From tiny tots to movie magic, FNQ Dance Academy celebrates eight long-serving graduates
Eight dancers who started as toddlers at FNQ Dance Academy will take their final bow after 14 years, 2000 classes and eight major concerts together.
After 14 years, more than 2000 dance classes, eight end-of-year concerts and countless rehearsals, competitions and eisteddfods, FNQ Dance Academy will farewell a very special group of students at this year’s Movie Magic: The Dance Awards concert at CPAC on Sunday, December 7.
Eight dancers who began their training at as three and four-year-olds in 2012 will take their final bows in what is both a full-circle moment and the end of an era for the Academy.
Five of the students will graduate Year 12 in 2025, with a further three graduating in 2026. Because FNQDA’s concert is held every two years, Movie Magic will be the final biannual end-of-year production for all eight, who have grown up on the Academy’s stages.
Collectively, they have performed in eight major FNQDA concerts, appeared in hundreds of routines and worn dozens of pairs of dance shoes.
Add in troupe work, eisteddfods, exams and holiday rehearsals, and the hours spent in the studio run easily into the thousands.
FNQ Dance Academy owner Sarah Thorne said the group embodied everything the school aimed to nurture: technical skill, resilience, teamwork and a genuine love of dance and their friendships formed through a shared passion.
“These dancers walked through our doors as tiny tots in 2012 and have grown into confident, accomplished young people who now lead from the front,” Sarah said.
“They have experienced the full journey — from pre-primary ballet and their first glittering costume, to juggling senior school, multiple genres, troupe commitments and leadership roles in the studio. They represent both pathways after our ‘Future Stars’ Under 5s program – recreational & competition streams. They really are part of the fabric of FNQDA.”
Sarah said many families and younger students viewed them as role models.
“They’re the ones helping tie shoes backstage, running warm-ups, cheering on the juniors and showing what’s possible when you stick with something you love,” she said.
“For us as teachers, seeing them finish this chapter is emotional but incredibly rewarding. We feel proud, not just of the dancers they’ve become, but of the people they are. While a great responsibility, it is an absolute privilege to be such a big part of their journeys and development to this point.”
Tickets for Movie Magic: The Dance Awards on sale now at www.ticketlink.com.au
Originally published as From tiny tots to movie magic, FNQ Dance Academy celebrates eight long-serving graduates
