Claudia Dean is a ballet force of nature. In 2009, after competing in the Prix de Lausanne, she was invited to train at The Royal Ballet School, where she quickly rose through the levels. She joined The Royal Ballet the following year, but in 2014, citing homesickness and burnout, made the difficult decision to retire and return to her native Australia. After a stint in the family real estate business, she began to coach dancers privately. With her unique brand of teaching and soul baring online videos, she quickly became a social media sensation. Soon, Claudia Dean World (CDW) was born and in addition to teaching, she created her first dancewear line with custom-made leotards. The collection has since grown to include a wide range of products, including activewear, accessories and more.
In a 2016 interview with Dance Informa, Dean spoke passionately about creating and evolving her unique ideas and excitement about sharing her knowledge. Fast forward to 2025, and CDW is continuing to grow and inspire new generations of dancers.
What was it like getting started and setting up your coaching and digital presence?
“I moved back to Australia, and joined as a real estate assistant in my dad and brother’s agency to help with their admin. I learnt so much about the fundamentals of the backend of a business. At the same time, my old ballet teacher invited me to teach private lessons at her summer school, and I distinctively remember hopping into my mum’s car and saying to her, ‘I think I’ve discovered my passion — it’s private ballet coaching.’ At the time, there were no ballet coaching brands (now there are a lot). I set up my website, and when I announced it to my Facebook friends, my emails blew up. I had just returned from The Royal Ballet, and every dancer wanted to learn from me in Australia. In that year alone, I coached thousands of dancers in studios across Queensland. I took a risk and renovated my own studio in Brisbane, and started coaching full-time there. I decided to set up a YouTube channel and Instagram profile to share my tips online. I got a lot of backlash from doing this, and often people made fun of my video. No one else was sharing ballet tips digitally (hard to imagine, but this is 10+ years ago!). I kept going because, at the end of the day, I was inspiring and changing dancers’ lives in the process. I’m glad I did keep going because this was the foundation of ‘Claudia Dean World.’”
Can you talk about the inspiration behind the scholarships and workshops?
“I’ve been the CEO of Claudia Dean World for 10+ years now, and my constant motivation is to inspire. My husband watched me build the brand from the start, and we now have a ballet app, a huge dancewear brand, tour the world with masterclasses, created a podcast and, most recently, launched CD Scholarships. I truly want to make an impact by getting dancers to their dream schools and financially support them in this, too. CD Scholarships was created — we donate $10,500+ and have scouts attending to offer them training opportunities to get them to their dream schools. Many of our scouts are dancers I had a career with, and it feels full circle. I know I was put here to make a difference, and I feel the legacy behind CDS is something truly unique and special.”
What inspires the style and function of your clothing lines?
“CD Collections began when I started making YouTube videos — we had built this amazing ballet community, and they were asking me to make leotards in particular styles and colours. I made connections in the manufacturing world and began creating comfortable leotards in desired colours for dancers. Still to this day, our community is the inspiration behind all our designs.”
Can you walk us through your design-to-launch process for your collections?
“The design of one garment takes nine months. Our designer and I will spend one month digitally sketching the design, begin the sampling process (which is the hardest), and then move into colour selection. Sampling one garment takes months because we perfect the fit of both adult and child sizes (as the grading is so different) to ensure the design is both practical yet comfortable for the dancer wearing our leotards. Once the sample is approved, production begins. Production usually takes six weeks due to the volume of the order, and then it arrives in our warehouse ready for the photoshoot. Our team of 15 spends one month preparing the marketing and photoshoots for each garment because we want to make sure our community understands the product before it launches. Once we launch the videos, the collection is usually ready to purchase, and still to this day, our collections sell out. It is a pinch-me moment every time we have a launch day.”
How do you balance authenticity with the demands of a business brand on social media?
“I simply love making videos, and there’s not much I wouldn’t share about my journey. I’ve integrated the CDW brand into my lifestyle and love sharing the behind-the-scenes (good and fails) of running CD World. I like to be honest and authentic with what we create and share when something goes wrong/right with our community. They are here to see the journey, and I’m not afraid to show the real life of running a brand.”
What keeps you motivated and creatively inspired?
“Always staying true to the brand. CDW comes first and before I make any decisions, I think about the brand (not what Claudia wants), but what the brand wants and needs. It’s been fulfilling learning that over the years, but because we have such a strong community behind us, I am constantly inspired by that and it’s what wakes me up every day at 5am!”
What’s next for CDW?
“We are about to launch ‘Custom Collections’, a new coaching program, our new Ballet App, more tours around the world and so many more Collections… I’m so inspired by 2025. The best is yet to come.”
For more information on Claudia Dean, visit claudiadeanworld.com. You can follow Claudia Dean on Instagram: @claudiadeanworld.
By Mary Carpenter of Dance Informa.
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