Entertainment
5 December, 2025
‘Movie Magic’ comes alive
FNQ Dance Academy will celebrate its eighth biannual end-of-year concert 'Movie Magic: The Dance Awards', on Sunday 7 December.
The production at Cairns Performing Arts Centre (CPAC) will involve two performances at 10.30am and 4pm.
The production features 260 dancers aged 5–18 from Cairns City and Smithfield studios performing 33 new routines across ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre, acro and heels.
More than 850 new costumes have been created for the two-and-a-half-hour show, which includes an interval and a finale featuring the academy’s eight long-serving students.
The eight graduating students, who began dancing at FNQDA as three and four-year-olds in 2012, represent the original ‘babies ballet’ cohort: five graduate year 12 in 2025, with three completing school in 2026.
Across 14 years, they have completed thousands of classes, performed in eight major concerts, and developed skills spanning multiple dance genres.
“These dancers walked through our doors as tiny tots in 2012 and have grown into confident, accomplished young people who now lead from the front,” FNQ Dance Academy principal Sarah Thorne said.
“They have experienced the full journey – from pre-primary ballet and their first glittering costume, to juggling senior school, multiple genres, troupe commitments and leadership roles in the studio. They really are part of the fabric of FNQDA.”
Movie Magic celebrates storytelling through dance, drawing inspiration from films such as 'Frozen', 'Moana', 'Tarzan', 'Titanic', 'The Mask', 'The Greatest Showman' and 'Mamma Mia'.
The production also marks a full-circle moment in FNQDA’s 14-year history, returning to a cinema-themed show reminiscent of its early concerts.
Tickets are on sale via Ticketlink at www.bit.ly/3KlE9n2 For more information, visit www.bit.ly/3KB4v4m
