About us

A hall, a kettle, andseventeen years of turning up.

DanceMantra Inc is an incorporated not-for-profit association in Keswick, South Australia. We exist so that expressive movement is available to people who would otherwise never set foot in a dance studio.

Our mission

To make expressive dance and movement genuinely accessible to every person in Adelaide's inner south-west — improving physical and mental wellbeing, strengthening cultural connection, and building friendships that outlast the class.

Our vision

A South Australia where movement is treated as ordinary community infrastructure — as unremarkable as a library card, and just as free at the point of use.

Our values

Five things we won't trade away

Inclusivity

If the room isn't reachable, affordable and legible to you, that's our problem to fix — not yours to overcome. Ramps, seated options, subsidised places, interpreters on request.

Expression

We teach form because form gives you something to say. We don't grade, rank or audition. The point is the saying, not the polish.

Health

Movement is preventative health. Our sessions are designed with allied health input and we refer out when something needs more than a dance hall can give.

Culture

Every dance carries the people it came from. We name the source, invite the community it belongs to, and pay teachers properly for their knowledge.

Community

We are member-run. Decisions are made in the open at the AGM, and anyone who has attended three sessions can nominate for the committee.

Our history

How we got here

2009
Selene Green begins Tuesday-night sessions in the back room at 48 Everard Ave. Eight participants, one borrowed cassette player.
2011
Incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1985 (SA). First elected committee of five. ABN issued.
2014
Gentle Movement launches with referrals from two Ashford physiotherapy practices. Waiting list within a term.
2017
Youth & Multicultural Arts Outreach begins with the Migrant Resource Centre. First Spring Showcase at the Goodwood Institute.
2020
Sessions move to a phone tree and driveway visits through lockdown. We keep every subsidised place open and lose no members.
2022
Movement therapy program formalised under an accredited Dance Movement Therapist. Child Safe policy adopted in full.
2025
1,140 participants across the year, 38% of places fully subsidised, 62 volunteers on the roster.

Leadership & governance

Elected by members, accountable to members

Our steering committee is elected annually at the October AGM and meets on the first Monday of each month. Minutes are pinned to the hall noticeboard and emailed to members. Committee roles are voluntary and unpaid.

Selene Green

Founder & Chairperson

Physiotherapy assistant, Bharatanatyam-trained in Chennai. Has opened the hall most Sunday afternoons since 2009.

Marcus Whitlam

Treasurer

Retired credit union branch manager, Keswick resident of thirty-one years. Prepares our annual financial statements for the AGM.

Nour Haddad

Secretary & Cultural Programs Lead

Dabke teacher and community interpreter. Coordinates our work with the Migrant Resource Centre.

Dr Amara Osei

Committee Member — Wellbeing

Registered Dance Movement Therapist (DTAA). Supervises the therapeutic program and staff debriefs.

Jenny Kalogeropoulos

Committee Member — Volunteers

Runs the volunteer roster, the working-with-children check register and, unofficially, the supper table.

Tyson Agius

Committee Member — Youth

Kaurna man, former participant, now leads the Thursday youth session and our schools liaison.

Advisory board

Kaurna cultural adviser (engaged sessionally through Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation)
Independent financial reviewer — Renshaw & Co, Adelaide
Child Safe adviser — a former SA Department for Education wellbeing coordinator
Allied health adviser — senior physiotherapist, Ashford practice

Instructors

Priya Nair — Bharatanatyam & contemporary fusion
Bec Tanner — Gentle Movement, seated and standing
Sam O'Halloran — Hip hop, youth Thursdays
Nour Haddad — Dabke and community line dance
Eleni Vasilakis — Greek folk and intergenerational sessions

All instructors and volunteers working with young people hold a current Working With Children Check issued by the SA Screening Unit.

Official details

Registered name: DanceMantra Incorporated
Entity type: Incorporated Not-for-Profit Association
ABN: 28 442 314 485
Registered office: 48 Everard Ave, Keswick SA 5035, Australia

Read our financial transparency & governance statement