Caterina Panay-Kuljis moved from Sydney to Melbourne in 1988 to introduce the dance style, Ceroc, to the state.

She remains passionate about the style that she brought here all those years ago.

“I saw a couple dancing it at a wedding, and was instantly mesmerised with the style,” Mrs Panay-Kuljis said.

She has been dancing, performing and teaching it ever since.

Mrs Panay-Kuljis started her lifelong love of dance by gliding on her mother’s toes in the living room as a child. She progressed to Greek dancing, and also learned jazz, break dancing, hip hop, funk, Latin, salsa, tango, swing/lindy hop, pole dancing and rock and roll before discovering Ceroc.

The dance is a form of French, Latin and modern jive that blends the best part of each dance to create a fun, stylish, easy to learn and enjoyable, and can be danced to today’s music.

“A lot of people are drawn to it because it is very easy to learn, it’s fun and it’s social.”

The style dates all the way back to 1945 – created in a small bar in Paris after the war. It was here that Ceroc’s fusion of Latin passions, jive, ballroom & dirty dancing was created.

Parisians wanted to take a classic partner dance and give it a modern edge. They took influences from the cultures in Paris at the time of the war – American, Italian and German.

The style spread through Europe, New Zealand and Australia and is still going strong worldwide years later because of its ability for dancers to keep fit and have fun at the same time.

“This style is forever evolving with new moves coming into the repertoire and you have freedom in your own styling.”

In additional to teaching, Caterina is also the coach and creative inspiration to many aspiring students. She has introduced many dynamic moves to the dance, which is danced both socially and competitively.

“We do more than teach classes – we develop a dance community,” Ms Panay-Kuljis said.

Six years ago Caterina Panay-Kuljis along with her husband Steve, expanded to introduce the Melbourne Fusion Dance and Lifestyle Studios in Fitzroy. It is now one of the top 3 studios in Melbourne, offering over 22 dance styles and has many other dance companies using the studio.

On top of teaching workshops, she performs and judges competitions around Australia, New Zealand, and is the creative director/coach of the reigning Australia/New Zealand champions.

In her spare time, Ms Panay- Kuljis teaches her three-year-old Zianni some of her famous moves – starting with dancing on his mother’s toes of course.