This drives Ms Godfrey to do her best in representing the not-for-profit in gala spectacular Dancing with Our Stars at Civic Hall next month.

Ms Godfrey said there was great synergy between the employment services she now works in with young people at BGT and the impact her dancing will support. The event is a major fundraiser for The Ballarat Foundation and its suite of grassroots programs to help break community cycles of disadvantage.

At BGT, Ms Godfrey said programs, such as the certificate two in landscaping, offered great pathways to trade apprenticeships and important life skills.

When it came to ballroom dance skills, Ms Godfrey likened her lessons to riding a roller coaster: confidence since has ebbed and flowed but Ms Godfrey said the whole experience has been a thrill.

And she changed jobs, joining BGT weeks out from first hitting the dance floor in Dancing with Our Stars training.

"I had been talking to a friend of mine who was talking about the 2020 group all being organised and I flippantly made a throwaway line, 'if anyone breaks a leg I don't mind filling in'. Then I got the call that no-one had broken their leg but there was someone who could not do it any more," Ms Godfrey said.

"It's just a gorgeous event and I love The Ballarat Foundation's work. I used to do a bit with United Way and it is great that is now part of the foundation."

MORE DANCING INSPIRATION

Ms Godfrey had always wanted to ballroom dance properly. While Ms Godfrey does learn rock 'n roll dance with her husband Greg, the slow fox trot is a challenge of a whole different level.

They take rock 'n roll lessons under The Dance Studio's Shelley Ross, who is training all the event's community stars, so there is an element of familiarity for Ms Godfrey.

"My first lesson was my best lesson because I was not thinking too much - I didn't know what the steps were. Then I started to over-think," Ms Godfrey said.

"The slow fox trot is not slow. It is going to be really swirly. If I can get the shaping right, where I'm heading and my arms, and hang on to (dance partner) Scott, I will be okay."

Ms Godfrey said there was added complexity in needing to know whether to step with a heel or toe and whether to lean her head left or right.

But the main thing is she loved it.

BGT is supporting Ms Godfrey to sell kites via zoomkites.com.au and distribute from their Barkly Street base. To order, select order now and Anita Godfey - Dancing with Our Stars.

The Ballarat Foundation's Dancing with Our Stars is bringing glamour back to Civic Hall on March 20. To support the stars: dancing-with-our-stars.raisely.com.