Dancers reflect on record-breaking Stars of the Eurobodalla

The Stars helped raise a record-breaking $120,000 for Cancer Council NSW, which will all go back to local service providers in the Shire.

Clare Lovelace, Anke Dutschke, Clare Burke, Christina McPherson, Maddy Jeffery, Jess Williams, Mark Ethell, Dean White, and Mark Smith were the lucky nine to dance on the night, and while they weren't dancing for prizes or awards, there were four given out anyway.

Dean White took home both the highest fundraiser and people's choice awards, Mark Ethell was the Judge's Choice award winner, and Anke Dutschke won the best costume award.

We spoke to the Stars after the event about how they felt and why they danced on Saturday night.

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Clare Lovelace, owner of Soul Tribe Yoga Studio in Batemans Bay, was the first dancer of the night, and was given the task of a pole dance led by her coach Charmaine Brereton.

Ms Lovelace said the nature of the dance, and being first up, meant she'd "never been so nervous".

"I usually don't get that nervous, but I was terrified," she said. "I'd been rehearsing for a couple of months, but I didn't feel super confident because pole dancing is so challenging and not my natural thing.

"It helps that I'm a yoga teacher, but when they said it was pole dancing, my heart did drop a little bit. My upper body isn't extremely strong - pole dancing is all about controlling your weight going down, but pole dancing is more about pulling everything up.

"I was really proud of how far I'd come from the very first rehearsal to what I could do towards the end, it was a massive leap.

"It was the best night ever, I had so much fun. I was happy I was first as well, because then I could relax and be with my friends."

Ms Lovelace said the support from the community was "fantastic".

"They were all really supportive and proud of my for doing it," she said. "A lot of my students sponsored me, and we had a lot of people from the studio there on the night as well.

"I'm really grateful for this community - I've only been here for about three years, and I've felt so welcome from the very start.

"I love Batemans Bay, everyone here is so supportive, down to earth, kind, and caring.

"I've lived in a lot of places, and this is by far the best place I've been."

Clare said she was inspired by her grandmother who died of cancer when she was a child in the UK.

"I have a few friends who have been impacted by cancer, and my grandma died of cancer when I was about eight back in England, so it's definitely something that's affected my life," she said.

"I'm really proud I could raise money and support such an amazing organisation."

Clare raised $6247 for the Cancer Council.

Anke Dutschke, a doctor at the Moruya Medical Centre, raised $14,619 for the Cancer Council, and was the second dancer on stage with her coach Kassi Lozzi.

Ms Dutschke said they came up with the theme of the dance after discovering their shared love of butterflies.

"It was such a great night, and the first time I overcame my stage fright, so I was very happy with myself," she said.

"We brainstormed the idea together, and we came up with the idea of gangsters in the end because of the money theme.

"We wanted to have the light and the beauty, and the end was initially meant to be a transformation from bad to good, but we had to do the good first in the end.

"We both love butterflies and what they stand for: everything will come in time, so don't be upset in the beginning because you'll eventually fly.

"We've both had really dear friends who we've lost to cancer, and we both said one day a butterfly will come and sit on our nose, and that's how we'll know it's our friend."

Anke grew up in East Germany, but has been in the Eurobodalla Shire for almost 20 years. She has now written a book to help cancer research.

"I love it here, you really can't be in a better place," she said.

"There are some traditions I miss from Germany, but you get used to that.

"I had a friend in Germany who was diagnosed with cancer 25 years ago when she was only 30, and I always felt inadequate that I couldn't cure cancer, so I put a lot of pressure on myself.

"I really like language and writing, so one day I thought I'd honour her in a different way and write a book.

"I went to a lot of different writing courses, and I published the book this year in her honour."

The book is called 'Deception', and five per cent of all profits made from the book will go to the Cancer Council.

"This event was really dear to me," she said. "I was so worried I wouldn't be able to raise any money, but it was fine.

"Thanks to all the people who donated, and thanks to Kassi who is just wonderful, she was the most supportive and inspiring teacher one can dream of."

Clare Burke, a midwife based at the Nest of Moruya, was the third dancer on stage with her coach Rebecca McCahon.

Unfortunately the Bay Post was unable to speak to Clare, who raised $4439 for The Cancer Council.

Christina McPherson, a partner at McPherson Park Lawyers in Batemans Bay, was fourth on stage with a Zumba routine with coach Jessica Brown.

Christina said the night was a "different experience".

"I had a lot of fun, but it was definitely a difference experience for me," she said.

"I found it incredibly nerve-wracking, but I just kept telling myself 'it's three minutes of possibly embarrassing myself for a very good cause.

"In was an even I'm honoured to be a part of."

Ms McPherson raised $9387 for The Cancer Council, and was given one of the most physically demanding dance styles on the night.

"It was very tough to learn," she said. "I spent hours practicing, but my dance teacher was great.

"I did the best I could on the night."

Christina said her inspiration for the night was twofold.

"My mum is a survivor of cervical cancer, and I saw her live through that," she said.

"Secondly, I see a lot of people who have been affected by cancer in my line of work.

