Original Cairns Eisteddfod dancer Linda Frisch reflects on competition, 70 years on

From performing at the first Cairns Eisteddfod to watching her daughters and granddaughter follow in her footsteps, former dancer Linda Frisch has reflected on how far the competition has evolved in 70 years.

The Cairns Junior Eisteddfod is celebrating 70 years of fostering and nurturing young talent in the performing arts. Linda Frisch, 77, performed in the first Cairns Junior Eisteddfod in 1955, and this year her granddaughter Isabel Tatti is performing in the song and dance solo category. Picture: Brendan Radke

From dancing with a piano accompanist to watching her granddaughter take the stage, 77-year-old Linda Frisch has reminisced about how the Cairns Eisteddfod has changed since its debut in 1955.

Ms Frisch, who performed at the first Cairns Eisteddfod, said she got involved after her mother, now 100, went to a committee meeting.

“I think she just went to find out what it was all about and she said, ‘Oh well’, and then I entered. It was just me, but my sister eventually did (as well),” Ms Frisch said.

The Cairns Junior Eisteddfod is celebrating 70 years of fostering and nurturing young talent in the performing arts. Linda Frisch, who is now 77, performed in the first Cairns Junior Eisteddfod in 1955. She is pictured performing (fourth from right) in the 1950s. Picture: Brendan Radke

“And then my daughters did it and now my granddaughter’s in the eisteddfod.”

Ms Frisch remembered dancing ballet, tap and cabaret at the eisteddfod’s original location, the Hibernian on Lake Street.

“I did all of it, ballet, tap. They didn’t have jazz, they did cabaret but it was a modern type of dance,” she said.

“Back then they played the piano for us all to dance. There was no such thing as tapes, no technology, there were no computers.”

She said one of the biggest changes in the eisteddfod were the dressing rooms.

The Cairns Junior Eisteddfod is celebrating 70 years of fostering and nurturing young talent in the performing arts. Linda Frisch, 77, performed in the first Cairns Junior Eisteddfod in 1955, and this year her granddaughter Isabel Tatti is performing in the song and dance solo category. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Our dressing room at the back of (the Hibernian) was pretty primitive, a hessian curtain,” she said.

“It had the old canvas chairs and it wasn’t air-conditioned, but it was always held around this time, May, June, in what we consider our cooler months.”

But one thing that has not changed is the camaraderie between competitors while nurturing local talent.

The Cairns Junior Eisteddfod is celebrating 70 years of fostering and nurturing young talent in the performing arts. Linda Frisch, who is now 77, performed in the first Cairns Junior Eisteddfod in 1955. She is pictured performing (right) in the 1950s. Picture: Brendan Radke

“I think it’s great for the community, for the town, for the area, to have this sort of a competition for everybody, so that it lets children perform on stage and do what they like. Encourage it, they need to foster that talent,” she said.

However the main point of enjoyment which keeps Ms Frisch coming back is watching the competitors grow each year.

“Watching all the competitors and how they perform … I mean the music sections, the choirs and the bands, the dance groups, they’re just amazing,” she said.

“And to watch the speech and drama how they all grow. It’s just amazing the talent in the north – it’s just really good.”

See more photos from this week’s Eisteddfod performances in the Weekend Post.

Originally published as Original Cairns Eisteddfod dancer Linda Frisch reflects on competition, 70 years on