Her 13 year career as a professional ballet dancer started with The Australian Ballet in 1985 under the direction of Maina Gielgud where she remained for 2 years, covering a broad range of classical and neo-classical repertoire. Here, Serena had the honour of working with some of the 20th century’s Ballet Greats including the late Erik Bruhn in La Sylphide, Sir Robert Helpmann in Checkmate and Irina Baronova in Les Sylphides and had the opportunity to dance soloist roles in a number of ballets including Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Les Sylphides and Aureole.

Moving to Europe, she danced for companies in Italy, Germany and the UK, performing the lead roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Giselle and A Midsummer Night’s Dream throughout Europe, Britain and parts of the USA .

She was Ballet Mistress for Vienna Festival Ballet between 1992 and 1994 which involved teaching daily class, rehearsing and staging ballets for the company. She was commissioned to choreograph and stage Coppelia in 1993 also playing a key role in designing the sets, costumes and props. In between tours Serena was a guest teacher at The Urdang Academy for upper school students.

On retiring from the stage in 1998, she retrained in technical theatre and toured England and Ireland as a lighting technician for both dance and theatre companies. She then moved into corporate life, working in different sectors as a Personal Assistant, Manager and more recently as an Analyst for her second Department of Health Pilot.

Her strong desire to return to the Dance-world saw her gain a place at the Royal Academy of Dance’s Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma Course last summer where she gained a Distinction and qualified as a registered RAD ballet teacher.

Serena is keen to pass on her experience and knowledge and is delighted to be teaching for Donna’s Adult Beginner’s Ballet Course. She looks forward to leading some fun and challenging classes!