"The big thing for me was the money being raised is for our local community. I was raised in Batemans Bay and I've chosen to live here, so I felt it was a really good cause and something I wanted to be a part of to make a difference for the people here."

Maddy Jeffery, a property officer at Elders Real Estate in Batemans Bay, was fifth on stage with a ballroom dance inspired by Moulin Rouge.

Ms Jeffery danced with professional ballroom dancer Briony Penrose and raised $7965 for The Cancer Council.

Maddy, who has a background of cheerleading and gymnastics, said she was told she couldn't do any dance that favoured her past experience.

"Briony is a professional ballroom dancer, so we decided to do a Latin dance," she said.

"(My background) certainly helped with the co-ordination of little steps and bits and pieces throughout the dance.

"It was so good to finally have the night and to have people there to watch and support."

Ms Jeffery said she was inspired to dance at the event because it was a "great cause to get behind.

"It's a bit of fun as well," she said. "It's getting more popular in the area, so I wanted to help keep that up, and it was good to get everyone out to an event.

"I'd definitely do it again if I had the opportunity."

Jess Williams, a real estate agent from Blackshaws in Batemans Bay, raised $10,839 on the night, and danced sixth with her coach Jill Wehner.

"It was a fun night, lots of excitement and nerves," she said. "It's for a great cause, and I'm proud of everyone who participated and donated.

"We'd been practicing that dance since November - I just wanted something I could keep up with, so we picked jazz for the entertainment factor.

"Jill was great in teaching me that dance - she pushed me with some of the moves, she'd come to me every week and say 'we're adding more in' or 'we're jazzing this up'.

"By the end I was really enjoying the dancing and practicing - it's great fitness.

"Thanks to Jill, she's amazing at what she does and the way she helps out with this great cause year after year is inspiring."

Jess said her inspiration for the event was her mum and the fact all the money raised went to local people.

"When I was asked (to dance), my mum was going through breast cancer treatment," she said.

"On Saturday night my mum recognised the guy who helped organise all her accommodation, and I realised how much this event does help the local community.

"She's gone through that treatment and used those services available, so it's something that's very close to my heart."

Mark Ethell, owner and manager of the Moruya Waterfront Hotel, raised $10,481 for The Cancer Council, and was seventh on stage with his dance coach Rebecca Stanley.

"I was quite nervous," he said. "I was talking to my wife who told me she'd never seen me that nervous before.

"I didn't want to let anyone down though, and it was an awesome and fun experience.

"It was a great night, a great group, and nine acts who put in so much time and effort."

Mr Ethell said he was thrilled with the support he'd received from both the community and his dance coach.

"I had a good group of friends there to support me on the night, that helped me get over the line," he said.

"Big thank you to Rebecca as well, she's a young mum who still had time to get me sorted somehow. Full credit to her for being willing to give up her time to help make the show go ahead.

"My parents, my wife, and my extended family and friends have been fantastic, and the local support has been amazing.

"A lot of people willingly jumped on board, and I was rapt to be able to raise that amount of money."

Mr Ethell's inspiration for the night was his wife, who survived cancer last year.

"My wife went through cancer last year, and it's great that all the funds stay local," he said.

"She went through bowel cancer, go through it, and is all fit and well now after it, but we were lucky it was picked up early, diagnosed, and treated.

"Anyone who think about give this a go, it's a great experience."

Dean White, general manager of the Mossy Cafe, was eighth on stage with his dance coach Rachel Piper, and raised a whopping $15,429 for The Cancer Council.

"I was strangely not as nervous as I thought I'd be going in," he said.

"I could feel my heart beating a little bit faster the closer it got to my time on stage, but once I was up there, I just kind of got in the zone.

"The whole evening was a bit blink and you miss it, but I was on a high for a good 24 hours afterwards."

Dean's said he was dancing for a friend of his who is currently going through cancer.

"A friend of mine came down from Queensland at the end of the fires and brought down shipping containers and trucks full of fire relief stuff," he said.

"She essentially lived with us for months while she was doing that - she has bowel cancer, and I was most certainly dancing for her."

Mark Smith, owner of the Tribe Cafe in Batemans bay, was last on stage with a fun routine inspired by the Austin Powers films.

Mr Smith did the dance with Jill Wehner after his coach Kate D'Arcy was unable to attend the event.

"It was a bit disappointing for Kate, but luckily we'd done all our training and Jill had helped out with it, so it could have been a lot worse," he said.

"I felt extremely sorry for Kate that she couldn't attend due to COVID, because we'd been working on that dance since November."

The Austin Powers theme was Mark's idea, who raised $6079 for The Cancer Council.

"We sat down together and decided we needed a theme," he said. "I gave them three or four different ones, and they ended up picking Austin Powers.

"I was very much in the zone on the night, and it was such an amazing night for the community.

"I'm relatively new to the area, so I danced to be a part of the community, but I also have a friend who was struggling with cancer at the time I was asked, so that had a lot to do with it.

"Everyone's been amazing, we have such a supportive community down here."