Sam Ruecroft, Courtney Malberg, Rochelle Carlile, Emily Peddie, Taryn Salsburg, Cameron Allen, Jamie Angel and Lauren Sadler are leading the dance craze at Kooweerup Secondary College.
By Paul Dunlop
DANCING like the stars is nothing new at Kooweerup.
Students at the town’s secondary college have been learning for months to waltz, twirl and sweep partners off their feet.
Dance classes at the school were introduced last year and are steadily growing in popularity.
Even the boys are starting to come around to the notion that being a good mover is not a bad thing.
Teacher Sarah Moorhouse said jazz, ballet and aerobics classes had always had a strong following but partner dancing was a newer sensation.
Miss Moorhouse credited the phenomenon that is television’s Dancing with the Stars for having a flowon effect in the classroom.
“Partner dancing was thought to be really daggy, the kids wouldn’t have wanted to do it. But now it’s on TV they think it’s quite fun,” she said.
For residents with two left feet, it’s encouraging to know that good dancers are generally born but can also be made.
Miss Moorhouse said practice certainly made perfect, but emphasised the school’s classes were more about fun than fanatical training schedules.
“Some people are naturally more coordinated, others work really hard but it really doesn’t matter,” she said.
“The main thing is that everyone is having fun, getting the confidence to get up and perform in front of others. It develops confidence and social skills as well as their dancing.”
Aerobics dancing is probably Kooweerup’s strongest suit with the school entering several teams at interschool competitions, earning some top results last year.
Miss Moorhouse said Kooweerup Secondary College was keen to introduce dance as a VCE subject.
“This school has always been quite performing artsfocused and we have had a great response to the dance classes,” she said.
TV producers take note.
