Dena Kaplan

Dena Kaplan is a South African-born Australian actress, singer, model and dancer. She is known for her role as Abigail Armstrong in Dance Academy.

Kaplan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her mother and grandmother were both ballet dancers. Kaplan's father was a musician and her grandfather was an actor. Dena comes from a Jewish family. She has an older sister Gemma-Ashley Kaplan and a younger sister Ariel Kaplan, who played Lisa Atwood #2 on The Saddle Club. Kaplan moved to Australia in 1996, at age seven. After watching Gemma taking ballet lessons Dena followed in her footsteps.

Kaplan attended Mount Scopus Memorial College and had dance training at numerous schools, including Australian Ballet School, Jane Moore Academy of Ballet and City Dance Centre. She first appeared onstage alongside David Campbell in The Production Company's Carousel, playing Louise, a non-singing solo ballet part in the second act of the show. Her second major appearance was as a dancer/singer in Disney's musical production of The Lion King. She moved to New York City to study at the Ailey School and Broadway Dance Center.