Jungle Cats Cheerleading, Aerobics and Dance is a chance for us to share our combined experience and dreams with today’s youth. We are both locals who understand that each student has different goals, needs and aspirations and is not just a number. We aim to bring the best out of our students, without the need to yell or demean. It is our belief that individuals thrive and develop a passion for the sport through encouragement and support.
Dance has it’s foundation in every culture and every belief, Aerobics has grown and remained strong since the 70s and cheerleading is growing exponentially, first in the USA, now in Australia, only recently being approved as an Olympic sport. We are all very excited to be a part this evolution of dance and movement to music and are looking forward to sharing Jungle Cats with you.
Amanda
Co-owner, Principal and Head Coach
I began dancing at the age of five. I have been trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, Tap, acrobatics and Hip-hop. I have completed exams in Ballet, Jazz and Tap and have competed in every style! I began cheerleading in 2010 and have loved it ever since! I have competed levels 1-5 both in Australia and Internationally!
I began teaching both Dance and Cheerleading as soon as I was old enough and have been teaching ever since! I have coached level 1 through to 4 and have experience coaching every age level!
Since 2011 I have coached multiple teams to win State and National championship titles as well as two highest scoring routines! In 2015 and 2016 I was given the position as Cheer Operations Manager at Bullets Allstars! Where I also obtained my Cert IV in Business Administration and Frontline Management.
International Achievements
2015
Competed Level 5 with Pure Allstars at NCA in Dallas Texas
Competed Open Jazz with Mathis Dance Studios at the World Championships at Disney World, Orlando Florida
Danced in Disneyland Parade & at California Adventure, Anaheim, California
Danced at Universal Studios, California
2016
Took a Senior Coed 3 team to compete at NCA in Dallas Texas where they came 6th.
Competed level 5 with Pure Allstars at the World Championship at Disney World, Orlando, Florida
I cannot wait to get to know all of your beautiful children and be able to help the grow and achieve new things next year! I want nothing more than your children to leave their classes with a smile on their face! I’m super excited for next year and I hope you are too! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me!
Lizzie
Senior Cheerleading Coach
Over a period of over 10 years, I had train in varying different styles of dance including Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary and Tap. After discovering that it was the performance that was what attracted me to dance, I fell in love with cheerleading in 2011 when I joined my first competitive team. I found a strength and power in Cheer that boosted my confidence like crazy and I became a whole new person. In 2013 I started coaching and never looked back, coaching kids skills within the gym as well as fostering traits that they can take and use outside of the gym is my passion and love. Cheerleading has brought amazing opportunities like performing with guy Sebastian at the Australian open, being WNBL cheerleader for the Dandenong rangers and performing and the Frankston waterfront festival. I have competed overseas at NCA in Dallas, Texas and I have competed at the world championships in Orlando, Florida both in 2016. I am credentialed to level 2 by the USASF.
Steph
Dance & Aerobics Coach
HI! My name is Stephanie Scott and I am so excited to be given the opportunity to teach and help build the program here at Jungle Cats. I have danced for as long as I can remember and have been teaching dance since I was 15 (that’s 20 years … ahhh!). I have taught jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical, dancenastics and hip hop as well as specialty classes, performance and competition teams and VCE in various studios and schools. I have directed and helped build three studios and have danced in professional companies throughout California. I am a credentialed teacher and have spent the last 12 years teaching at the high school level both in California and in Victoria. A California native, my 6 – 12 month trip to Australia turned into 7 years after meeting my now husband. We got married in July of 2011 and, in March of this year, had a beautiful baby boy!
I believe that dance should be fun! Taking dance classes not only teaches students how to dance but also teamwork, patience, spatial awareness, confidence and respect. These important qualities are lifelong traits that your child will take with them from this experience. I expect students to come to each class excited and ready to learn. I look forward to seeing this program grow and watching the students’ skills improve week in and week out!
I love working with kids of all ages and am looking forward to hopefully having the chance to work with each of yours. Please feel free to come up and have a chat or ask any questions you may have for me. I look forward to meeting you and your child!
Tahlia
Senior Cheer Coach
I began gymnastics when I was three, as I grew older I was competing at a national level.Then I moved to dancing at the age of 10 where I danced competitively for 3 years in the genres: Jazz, Ballet, Hip hop, Contemporary and Tap. My dance school introduced an acrobatics class which I fell in love with, so I began to look for a sport that was slightly dance and gymnastics that’s when I found cheerleading. At the age of 13 I started cheerleading and ever since i have had a passion for it. I’m currently 18 and have been involved in competitive cheerleading for 4 years. I joined the Jungle Cats family as a coach in 2016 and I love the atmosphere here. I think that coaching is so rewarding being able to watch the students grow each week is what drives my passion. I’m excited for this new year and look forward to seeing the Jungle Cats family grow!
Jordan
Dance Coach
Hi! My name is Jordan and I danced competitively for 5 years in the genres; jazz, contemporary, hip-hop and ballet. I then completed units 3 and 4 in VCE dance.
I taught Jazz and contemporary and am so excited to be getting back into it this year! I love teaching, building relationships and watching my students improve week by week, especially in such a fun and supportive environment!
