Hampton Park dancers Joshua and Shanice Fernandez are getting ready to hit the floor at the 2008 Australian Dancesport
By Kelly Yates
A HAMPTON Park brother and sister team are perfecting their dancing moves for the upcoming 2008 Australian Dancesport Championships.
Joshua and Shanice Fernandez are set to take on some of the country’s best ballroom dancers in the biggest competition of the year held in December.
The pair, who train at Bagheera’s The Dance Place in Hallam, will compete in the junior section, which is for dancers aged 13 to 16 years.
The couple will compete in the Modern, New Vogue and Latin American events, dancing the Waltz, Quickstep, Merrilyn, Tangoette, Cha Cha Cha and Jive.
Joshua told the News the pair were training six days a week for between two and three hours a session, under the watchful eyes of coaches Malcolm Batty, Shaun Kingston, Fiona Rizzo and Wayne Douglas.
The 14-year-old said he was both nervous and excited about the championships.
“Last year we came seventh in Latin and made the semi-finals in Modern and New Vogue,” he said.
“This year our goal is to make all three finals.”
Shanice, who has been dancing for seven years, said she was looking forward to the competition.
The 10-year-old said the best thing about dancing was learning new steps.
“When I’m older I want to be a dance teacher,” she said.
The 2008 Australian Dancesport Championships will be held at the Hisense Arena in Melbourne from Wednesday 10 December to Saturday 13 December.
