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1993 — Early beginnings

• Melbourne RG Academy began life as Melbourne Rhythmic Gymnastics School, founded by Tatiana Loukianenko with classes held at St. Mary's Church in St. Kilda.

• It started as a recreational group of gymnasts and served as a selection field for the Rhythmic Gymnastics High Performance Centre, where Tatiana was Head Coach from 1994 to 2002.

• Within a few years, students from the school began competing in Victorian State and National Championships.

 

1996 – 2008 — Expansion and international success

• The school moved to the gymnasium at Korowa Anglican Girls School in 1996. That same year, Kasumi Takahashi represented Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Tatiana Loukianenko as her coach.

• In 2004, when Tatiana returned from Canada — where she had been Head Coach at the Quebec Rhythmic Gymnastics Club in Montreal — the academy was renamed Glen Iris Gymnastics.

• In 2006, three gymnasts represented the academy at the National Championships: Taylor Tirahardjo, Natasha Sneddon, and Rashelle Wiselman.

• In 2007, five gymnasts joined the State Team to compete at the National Championships: Taylor Tirahardjo (Junior Elite), Julia Onufreichuk (Stage 3 Elite), Dina Shmukler (Stage 3 Elite), Emma Yarosh (National Level 7), and Natasha Sneddon (National Level 7). Taylor became a member of the Australian Junior Team — the youngest gymnast in her age group.

 

2008 – 2011 — Two locations, dual focus

• Senior students and their coaches temporarily relocated to the Prahran Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. During this period, Emma Yarosh and Natasha Sneddon were members of the Australian Team Champions, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively in All-Around Individual competition.

• Recreational and Level 1–3 classes continued to run at Korowa Anglican Girls School under the Glen Iris Gymnastics name.

 

2012 – 2017 — National and international growth, and the launch of AGG in Australia

• In 2012, Elite and National Level 4+ squads returned to the Korowa gymnasium. By that point, fourteen students were members of the Victorian Rhythmic Gymnastics squad.

• Over the following years the academy maintained strong representation at both national and international competitions, with a growing number of gymnasts selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Championships and to compete interstate and overseas. Highlights from this period included:

  • ​The National Clubs Carnival (every year)

  • North Shore International Competition, Auckland, New Zealand (2013)

  • Gymnaestrada Adelaide (2013)

  • Gym4Life Challenge (2016)

  • Xtream International Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, New Zealand (2017)

  • Latina Fiori, Italy (2017)

  • Aubagne, France (2017)​

• In 2016, the academy hosted its first international competition in Melbourne, with clubs participating from interstate, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.​

• In 2014, Glen Iris Gymnastics introduced Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (AGG) to Australia, performing the country's first AGG routine at the Australian Championships. In 2016, the academy invited internationally prestigious AGG officials to run a week-long workshop, attended by clubs from across Australia.

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2018 — A new home in Oakleigh South

In April 2018, the academy moved to larger premises in Oakleigh South, where it remains today. Several new recreational classes were added at this time, operating under the name Infinity Gymnastics & Dance.

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2026 — Returning to our roots

After more than three decades, we have returned to our original name: Melbourne RG Academy. The name honours where we began in 1993 while reflecting who we are today — a Melbourne-based academy with a proud history of producing Olympic-level athletes, championing Australian rhythmic gymnastics on the world stage, and developing confident young gymnasts at every level. The same coaching philosophy, the same commitment to excellence, the same dedicated coaching team.