June 26, 2014
by Marcus Priaulx
Sue Harvey begged her parents to let her dance and hasn’t stopped spreading her passion for the art since.
Her father Lionel wasn’t keen to let his six-year old pursue it at first.
He thought it would be a costly fad for the youngest of his four children.
“All little girls want to dance,” he said. “Stick her in and she’ll last six months.”
Nearly 35 years on, Sue is still in love with dance.
After a professional career she is now teaching it at her DanCentrix Academy in Enoggera.
She’s had former students selected for the Australian Ballet School and others who have performed with senior companies in Australia and New York.
In the past month Sue has taken her instruction to children in Warwick and Kingaroy, where she hopes to continue.
But Sue said teaching dance was more than just preparing a child for a career.
“I have children who are never going to be dancers but it offers them life skills,” she said.
“They learn about preparation, grooming and get confidence to sit in front of people and present themselves.
“It gives them a sense of achievement and it’s about all the steps along the way; the preparation, the hard work. They learn dedication a lot of kids struggle with.”
Dance also gives children focus outside of their everyday life and builds neurological pathways in the brain that school work and everyday use doesn’t.
It makes children physically fit and emotionally happier and Sue is willing to travel hundreds of kilometres to Warwick and Kingaroy to spread the benefits.
Sue is working with the Dance Centre school at Warwick to mentor the new owner and teacher, Leah Doherty, and has linked with Ally Walker’s Miss Ally’s school in Kingaroy.
Sue also had children from Nanango and Murgon dance schools attend during her introductory session in Kingaroy last Sunday (June 22).
“I came to Kingaroy after parents brought their young daughter to me in Brisbane because she was keen to become a professional dancer,” Sue said.
The cost of regular travel and lessons for the family would have been a lot and after discussion Sue suggested she come to Kingaroy if more budding dancers wanted to join her classes.
Sue is now keen to continue with the lessons on a monthly basis.
“It brings a different aspect of teaching to the town,” Sue said.
“I have guest teachers come to my DanCentrix Academy at Enoggera all the time.
“When you teach your students you can build personal relationships and teach them a bit differently.
“A fresh set of eyes can pick things up that you might have overlooked.
“It also stops the children from getting stale.”
Sue is now hoping to build on the partnerships she is forming with dance schools in the bush.
“It’s exciting,” she said.
“If I come out it can give fuel to the kids and something for them to work on.
“If I can make an impact, I hope it’s to inspire them.
“When I come back next time I’ll see the improvements they’ve made and then give them some more fuel for when I come again.
“It’s about spreading the love of dance.”
