With dreams of being a Radio City Rockette, local Bom Funk dancers are already on their way to stardom after retaining their national champion status at the Follow Your Dreams Dance Competition.

Canberrans should be pirouetting with pride after the young dancers overcame a mound of challenges to win four of their group routines in the late January event.

They achieved their success even with their beloved teacher, Kym Degenhart, unable to attend the Adelaide competition due to border restrictions.

“I was completely blown away by their performances and critiques, particularly after such a challenging year of interrupted training. I also received so many compliments from others who were in attendance about their positive attitudes and encouraging spirit,” said Ms Degenhart, owner of Bom Funk Dance Studio.

“Winning has never been the focus for us here at Bom Funk. We really try to present artistic work that goes a little deeper than the cheesy razzle-dazzle and endless tricks you see in many routines these days.”

After competing last year through Zoom, the dancers were eager to attend the competition in-person this year, and said they had missed the “vibes” of actually being at the event.

With their hard work and dedication paying off, the dancers were ecstatic to perform in-person and celebrate their wins with the audience and judges.

Performing in one of the two teams that competed, 13-year-old Amelia Norris said she one day wants to be a professional dancer.

“I want to keep dancing for a while. I don’t really know what opportunities are out there for me, but I’ll do anything as long as I’m dancing. It just makes you feel good,” Amelia said.

Olivia Lawler, 13, said she’s been dancing at Bom Funk since she was just four years old.   

“It’s my home here. I don’t want to leave Bom Funk. They’ve taught me everything that I know, and they’ve gotten me to the place I am now,” Olivia said.

Fourteen-year-old Emily Bennett said she thinks people don’t realise how difficult it is to be a dancer, and just how hard they train.

“Dancing is really hard, and people don’t think it’s as hard as it actually is. The hardest thing is the time it takes to build up all our skills,” Emily said.

“We train for long periods of time, and it can get tiring, but we just have to keep going.”

Describing themselves as “one big family”, the dancers said there’s no putting other people down at Bom Funk and it’s like “one big friendship group”.

The performance team are already preparing for their next competition, and their goal for the year is to improve and refine their technique so they can maintain their national title and keep making Canberra proud.

Now in a brand-new studio in Queanbeyan, the team is thrilled to have access to excellent facilities including a top-of-the-range acrobatic studio and their own personal theatre room.

“I think it’s really going to help our students take their dancing to the next level and gives them a home to be proud of right here in Queanbeyan,” Ms Degenhart said.

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