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Our Founder

I started Tarinao with a simple commitment: stay grounded in the present, informed by science, while always moving forward together with my immediate community. 
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Jia Xi Lee
BSc. MSc. 
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Founder & Director

I wanted to build something sustainable, relevant, and alive. Something shaped by science, yes, but also by heart. That means embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion not as buzzwords, but as the very way we move, think, and lead. At its core, Tarinao is my quiet attempt to create an ecosystem where no one is too small to lead, and no community is too far to meet the highest standards. It's dance as high art, made truly accessible—because I believe the best futures are the ones we build together, right here, right now.

About Jia Xi (JC)

With nearly 16 years of experience in dance education and performance, specialising in classical ballet and contemporary dance. She has worked professionally with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre (current Singapore Ballet), Singapore Ballet Academy, and School of the Arts, Singapore (IB-International Baccalaureate World School). She is an affiliate teacher with the Royal Ballet School and holds a Diploma in Dance Performance awarded by the New Zealand School of Dance, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Communication Arts, and a Master’s Degree in Applied Neuroscience at King’s College London, where she explored PTSD in dancers.

Jia Xi was awarded the Best Lead/Featured Performer at the 17th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards. As an independent dance artist, she has worked with many acclaimed local and international choreographers, artists, and producers. Her unconventional works include a nuclear ban campaign with dance as the main tool: “Dance for Nukeban,” that was a part of the movement towards the achievement of the international “Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” She is also a writer and copywriter for dance productions and performances. She currently serves as the associate editor for The IADMS Bulletin for Dancers and Teachers. 

With her knowledge in neuroscience, psychology, and yoga, as a teaching dance artist, she teaches not only movement in dance but also the motivation and science behind the mind that creates those movements. She is interested in the intention behind what creates the authenticity and purity of movement that guides one’s behaviour. By using the discipline of tradition, she looks to mentor her students to develop their own relationship with dance in any industry of their choice. Realising the need for a healthy ecosystem, she now launched and lead the MOVE-THINK-LEAD framework at Tarinao. 

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