Phoenix Dance Team

30/08/2026

The best I have seen them dance to date! 💛🖤

Up against some seriously tough competition, these kids delivered! The growth in their performances was noticeable across every single routine, and they should be SO incredibly proud of what they put on that stage.

🥈 Junior Jazz
🥈 Junior Lyrical
🥈 Intermediate Contemporary
🥈 Intermediate Small Jazz
🥉 Intermediate Large Jazz
✨ Highly Commended - Intermediate Lyrical
✨ Highly Commended - Intermediate Hip Hop

Seven routines, seven results. But more importantly, our best dancing yet.

We work hard for results like these, and today they earned every one of them. 🙌

29/08/2026

🏆✨ FIRST 1ST PLACE FOR MATILDA! ✨🏆

Congratulations Matilda on your very FIRST 1st Place today in Jazz!! 🖤💛

You have worked so incredibly hard on your technique, taking on every correction and continuing to push yourself to improve and today, you were rewarded for all of that hard work.

So well deserved, Matilda. I am SO proud of you!

Your first 1st place… one you’ll always remember. 🥹🏆✨

16/08/2026

Save the Date 💛🖤

14/08/2026

I’ve gone back and forth about sharing these because truthfully, messages like this overwhelm me a little.

I’m really hard on myself. I am absolutely my own biggest critic. I can finish something I’ve worked incredibly hard on and, instead of letting myself feel proud of it, my brain goes straight to what I could have done better, what I’d change next time and what I need to do next. Stopping to recognise what went right doesn’t come as naturally to me.

Owning a dance studio is an interesting job. I don’t think people always see it as a real job, or understand the responsibility that comes with it.

But at the heart of it, these are people’s children.

Parents trust me with them week after week. Not just to teach them how to dance, but to create an environment where they feel safe, included, challenged, encouraged and believed in. And I have always taken that responsibility seriously.

There are so many decisions made behind the scenes that nobody will ever know about. So many hours, conversations, worries, second guesses and moments where I wonder whether I’m getting it right.

The Phoenix Championships was something I had pictured for a long time. I wanted it to be about so much more than who won or where someone placed, and reading these messages afterwards made me realise that what I hoped the day would represent was exactly what our families saw and felt too.

Of course, true to form, my brain was already picking apart what I could improve for next time. So when messages like these started coming through afterwards, they made me stop.

Thank you to every parent who took the time to write these words - the ones I’ve shared here and the ones I haven’t. Please know I have read every single one.

You’re the reason that this week I actually stopped and allowed myself to see what I’ve done, instead of immediately thinking about what I need to do next.

I am incredibly proud of what I’m building. Phoenix Dance Team is becoming exactly what I always hoped it would be. Sometimes I just need reminding to stop long enough to see it.

That means more to me than you probably realise.
🖤💛

- Miss Tara X

11/08/2026

✨ SPECIAL JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARDS ✨

Every dancer has different strengths, and sometimes it’s one particular quality that makes someone stand out. Congratulations to six of our dancers who really shone in something the judges saw in them on Sunday.
🖤💛

🏆 Lily - Stage Presence
🏆 Zahlia - Performance & Musicality
🏆 Poppy - Confidence, Commitment & Effort
🏆 Mila - Stage Presence
🏆 Matilda - Technique Across All Styles
🏆 Mikayla - Perseverance, Courage & Potential

These six dancers caught the attention of our adjudicators for their own individual reasons, and we are so proud to recognise exactly what made each of them shine.

Congratulations to our very first Phoenix Championships Special Judges’ Choice Award recipients! 🏆✨

10/08/2026

AND JUST LIKE THAT… THE FIRST EVER PHOENIX CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE DONE. 🏆🔥

What. A. Day.

Yesterday was everything I hoped our Championships would be - our dancers getting up on stage, having a go, supporting each other, celebrating each other and being brave enough to put themselves out there.

There were trophies, personal bests, big moments, lots of cheering and plenty of memories made. But more than anything, there was such a strong sense of what Phoenix is all about. 🖤💛

Congratulations to all of our dancers! I am SO proud of every single dancer who took the stage today. You should all be incredibly proud of yourself for getting up there and giving it everything you had.

A MASSIVE thank you to our adjudicators, our helpers and every parent and family member who came along, cheered loudly and helped make today possible.

The first Phoenix Championships. Done.

And definitely not the last.

07/08/2026

There is something really special about seeing young dancers from our local community achieving incredible things. ❤️💛🖤

Congratulations, Isabella and Shikyla, on being selected for the NSW Public Schools Primary Aboriginal Dance Company. What a well-deserved honour and an amazing opportunity to celebrate and share your culture through dance.

Everyone at Phoenix Dance Team is so proud of you both and can’t wait to see where this journey takes you. Best of luck for your performance this weekend - you’ll do your school and our community proud! ✨

Congratulations to our incredibly talented students, Isabella and Shikyla, on being selected for the NSW Public Schools Primary Aboriginal Dance Company! ❤️💛🖤

As part of Education Week 2026, Inspiring Excellence, we are proud to celebrate these outstanding young leaders who continue to demonstrate dedication, talent and a strong connection to culture.

This prestigious state-level representative program recognises exceptional dancers and provides opportunities to develop their skills, deepen their cultural knowledge, and work alongside expert choreographers from the renowned Brolga Dance Academy. As members of the company, Isabella and Shikyla will perform at the NSW State Dance Festival and represent NSW Public Schools at a range of special performances throughout the year.
We are incredibly proud of their outstanding achievement and the way they inspire others through their commitment, courage and pride in sharing their culture. They truly embody this year's Education Week theme, Inspiring Excellence.

A very special good luck to Isabella and Shikyla this Sunday as they take to the field to perform with the NSW Public Schools Primary Aboriginal Dance Company at the NRL Indigenous Round match between the Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons. We know you'll make your school and community proud.
Congratulations again on this well-deserved achievement. We can't wait to see you shine! 🌟

04/08/2026

As dance teachers, we spend so much time wondering if we’re making a difference. Then a birthday card like this lands in your hands and reminds you that what children remember isn’t the choreography.

They remember how you make them feel.

And that’s the greatest privilege of all. 🤍