Kalgoorlie-Boulder dancers will give it their all this weekend across 15 genres of dance as the Starlight Festival of Dance competition comes to the Goldfields for the first time.
The competition will cover jazz, tap, classical ballet, demi character, acrobatics, contemporary, lyrical, song and dance, and musical theatre.
Dancers from the age of two through to adult from MT Dance and Kalgoorlie Dance Academy will compete in solos, duos, trio and troupe performances.
Organiser Sherry Woolford told the Kalgoorlie Miner it was important to hold dance competitions not only because “kids love to dance” but also to ensure they had experience on the stage.
“(Competitions) teach them good sportsmanship and right from wrong — when somebody wins and they don’t,” she said.
“There’s nothing up at Kalgoorlie and hasn’t been for a little while.
“It’s to give the kids out there an opportunity to do what they love on stage.”
Ms Woolford, who taught dance for 37 years, initially started organising dance competitions for the City of Bayswater before branching out on her own.
“I was asked to run a competition in Morley when I gave up my dance school and I did that for 14 years,” she said.
“The council ended up deciding they didn’t want to do it anymore so I started my own.
“We run three competitions in Morley and one in Karratha, Geraldton and Sydney — and now the Kalgoorlie one, too.”
The public are welcome to attend the competition, which will be held from 9am to 6pm at the Goldfields Arts Centre.
“This year the competition only includes dance but next year we are thinking of including the aerials and silks and maybe even cheerleading,” Ms Woolford said.
“Next year there are dancers coming from Esperance and Perth, so hopefully it will generate some money for the region, too.”
Businesses interested in sponsoring the event can contact Ms Woolford on 0414 299 979.