Dance fever hits Alstonville

Last week the love for ballet was reignited for young dancers at Alstonville Dance Studio, when three industry professional dancers leapt into their lives for a five-day workshop.

Janece Graham, Lisa Miles and Ben Mayne came to the Alstonville studio, all with a different story and set of experiences to share with the students.

Janece is ballerina trained in London, including dancing with the London Festival Ballet Company and she opened her own ballet company, Sydney Festival Ballet, where she taught Alstonville Dance Studio's other guest Lisa Miles. Lisa was the principal dancer for the West Australian Ballet Company and is now a teacher, while Ben Mayne of Tap Dogs fame has a strong background in musical theatre.

Sue Whiteman, the teacher at Alstonville Dance Studio who organised the special guests, said it was fantastic experience for the young dancers to work with teachers of such a high standard and from different backgrounds.

"Learning repertoires from the Western Australia Ballet Company from Lisa and learning tap and dance techniques from Ben is an amazing experience for them," Sue said. "For some of the young girls it refreshed their love for ballet, which I believe is the basis of all dancing and helps with any style of dance."

Sue also said the three were impressed with the talent and behaviour of the students.

"They built up a connection over the five days and I know the kids, the parents and even the teachers learned a lot and felt really refreshed for the new year of dancing," Sue said. "All three of them loved being in the area - they loved the cafes!"

Alstonville Dance Studio runs a special workshop every term in the school holidays and Lisa and Janece will return through the year.