fox
VICE PRESIDENT AND treasurer
Cindy Fox is a music educator, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Her performance career encompasses solo, chamber and orchestral works, across a diverse range of genres including classical, contemporary and improvisatory styles. Cindy is a multi-instrumentalist performing on piano, vibraphone, violin, tuned and auxiliary percussion and found sound objects including bike wheels, water bottles and river stones. With a growing practice in electronic styles, the loop pedal has joined this list with its ability to extend a performer’s practice. The loop pedal will form part of the creation of the new theatre work, “ViV!” Since graduating with a performance degree in piano from ANU in 2005, she has developed a teaching and performance practice that places emphasis on developing the individual. With additional training in Alexander Technique she has developed a teaching method that has accessibility and inclusivity in art-making at its core. She is also currently a Dalcroze Certificate candidate. Along with running a busy piano studio, Cindy leads workshops for students of all ages and abilities throughout the Central West Region. She is a mentor to emerging educators, and has been Musical Director for several musical theatre works.
Recent projects include the Vision 20/50 project (supported by Arts OutWest through the Regional Arts Fund and by Charles Sturt University), development of a new theatre work ViV! (supported by Regional Arts Fund and Create NSW), as well as a grant to run workshops for a mixed-ability theatre group (supported by a CASP grant from Arts Out West).
kimberly lee
secretary
Kimberly is an experienced music educator who tailors her teaching to each student. She is currently on the Dalcroze Training Track.
Rev. Geoffrey Usher
chairperson
JP, BA, MA, MPhil, DipT, LTCL, LSDA, MACE
Geoffrey Usher, as nephew of Lesley Cox, had many years of exposure to Dalcroze Eurhythmics. This helped provide the foundation for his training to become a performer on stage. He has been a high school English and drama teacher, teacher of business communication at a TAFE college and worked as a professional actor. As a minister of the Unitarian Church, Geoffrey has served in Sydney and England.
For a large part of his adult life he was on the committee for the Dalcroze Society of South Australia and later was Treasurer for the Dalcroze Society of NSW. After 19 years in England, he has returned, and is happy to renew his involvement with Dalcroze in an administrative capacity.
Wendy Gumpl
COMMITTEE MEMBER AND IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Cert. Dalcroze, DipT (Primary)
Wendy Gumpl is a music educator in Adelaide. She works with children and staff at long-day-care centres and runs a piano studio for beginners of all ages. Dalcroze Eurhythmics is central to her professional work.
She has also studied Orff, Kodaly, and Montessori methodologies during a long teaching career which includes primary and tertiary students.
After twenty years of teaching Early Childhood Music and Movement, she is now into the third year of a mentoring program with her EC colleagues, assisting them to develop the skills and confidences necessary to ensure informal daily musical experiences for their children 0-4 years. She has led many teachers’ workshops. She continues to gain insights into the challenges facing educators who have little or no formal music education.
Peter Roberts
public officer
MMus (NSW), MA, MusB (Dublin), MTheolStud (ACU), MEdStud, GradDipEd [Religious Studies] (SA), BA, DipMLT (Sydney), BA (Wollongong), BBus (Swinburne), GradDipEd [Teacher-Librarianship], GradCert TESOL (Charles Sturt), AdvCert (RWCMD), Dip School Admin (Armidale CAE), LTCL, ASDA, Gold Medal – Speech (LAMDA), AALIA, MIMT
A retired teacher with degrees in music, drama, education, philosophy, theology and business, Peter was the first president of the national organization Dalcroze Australia, having previously been president of the Dalcroze Society of New South Wales. He has been active in the administration of many non-professional arts organisations over the last five decades and sees the teachings of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze as not only fundamental for music educators in the early stages of learning but also in the development of the maturing artist.
renat yusupov
committee member
Renat Yusupov is an accomplished musician, cellist, and educator who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of musical excellence and nurturing young talents.
His musical journey began at the esteemed State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, where he studied cello under the guidance of Professor Bukin N. A. From 1992 to 1999, he served as the assistant principal cellist of The National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan and held the prestigious position of concertmaster at the State Conservatory.
Renat’s passion for music extended beyond his own performances, as he eagerly embraced the role of a cello teacher. His wealth of experience and expertise led him to instruct musicians at leading private colleges such as The Australian Institute of Music (Sydney), Ascham School for Girls (Sydney), and St. Patrick’s College Strathfield (Sydney). Through his guidance, numerous students discovered their own musical potential and developed a deep love for the cello. Driven by his unyielding commitment to providing a comprehensive music education, Yusupov turned his attention to the Dalcroze Approach. Renat beliefs that it provides young musicians with a solid foundation for a lifelong musical adventure.
The Dalcroze approach places a strong emphasis on the integration of movement, rhythm, and improvisation in musical training. By engaging the whole body in the learning process, students develop a deeper understanding of musical concepts, enhanced rhythmic accuracy, and an increased sense of expressiveness. This approach resonated deeply with Yusupov, who firmly believes that a comprehensive and immersive musical education is essential for cultivating well-rounded musicians. Renat Yusupov has completed his Dalcroze Certificate, having studied under renowned Dalcroze practitioners from the UK, Canada and Australia.