More than 50 dancers from the ages of six to 17 were recently treated to a five-day series of intensive and specialist workshops with industry professionals for the In2Dance Summer School program.
The Bundaberg Combined Ballet Association program was established in 2011 and ran successfully up until the pandemic.
President Danni Stranieri said this year was the first time the event had taken place since 2019.
“We really wanted to kick things up a notch,” she said.
“One of the highlights was the professional industry experiences the dancers get to have throughout the week; professional headshots and dance images, professional standard choreography working with industry experts, the ability to come together with other passionate dancers from different schools and studios, and so on.
“The main highlight was the end-of-week showcase at Shalom College, where the dancers have the opportunity to show their friends, family, and other key stakeholders the product of their hard work throughout the week.
“It’s such an exciting time for everyone involved.”
Danni said this year the event received Regional Arts Development Funding (RADF) which had gone towards the implementation of the 2023 event and scholarships to assist dancers.
The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Bundaberg Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
“The In2Dance Summer School would not have been able to go ahead this year without the support of Arts Queensland and the Bundaberg Regional Council through the Regional Arts Development Fund,” Danni said.
“Our funding allowed us to offer 10 scholarships (nine accepted) to dancers who experience personal or socioeconomic barriers to participation, as well as to significantly reduce the cost of participation on previous years.
“This has made the program far more financially accessible to families, without compromising on the quality of the experience itself.
“These opportunities don’t come often to regional areas, and most of our local dancers need to travel to metropolitan centres or interstate for similar experiences.”
In addition to Arts Queensland and the Bundaberg Regional Council, In2Dance thanks platinum sponsors Shalom College and Gypsy-Leigh Productions.
