Hampton Park dancers Joshua and Shanice Fernandez are geared up to compete at this weekend’s Australian Dancesport Championships. 40395
By Kelly Yates
A BROTHER and sister dancing duo from Hampton Park will take to the floor at this weekend’s 2009 Australian Dancesport Championships.
Joshua and Shanice Fernandez are getting ready to take on some of the country’s best ballroom dancers in what many dancers describe as the biggest competition of the year.
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.
They will battle it out in the Modern, New Vogue and Latin American events.
Joshua and Shanice have been dancing together for two years.
Joshua said he was hoping to come away with a first place at this year’s competition as it would be their last year as juniors.
“Next year we’ll be dancing in the youth section for under 19s,” the 15-year-old said.
“So we want to give it our best shot.”
The couple have been training five to six days a week in preparation for the competition with coaches Shaun Kingston, Fiona Rizzo, Malcolm Batty, Wayne Douglas and Meagan Alderton.
Joshua said one of his dancing goals was to represent Australia at the World Championships.
Shanice, 11, said she was excited about the Australian Dancesport Championships.
“I love Latin because it’s fun and you can really get into it and use your energy,” she said.
Shanice hopes to one day become a professional dancer and teacher.
Joshua and Shanice’s mother, Michelle Fernandez, said her children were very dedicated to their dancing.
Mrs Fernandez says Shanice has worked extremely hard as she competes against girls who are four to five years older than her.
“Although we were very cautious of how she would cope, she has proven that she can hold her own on the dance floor,” she said.
The 2009 Australian Dancesport Championships will be held at the Hisense Arena in Melbourne from Thursday 10 December to Sunday 13 December.
