The crew.

  • Meet Brooke, a seasoned professional with 35 years of experience in Calisthenics. Known for thriving on challenges and embracing risk, she is on a mission to promote and market the sport of Calisthenics, creating opportunities for performers and coaches alike.

    Brooke’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Dance Performance and a Diploma of Secondary Education specialising in Dance. Her wealth of experience in the professional industry brings a unique perspective to the world of Calisthenics.

    As the proud owner of Ridgehaven Calisthenics, Brooke is dedicated to fostering growth and excellence in the sport. With a track record of 7 State and National teams as a competitor, she was also recently the Assistant Coach of the winning Intermediate National Team for 2023.

    Brooke’s influence extends beyond coaching, as demonstrated by the successful organisation of BB Eisteddfods in 2020 and 2021. These full-scale events, with over 1000 entries and performers, took place across 7 days at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Artistic Director

  • Kym Purling is a world-renowned Australian pianist, entertainer, composer, conductor and producer.

    Purling was raised in Adelaide and has resided and worked in the major US entertainment capitals of Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles for the past twenty years.

    Purling has enjoyed a dual career, having established himself internationally as a pianist, composer, arranger and performer in his own right, while serving as a musical director and conductor for Broadway shows and for some of the biggest names in the business such as Natalie Cole and Engelbert Humperdinck.

    Purling has appeared in countless newspapers and on many television shows around the world and has also had television documentaries produced about his incredible life story and career.

    Purling is well known for his natural flair at the piano and incredible musicianship.

Music Director

  • Rebecca started calisthenics at 15 months old and has been in love with it ever since with a healthy 44 years of experience under her belt. With most of her performing career at Marden Calisthenics College and then at Ridgehaven Calisthenics she last competed at the age of 38 as a Master.

    She has represented CASA on 33 occasions either as a coach or a competitor at the highest level and was lucky enough to compete in not only winning teams but was awarded Junior National Graceful Champion in 1990. She developed a true love for elite level competition and has had an extremely successful coaching career winning National titles in Juniors, Intermediates, Seniors, Gracefuls and Duos.

    She has travelled the world as part of the Australian Drill and Dance team on 8 overseas trips with her pinnacle performance gaining her second place in her solo at the World Dance Championships in 1995. She has also competed for Australia in the World Aerobics Championships.

Head Choreographer

Carly Aherne

  • Carly has a lifelong love of Calisthenics. Starting at age 7, Carly has represented SA in State and National teams 6 times, and has recently completed her 8th year with Marden Masters.

    In a professional sense, Carly has a degree in Graphic Design from UniSA, and has worked in the media and advertising industry for 22 years. She now owns an award-winning advertising agency.

    Carly has partnered with Brooke Brown as the co-owner of the Australian Calisthenics Theatre Company - the first of its kind in SA. A creative thinker and ‘do-er’ by nature, Carly is incredibly excited to bring ACTC to the Festival Theatre stage in June.

    Carly loves all Cali girls, and has an enormous passion for working hard, having fun and making lifelong memories within this unique sport.

Marketing, Comms & PR Director

  • Ainsley’s love and appreciation for Calisthenics started when she was 5 years old at Valley View Calisthenics Club. She represented SA in State and Championship teams, and finished as a Senior at Marden Calisthenics College 15 years later, having been taught by some amazing coaches along the way. She returned to Masters at Marden for 4 years, finally retiring 2 years ago from the sport that provided her with so much personal growth and beautiful friendships.

    In Ainsley’s professional life, she is a Director at Accru Harris Orchard Chartered Accountants, having been a Chartered Accountant for 25 years. She has watched the progression of Calisthenics over more than 40 years, and is excited to be able to bring skills she has gained outside of the sport to support this exciting project with ACTC 👏

Finance Director

  • Melissa is an accomplished performer and coach, whose Calisthenics journey began at the age of 2. With an impressive 15 years involved in various National Teams, Melissa has represented Queensland in their Senior team and also coached the Queensland Junior state team. She has also coached National Duos and Solos.

    Melissa's achievements include competing in the Senior National Graceful Girl and representing SA at the Ballarat Graceful Competition twice. She has had a 9-year involvement in SA Ballarat Championship teams, and has led 4 club teams to compete in the prestigious Ballarat competition.

    Melissa has coached 5 Darwin Development teams, and in 2022, she was honoured with a CASA Life Membership. Outside of Calisthenics, Melissa's earlier years saw her win as the State School Aerobics champion and National champion in 1996. Her loyalty and commitment is evident in her 18-year career at the Department of Veteran Affairs, where she serves the Veteran Community.

Choreographer

  • Deanna brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the ACTC Coaching Team. Her lifelong journey in Calisthenics is marked by exceptional achievements and a commitment to the development of aspiring dancers.

    Deanna's talent has been showcased on prestigious stages across the country. She won first place in both the SA Senior Graceful Girl Championship and the Ballarat Senior Graceful Girl competition - the highest possible accolade for a Graceful Girl. She also achieved Honours in the Gold Medal pupil skill exam. Deanna represented SA in multiple Championship state teams.

    A dedicated student of dance, Deanna undertook full-time study of classical ballet and various dance forms, including modern, contemporary, jazz, and tap.

    Deanna has taught classical ballet and other forms of dance to children aged 3 years through to adults, and also the state gymnasts high performance squad.

    Among her vast experience, Deanna has been a ACF pupil skills examiner for 20 years.

Choreographer & Technique Specialist

  • Hannah has been involved in Calisthenics for 20 years at Del Sante Gardens and looks forward to expanding her Calisthenics knowledge with the ACTC. She has been involved in several Ballarat teams, the National team in 2009 and has done a number of Solos, Duos and Gracefuls. She also went to Precizion Dance for 5 years where she loved the opportunity to expand her knowledge of dance styles.

    In her early years of coaching, Hannah assisted the tinies team and started her coaching career teaching the junior age group. She has now been the co-coach of the intermediate team since 2020.

    Hannah has also taught a number of solos, gracefuls and duos since starting her coaching journey and loves working closely with her students to develop their calisthenics skills.

    Hannah is so excited to be part of the ACTC and hopes to learn and grow from the extremely talented coaching crew. She cannot wait to continue watching the growth of the ensemble and looks forward to seeing them perform in June.

Choreographer

  • Tylah brings a wealth of experience to the ACTC, with an impressive 22 years as a Calisthenics performer, and 17 of those dedicated to Marden Calisthenics College. She has competed in 4 National teams and 5 Ballarat teams.

    Tylah is the Marden Sub-Junior 1 Head Coach in 2024.

    Tylah's coaching experience extends to Graceful Girls, Solos, and Duos, where she has worked with performers from Demonstration Tinies through to Juniors. Under her guidance, each competitor has competed in the Championship or Division 1 finals, consistently ranking within the top 5 of their age groups.

Choreographer

  • Susie's passion for Calisthenics and her dedication to enhancing the sport experience are evident in over 10 years of volunteering. She served as Ridgehaven Calisthenics Club Secretary and now holds the role of Treasurer, actively contributing to innovative events and programs, including the introduction of scholarships.

    Susie played a pivotal role in the success of the BB Eisteddfods at the Adelaide Convention Centre in 2020 and 2021. Her involvement encompassed planning, programming, administration and finance management.

    In her professional career, Susie, currently employed in finance for an international company, has also gained experience in event planning and management. She is enthusiastic about applying her diverse skill set to the exciting new project with ACTC.

Executive Administrator

Experience
A Symphony