On Saturday night 700 students will take the stage at Canberra Theatre for the Dance Central end of year dance extravaganza. Showcasing a culmination of the hard work the dancers have put in over the year, the 2019 theme ‘Journey’ will be told through a variety of performances including jazz, ballet, hip hop, breakdance, tap, contemporary, lyrical, and acrobatics.
Everyone has their own journey – whether it’s growing up, struggling through school and home life or figuring out what you want to do with your life. This Saturday, each dancer will have the opportunity to channel their own experiences and express how dance has allowed them to thrive, flourish and forge their own journey.
Director Julie Scheer says it was dance that helped her to build confidence and resilience. As a ‘Dance Mom’ to essentially her 1200 students, Julie has made it a priority to provide a platform for her students to benefit physically and mentally from dance. Her studio is also a place to escape, have fun, leave worries behind and ‘just dance.’
“Dance taught me so many valuable things. I didn’t realise how much of an impact it had on my life, or how it would influence where I am today. I was never a person who wanted to open a dance school, but that greater purpose of how you want to help people is just stronger than anything else,” Julie said.
Julie Scheer experienced this immensely throughout her life. Dance was so important to her, particularly as a young teen, and helped her through issues including bullying and family illness. Her mother suffered from Schizophrenia, which was a very trying time for Julie. At the time, her mother’s illness was something she was ashamed of because the people around her didn’t know enough about it. Inevitably it was dance that helped get her through and now Julie knows her purpose is to use dance to do the same for others.
“I want to use dance to help kids in the same what that I was helped. No one is immune from experiencing challenges, no matter where you come from. The journey of life is all about learning how to navigate through it all. This is why confidence and resilience is so important – for me, they are the tools of life. They’re the tools that dance taught me and which helped me, and that I want to teach others to help them get through tricky times in life,” she said.
As Dance Central’s largest performance yet, the stage will be bursting with confidence and young talent.
You can watch the performance on Saturday 16 November, Canberra Theatre. The End of Year Show is broken into two sessions — the Matinée and the Night Show. Tickets.
