Dana Jolly

Dana’s career began at age of 9, in the musical Gypsy at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne. Dana then studied at the Victorian College of Arts, before performing with Victorian State Opera and the Australian Contemporary Dance Company. Dana then moved to London, performing and choreographing in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and Japan, for over a decade.

Some of Dana’s credits include, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance London West End and European Tour, The Royal Variety Performance, British Music Awards, National Music Express Awards, Winter Olympics Norway, ‘Shall We Dance’ UK and European tours, ‘Souls In Motion’ European tour and West End, Hollywood and Broadway UK Tour, The Michael Ball television series, the Miss World Competition, Stonewall Concert Royal Albert Hall London, Strauss Waltzes Royal Festival Hall, and a wide variety of corporate, trade, fashion, film and television shows.

She has worked with such artists as Ray Charles, Madonna, Prince, East 17, Cliff Richards, The Kinks, Ewan Mc Gregor, Michael Ball, Gloria Estefan, Robert Palmer, Oasis, Ray Charles, and Michael Crawford to name a few. International choreographers and directors that Dana has assisted include Hal Prince, Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman in New York, and Ben Elton, David Gilmore, Arlene Phillips, and Anthony Van Laast in London.

Dana returned to Australia as Resident Choreographer for the Australian productions of Showboat, receiving a Green Room Nomination, We Will Rock You, and The Producers, before choreographing 2,000 dancers and puppeteers in Citrawarna Colours Of Malaysia Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Dana then choreographed 2 productions for The Victorian Opera, and Everybody Loves Rhonda for the opening of The Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Other projects in Australia include choreography for Australian pop artists, Crown Casino, Australia Post, The Liberal Party etc, several television commercials, and Melbourne’s Moomba Parade and Water Festival for 3 years.

Dana’s Musical Theatre credits include Respect, staring Rhonda Burchmore, and 11 productions for The Production Company, including Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Me, Follies, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Grey Gardens, Showboat, and Nice Work If You Can Get It, Curtains, and Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder. In 2012 Dana choreographed the Australian premiere of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for TML Enterprises, which toured Australia (2012 & 2013), followed by the Sydney premiere of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Sydney’s Theatre Royal (2013), which received glowing reviews.

In 2015 Dana was invited to choreograph the new Australian musical Sexercise, which opened the Alex Theatre in St Kilda, as well as 2 productions for the Melbourne Theatre Company; Jumpy starring Marina Prior and Jane Turner, and the new Australian work Last Man Standing, written by Steve Vizard, and staring Peter Carroll. Dana was then asked in 2015/2016 to recreate Jerome Robbins original choreography for the musical Fiddler On The Roof staring Anthony Warlow. She then went on to choreograph the Australian debut of You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown.  

Dana is the founder of the corporate entertainment company Voltage International Productions, and is in demand throughout Melbourne and Australia as a freelance choreographer for exclusive corporate functions, as well as for her dance teaching and mentoring. Dana has been invited to teach throughout Australia, as well as in the UK, America, Italy, and Germany. Dana was also inducted into the Victorian College Of The Arts Hall Of Fame in 2015.