REGIONAL HEROES: Danzx-tensions Dance Studio

One of the recurring themes among grateful parents and students in their responses to our Regional Heroes nominations was the effort teachers made to support pupils through the pandemic. It seems few teachers gave up and closed their doors and sat out the storm – instead they maintained contact with their pupils, providing a lifeline to bored kids and desperate parents.

As one parent wrote about Sicely Kennedy, the principal of Danzx-tensions Dance Studio: "During the last couple of years Sicely has ensured that dance classes go ahead. Many classes were on Zoom. As a parent this was so important at the time, not just to learn more dance but for their physical and mental health; and to have some 'normality' with consistent classes with their friends. Sicely has created a dance family for all her students! From three years to 16 years old, boys and girls and from different backgrounds – everyone can have the opportunity to dance."

Danzx-tensions is in the historic coastal town of Portland, nearly 400 km west of Melbourne, closer to the South Australian border than the capital city, home of commercial fishing, the Alcoa aluminium smelter and, now, wind farms. With a population of about 10,000, the interests are more sporty than artistic, but Kennedy has built a thriving school since establishing 22 years ago. She has about 90 pupils, from pre-school to seniors, taking classes in ballet, tap and hip hop, lyrical and contemporary dance.

Kennedy was born and raised in the area. Learning her first dance steps in Portland, she moved to Melbourne to study full-time at Dance World studios, and returned to her home town to set up a school, holding her first classes at the same church hall where she had learnt as a student. Three years later she leased premises in the middle of town and has been there ever since. She gained her Diploma of Teaching Management from the Australian Teachers of Dancing as well as her  Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Her main aim is to provide local children with the opportunity to learn dance for fun. She teaches most of the classes herself, though now she has a former student on her teaching faculty. She cultivates a family feeling among her pupils, encouraging them all to look out for each other and support each other. There are no parents backstage at end-of-year concerts – instead the senior pupils are encouraged to help the little ones. She has a small competition team for more ambitious pupils, which enters eisteddfods in nearby towns, "but it's more to inspire the kids and to teach them commitment and teamwork while learning extra new skills", she says, rather than winning prizes.

Portland, she says, is a tightknit community, and she likes to reflect the same closeness within her school. However, when some pupils do decide to fly the coop and take their dance further as a career – and a number have become teachers themselves or gone on to study full-time in the "big smoke" – she is thrilled to have been the person to have provided the early skills and inspiration. "The sad thing is that the really inspired ones have to leave me! Coming back to Portland isn't really an option if you want to be a dancer."

Thanks to teachers like Kennedy, however, living in a distant regional town doesn't have to mean a life deprived of culture. Dance schools provide friends, travel and entertainment: they become integral, much-loved community hubs. After 22 years Kennedy has been around long enough to see some of her pupils grow up and have children of their own. "It's amazing watching these people grow," she says. Chookas to that.

– KAREN VAN ULZEN

The Regional Heroes series is proudly sponsored by ONEMUSIC AUSTRALIA, the national music licencing body.