The festival committee are now calling for entries to the festival, with dancers and dance schools being able to enter via Comps Online. The dates for the festival are between the July 4-14, with final dates to be determined based upon the number of entries, which close on May 1.

The aim of the Festival is to learn and promote the art of dance in a competitive but friendly atmosphere. In the past the event has attracted entries from all over New South Wales and interstate, including dancers, some local, who have been placed in national dance competitions, while others are being trained at elite selective dance schools throughout Australia such as the Australian Ballet Interstate Training Program, the Newcastle Ballet Theatre and Newcastle Dance Academy, Transit Dance in Melbourne and Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy/Sydney City Youth Ballet.

While there are the elite dancers performing at various stages, the festival also caters for dancers as young as four years old through to seniors, allowing them to perform dances across a range of different genres.

Naomi Bishop, the festival chairperson, is excited about the potential for this year’s event, as it has grown each year since it’s inception in 2014.

“In 2017 we had over 700 dancers participate in the festival with over $6000 in prize money being awarded throughout the ten days,” she said. 

“This year we are excited to host even more dancers and their families as we promote dancing throughout our region, and the central west. There are so many talented dancers in the Mid Western region and this provides another avenue for them to perform in front of a local audience.”

This year the adjudicator for the festival is Miss Donna De Paoli R.A.D who is the principal of Elenya Performing Arts in Melbourne. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the Performing Arts Industry, with her credits including Dance Cancer Initiative - Foxtel Aurora (8 Years), 2007 Tokyo Disney Resort Audition Aust-wide Supervisor & Liaison with USA Disney Team, Aria Awards, In Melbourne Tonight, Belle the Ballerina Video, Barbie Fashion Launch – Myer, Melbourne, Dance World Studios (DW301) Productions 1992 – 2003 Local & Interstate.

Participating Dancers will have the opportunity to experience the skills of Miss Donna outside the typical Eisteddfod realm, with choreographed workshops with the adjudicator.
The conclusion of this exciting event is the Mid-Western Dance Festival Showcase to be held at the conclusion of the festival.

The entire Festival will be open to the public.
You can support the event as an audience member throughout the competition and workshops.

For more information about the festival, or if you would like to sponsor prizes at the event, please contact the Festival secretary at midwesterndancefestival@gmail.com, or find them at www.midwesterndancefestival.org.au or on Facebook.