Adelaide Winter Syllabus Intensive 2026

Jacqui Stratton-Smith, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner

Jacqui trained at the Royal Ballet School and performed professionally in the 1990s with Kieler Ballet and the Staatsballett Berlin, dancing corps de ballet, soloist and principal roles. Her repertoire includes Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Coppélia, Carmina Burana, The Three-Cornered Hat, The Taming of the Shrew, The Prodigal Son, Verklärte Nacht, Symphony in C and The Competition. She has also appeared as a guest artist with the The Australian Ballet in Stephen Baynes’ Swan Lake.

Her students have gained places at leading schools including the Royal Ballet School, Australian Ballet School, English National Ballet School and Tanz Akademie Zürich, with many progressing to professional careers. She has also coached principal dancer Hou Honglan from the National Ballet of China during her Australian tour.

Jacqui is a qualified RAD Examiner and registered teacher, licensed in the AICD and Ballet Conservatoire syllabi. She holds a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Flinders University and the RAD’s Postgraduate Teaching Certificate for Professional Dancers.

Karen Suttie, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner

Karen is a registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance and has been teaching and operating her own school for over 28 years.

Trained in Newcastle under the guidance of Roxanne McCourtie and Tessa Maunder, she has a passion for Classical Ballet that led her to undertake the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers Certificate and Teachers Diploma, receiving both.

Over the years she has coached many students, with finalists and winners in the Isobel Anderson Awards, Alana Haines Awards and other overseas competitions. Many former students have also been accepted into pre-professional training schools and both domestic and international companies to pursue their dancing careers.

She has recently completed her Certificate IV in training and assessment; is appointed to the Royal Academy of Dance Panel of Examiners; and tutors’ students for RAD Examinations across Australia.