Jarryd Byrne is a country boy at heart, but you may have caught him on your television screen dancing with the likes of model Jesinta Franklin, singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and My Kitchen Rules star Ash Pollard.
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The former Dancing with the Stars dancer commutes from Melbourne every Monday to teach classes at The Dance Studio in Ballarat.
He said about 38 of the dance school’s students would be competing in the 2017 Ballarat Dancesport Festival – an event that would have all the glitz and glamour of the iconic dancing show.
The festival covers a range of ballroom and Latin dancing styles including the waltz, quickstep, cha cha, jive, samba and rumba.
“It really gives a lot of the local talent and kids an opportunity to experience competition at such a great level, but also for the general public to come and view some fantastic dancing,” Byrne said.
Byrne, who danced in the event more than a decade ago, will take part this year in the teacher student section.
He said competitors travelled as far as interstate to perform in the festival.
“The advanced students will be training five to six days a week, it can be a full time job really,” he said.
The event is divided into sections catering for different age groups and experience levels, with both graded and recreational couple events and a range of medals up for grabs.
The evening sessions will feature the finalists from the day time competition.
“We had some success with Ballarat White Night, with thousands of people through the doors of the Swing City event, so if you enjoyed that event, then this is definitely another event to come and watch,” Byrne said.
This year there will be special evening session prices on offer with $15 tickets for adults and $10 for juniors under the age of 16.
The Ballarat Dancesport Festival, which is run by the Australian Dancing Society, takes place at the MARS Minerdome on Saturday, April 1. For more information visit australiandancingsociety.com.au.