Rikki
Senior Aerobics and Cheerleading Coach
My name is Rikki Andison, I’m 17 years old and am currently completing year 12, I study and live in the Bayside area of Melbourne. I began partaking in Dance lessons at 3 years old and have followed this through for the past 15 years. Over this time I have been trained in Ballet, Contempoary, Jazz and Funk. At 7 years old I started Gymnastics competing as an Elite National Gymnast, over my 6 years of competing I held many state and regional titles including Victorian State Champion in 2013. In 2013 I joined Aerobics and Cheerleading at my secondary school. Since then I have competed for the past 5 years and will hopefully continue to compete into the future. In 2015 I received my first coaching job at my school coaching the year 7 aerobics team and coached again in 2016. 2016 I began my first out of school coaching role as a Recreational Gymnastics coach at my local club and at Jungle Cats as an assistant Cheerleading coach. Since then have been working hard and pushing the boundaries to succeed within myself and teams I coach having all my aerobics teams and soloists in 2017 place in Top 3 at every competition it was an amazing achievement for myself and the athletes. I am very passionate about what Jungle Cats has to offer and am very excited to meet and train with you and your children and grow together ! Bring on 2018.
Jasmine
Senior Aerobics & Hip Hop Coach
Hi, my name is Jasmine and I have been at Jungle cats for 2 years now. I am a year 10 student at Mornington Secondary college and have participated in their aerobics team right from year 7, lucky enough to get to nationals for 3 years in a row. One of my biggest highlights from the past 2 years at Jungle cats was definitely becoming a national champion and meeting so many new friends and memories which will stay with me for life. Over the past 12 years I have been studying many different styles of dance including hip hop, jazz, classical ballet, tap, contemporary, lyrical and pointe. Throughout my time at jungle cats I have taken part in aerobics, pom and cheer and have absolutely loved every second of it. I am so excited to become apart of the Jungle cats team in 2017 and can’t wait to coach a fantastic group of kids.
Tessa
Senior Cheerleading Coach
Hi my name is Tessa , I’ve been at Jungle Cats for 3 year now and I’ve loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to start teaching younger students to cheer and learn new skills. 2018 is going to be a great year at jungle cats and I can’t wait.
Olivia
Senior Cheerleading Coach
Hi my name is Olivia. I’ve been at Jungle cats for 2 years now and it’s been so fun and enjoyable!I can’t wait to start teaching the upper primary recreational class and teaching kids new skills and sharing my excitement about cheer with them! I have loved the past 2 years at jungle cats and I can’t wait for 2017!
Charlotte
Junior Cheerleading Coach
My name is Charlotte, I have always had a passion for dance since I was very little and started dance classes when I was 5. I have now been doing dancing for 8 years and still going. I studied Cecchetti Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Tap. During the time I have been doing dancing I have been teaching myself tricks and flips on the trampoline and on the grass.
I first started cheerleading with Le and Courtney in 2015 and completely fell in love with it. For my first year of cheerleading I did recreational cheer, and then in 2016 I was involved in level 3 cheer, level 4 cheer and Lyrical dance where we went to the Gold Coast to compete at Nationals. In 2017 I am extremely excited to start coaching and to watch all of these incredible athletes grow and improve throughout the years.
Samantha
Junior Cheerleading Coach
Hi I’m Sam. I was born and raised on the Mornington Peninsula. I have been cheerleading at Jungle Cats for 2 years (2017 being my 3rd). I am helping with coaching this year and I am so looking forward to it. I have been involved with dance and gymnastics since a young age but then I discovered cheer and fell in love with it. I am currently in competition level 2 and am super excited to be a part of the Jungle Cats staff. Can’t wait for a great year!
Krystal
Junior Cheerleading Coach
Hi, my name is Krystal Lewis-Smith, I have been at Jungle Cats for 3 years and have loved every part of it!. My first year at Jungle Cats I did recreational cheerleading, moving into competition cheer and Pom in my 2nd year. Before starting at Jungle Cats I did a combination of jazz, tap, and ballet for 10 years, acrobatics, and athletics for 4 years, (reaching regional and state level) school aerobics, (reaching regional and state level) for 4 years, and my favourite sport of all, cheerleading for 5 years, going into my 6th year in 2017.
I started assistant coaching last year and really enjoyed sharing my passion for cheer with other students!. In 2017 I will be doing level 3 and 4 comp cheer and also studying VCE dance at Jungle Cats, as well as continuing to coach as well. I can’t wait to learn new things and continue my love for cheerleading at Jungle Cats!
Chloe
Junior Cheerleading Coach
Hey! My names Chloe. I’ve been cheering for four years at JC and I’ve loved to train and perform with the club ever since I started!! This year I’m doing elite dance and level 4. I can’t wait to make their JC experience a safe and fun environment for them to learn, help improve their skills and watch them grow as an athlete. See you in the gym!!
Faith
Junior Cheerleading Coach
My name is Faith. I’ve lived in Victoria most of my life but I have also live in Western Australia. I started cheerleading around 5 years ago and had a 3 year break but in 2015 I started it again and improved really quickly and now I am at level 4. I did level 2 in 2015 and level 3 last year and have always based or back spotted but I have attempted to fly before. I am super excited to be assistant coaching at jungle cats and to be a great role model for the younger kids. I have loved cheering at Jungle Cats and would never leave this wonderful family.
Lucy
Junior Cheer Coach
Amy
Junior Cheer Coach