Excellence, Growth, and Community: Celebrating Our 2025 Mid Year Competition and Championships

The Tamworth Town Hall came alive with energy, artistry, and remarkable talent over the weekend of June 28-29 as Tamworth City Dance Academy hosted our 2025 Mid Year Competition and Championships. What unfolded across those two days was far more than a competition—it was a celebration of dedication, growth, and the unique supportive culture that defines TCDA.

A Weekend of Achievement

From our youngest performers to our senior champions, every dancer who stepped onto that stage demonstrated courage, commitment, and artistry. The weekend began with our Baby Dance section, where 14 dancers under the age of 7 experienced the thrill of performance, many for the first time. Watching these tiny dancers navigate the nerves and excitement of competition reminds us that every champion's journey begins with a single brave step onto the stage.

The Mini Solo competition for ages 8-9 marked the first major competitive milestone for many of our students. With 19 entrants showcasing their skills, the level of talent was exceptional. Congratulations to Romme Smith, who demonstrated outstanding artistry and technique to win both the Jazz and Lyrical competitions—a remarkable achievement that reflects her dedication and natural ability.

The Heart of Competition: 25 Sections, Countless Moments of Growth

Over two intensive days, 25 competition sections for dancers aged 10 and up provided opportunities for every student to challenge themselves, showcase their progress, and experience the unique combination of nerves and exhilaration that competition brings. Each section told stories of personal victories—technical breakthroughs, emotional connections to choreography, and the quiet confidence that comes from standing alone on stage and trusting your training.

The Championships: Where Dedication Meets Opportunity

The culmination of the weekend was our Championships—a format that truly tests a dancer's stamina, consistency, and mental fortitude. To qualify, dancers performed twice in the regular competitions, then had the opportunity to compete twice more in the championship rounds on the final day. This structure rewards not just talent, but resilience and the ability to maintain excellence under pressure.

Junior Championship:

• Champion: Eliza Hynes

• Runner Up: Airlee Syron

• Encouragement: Ava Howell

Intermediate Championship:

• Champion: Chelsea Ryan

• Runner Up: Luca Ball

• Encouragement: Ava Barnes

Senior Championship:

• Champion: Ciana Mann

• Runner Up: Max Burr

• Encouragement: Mia Gardner

  
  

To all our champions, runners up, and encouragement award recipients: your achievements represent countless hours in the studio, unwavering commitment to your craft, and the courage to put yourself forward. We celebrate not just your placements, but the character you've developed through the journey.

Expert Eyes: Thank You, Ms. Cassie Peele

We were privileged to have Melbourne-based dance artist and teacher Ms. Cassie Peele serve as our adjudicator. Her expertise, constructive feedback, and genuine investment in each dancer's growth provided invaluable insights that will help our students continue developing their artistry. Having an external professional perspective challenges our dancers to meet industry standards while reinforcing the solid technical foundation they're building at TCDA.

The Power of Community Support

None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of our sponsors, who contributed cash and prizes worth over $1,500. These local businesses didn't just support an event—they invested in the dreams and development of young people in our community:

• Summers Group

• Hair by Sym

• Lado's Jewellery Studio

• AD Hynes Joinery

• Country Pavement Services

• Design Hair Studio

• Pipeline Pools

Your support sends a powerful message to our dancers: this community believes in you, values your dedication, and wants to see you succeed. Thank you for making this event possible and for recognising the importance of dance education in developing well-rounded, confident young people.

The TCDA Difference: Competitive Yet Supportive

What sets TCDA's internal competitions apart is the unique culture they cultivate—one that balances healthy competition with genuine support. Unlike external competitions where dancers may view peers solely as rivals, our internal events create an environment where students push each other to excellence while celebrating one another's achievements.

This approach offers profound benefits:

Building Resilience in a Safe Environment: Competition inevitably involves disappointment alongside triumph. In our supportive internal setting, dancers learn to handle both with grace, developing emotional resilience that serves them far beyond dance. They experience the vulnerability of putting themselves forward, but within a community that values effort as much as outcome.

Learning to Lead and Follow: Our senior dancers model sportsmanship for younger students, demonstrating how to compete with intensity while maintaining kindness and humility. Meanwhile, younger dancers learn that today's champions were once beginners themselves, making excellence feel achievable rather than distant.

Developing Authentic Confidence: When dancers compete in a supportive atmosphere, they develop confidence rooted in genuine self-improvement rather than simply defeating others. They learn to measure success against their own progress, finding motivation in personal growth rather than solely in rankings.

Strengthening Community Bonds: Watching your studio mates succeed, even when you don't place as hoped, teaches the valuable lesson that someone else's victory doesn't diminish your worth. This mindset—celebrating others while pursuing your own excellence—creates stronger individuals and a more connected community.

Normalising Healthy Competition: In a world where young people often experience competition as cutthroat or anxiety-inducing, TCDA's approach demonstrates that competition can be both challenging and nurturing. This prepares our dancers for future academic, professional, and personal challenges where they'll need to perform under pressure while maintaining their values and relationships.

More Than Ribbons and Trophies

As we reflect on this remarkable weekend, we're reminded that the true victory isn't captured in placements or prizes. It's visible in the dancer who conquered stage fright, in the student who improved their technique through dedicated practice, in the competitor who genuinely celebrated a peer's success, and in every participant who chose courage over comfort by stepping into the competitive arena.

To every dancer who participated: you demonstrated the values that define TCDA—dedication, resilience, humility, and grace. You proved that competition and support aren't opposing forces but complementary elements that, when balanced, create an environment where everyone can grow.

To our parents and families: thank you for the early mornings, the costume prep, the encouragement during challenging rehearsals, and for trusting us with your daughters and sons. Your investment in their dance education extends far beyond technique—you're helping develop confident, capable young people prepared for whatever challenges life presents.

As we move forward into the second half of 2025, we carry the lessons, memories, and momentum from this weekend. For some dancers, placements will fuel their competitive fire. For others, the experience itself—performing, pushing boundaries, and being part of something bigger—will be the motivation they need. Both responses are valid, and both contribute to the rich tapestry of growth that defines the TCDA experience.

Here's to our dancers, our community, and the ongoing journey of artistic and personal development. The stage at Tamworth Town Hall may have been where the competition unfolded, but the real work—and the real growth—happens in our studio every single day.

To learn more about TCDA's programs and our approach to developing confident, capable dancers, visit www.tamworthcitydance.com.au or contact our Principal directly at kellie@tamworthcitydance.com.au.