A GROUP of young Hervey Bay dancers have won themselves a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against the best in the world.
High school students from the Hervey Bay Performing Arts College successfully grabbed one of five bids on offer on the Gold Coast last weekend – securing their spot to perform at the 2023 Varsity Summit in Orlando, Florida.
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The Under 16 team was awarded the bid after taking top spot in the Hip Hop category at the Queensland edition of the Australian All Star Cheerleading Federation Dance Battle.
College Director Jonathon Heeley said winning the bid was a huge achievement for the team.
The students will now travel to the US to perform at Disney World.
“I’m so proud of how they performed on the Gold Coast,” a beaming Mr Heeley said.
“We’ve focused on these routines since the beginning of the year.”
Mr Heeley described the Varsity Summit as the junior division world championships.
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“This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the kids. They’ve already done so well to win the bid, but when we get there, they’ll be able to test themselves against dancers from across the globe.
“The competition will be another step up to an even higher level. It’s a great opportunity to experience dancing in the US. It will be lifechanging for them.”
Mr Heeley said securing the award was one of the college’s biggest achievements to date.
“It’s so exciting knowing that dancers from Hervey Bay – regional Australia – are going to perform on the international stage.”
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Despite winning the bid in the Hip Hop category last weekend, the dancers have another opportunity at nationals in November to win the right to perform other routines in different categories.
For now, Mr Heeley said his focus was on physically getting the students to the US.
“We’ve won the right to compete, but there will be a lot fundraising and applying for grants that we will need to do to cover the costs.”
For more information on the Hervey Bay Performing Arts College, click here.
The college is located in Thomas Street, Pialba
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