Thirty-eight young dancers have spent this week learning from two of Sydney's best in the inaugural Queenstown Dance Zone Workshop.
Spearheaded by Queenstown School of Dance teacher Anna Stuart and Frith Awoken, the participants - all aged between 8 and 17 - have been involved in workshops covering funk, jazz, lyrical and musical theatre, taught by Jennifer Craddock and Kane "B" Bonke.
The promising young dancers could not have been in better hands, with the biographies for Ms Craddock and Mr Bonke reading like a who's who of A-list celebrities, including working with Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Sam Sparrow, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Jared Leto and Macy Gray.
Mr Bonke is also somewhat of a movie star, although the animated penguins in Happy Feet got to take all the credit.
Speaking to the Queenstown Times yesterday, the pair said their first visit to Queenstown had been an unforgettable experience.
"It's been beautiful, so serene," Ms Craddock said.
"We went jet-boat riding, up the gondolas and up the mountain in one day and then we were exhausted," Mr Bonke said.
For the dancers, some of whom are based in Wanaka, it may seem a far-off dream to reach the levels Ms Craddock and Mr Bonke have.
However, there was no better example of what could be achieved than Mr Bonke himself, who comes from Mt Isa, a mining town "in the bush".
"It doesn't matter where you're from if you've got a passion," he said.
Ms Craddock began performing when she was 18 and left Auckland when she was 20.
"I don't think it matters where you come from," she said.
Mrs O'Hagen said the workshop would not have been possible without the support of the Central Lakes Trust and the Performing Arts Trust.
