L-Jay Lund
L-Jay Lund is an Australian dance educator, choreographer, theatre director, and producer with thirty-five years of professional experience across Australia and Europe. While social partner dancing has remained at the heart of her career, her work has also spanned jazz, modern dance, physical theatre, choreography and community arts. This breadth of experience has shaped the holistic philosophy that now inspires Dance Brisbane.
After training in jazz, contemporary, and ballroom dance, L-Jay began teaching at just seventeen years of age. She later completed a Diploma of Performing Arts (Physical Theatre) at Southbank Institute of TAFE, followed by a Bachelor of Dramatic Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. She also completed a Diploma of Film and Television Production at RMIT University and gained coaching certification through the Australian Institute of Sport.
Her international career has included serving as Artistic Director of Adelance Dance Studio in Madrid, Head of Dance at Alta Kulturskole in Norway for ten years, and producing and directing theatre through Oslo International Theatre and Oslo Pride. She has taught social partner dancing, workshops and community dance programmes throughout Australia and Europe, including co-developing the Salsa Rueda scene in Tromsø, co-producing No Siesta Fiesta, the world’s most northern Latin American festival, and presenting Social Ballroom workshops inspired by the traditional Dirty Dancing philosophy of social dance at the internationally renowned Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden.
Alongside her professional career, L-Jay has remained a lifelong student of social partner dancing, believing that some of the richest learning happens on the social dance floor itself. Wherever she has lived or travelled, she has immersed herself in local dance communities, continually exploring the traditions that have shaped partner dancing around the world. She has studied Lindy Hop and Charleston with the iconic Swing Patrol in London, danced with Salsa Rueda communities all over Europe, danced Finnish Tango, and explored North Norwegian Swing, Bachata Fusion in Madrid and Barcelona, Cuban Salsa in the Latin clubs of Madrid’s Chueca district, Blues in Sweden, and Tango Fusion through the Parisian milongas and Loft Alternatif community. These experiences have deepened her appreciation of the cultural traditions, musical influences and shared foundations that unite social dances across the world, continually enriching her work as both a dancer and educator.
Her choreographic, directing and production work has included theatre productions, festivals, gymnastics and large-scale community events throughout Australia and Europe. Career highlights include choreographing the Northern Norwegian Gymnastics Team for King Harald V’s Gym for Life competition, where the team was awarded a Bronze Medal; choreographing the opening ceremony of the Tromsø International Film Festival; directing the opening ceremony of the Finnmarksløpet World Cup Dog Sled Race; and producing and directing theatre through Oslo International Theatre and for Oslo Pride. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with dancers, performers, schools, community organisations and cultural institutions to create work that connects people through movement.
Today, L-Jay is the founder of Dance Brisbane, a boutique dance academy in Brisbane dedicated to rebuilding a vibrant social dance culture through thoughtfully designed workshops, private tuition and wedding dance experiences. Her vision is to help people rediscover the lifelong pleasure of dancing to the music they love, with the people around them, and to make social dancing a natural part of everyday life once again.