Twirl, tap, twist: a Queanbeyan dance studio’s journey to Japanese international stages

Posted on 13 January, 2025

As we slowly get used to saying 2025 instead of 2024, many of us are thinking about our New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’re hoping to save some money, develop a new hobby, or find a new sport!

How about the goal of representing Australia at the World Expo in Japan, performing at Tokyo Disney and Universal Studios Osaka?

For Queanbeyan’s Bom Funk Dance Studio, this is what they’ve got their eye on.

Director of Bom Funk, Kym Degenhart, says they’re eagerly awaiting the finalisation of what performances they’ll have and what the schedule will be for their international Japan trip.

“We have 33 dancers attending our tour and we’ve just put in our application with DFAT and we’re hoping we’ll be able to perform at the Expo being held in Osaka Japan.”

If all goes well for Bom Funk, their time at the World Expo will be a very notable milestone.

“We’ll be performing for people from across the world coming to World Expo, it starts on the 13^th of April and ends in October. … Each country that’s involved creates an exhibition centre so we’ve applied to represent Australia,” Kym says.

While they’re still deciding exactly what they’ll perform, it looks like they’re planning to showcase their best work and some iconic Australian artists.

This may already sound like an accomplishment; however, Kym says there’s more.

“We’re also putting in some applications at DisneySea, Universal Studios and Hello Kitty Park over there.”

“I don’t think any other Australian dance studio has ever performed at these parks so we’re hoping to lead the way, see how we go with those applications and try to establish relationships with these companies.”

Kym is confident this trip will not only raise the studio’s international presence and give the students a chance to perform, but it will also introduce them to a new world of culture.

“It’s showing the students that there’s more out there, that they can pursue their passions and meet people and see cultures and experience all those different things while they’re travelling.”

“Travelling overseas when I was a young dancer was such an education, it was one of my favourite experiences and it actually led me into my professional dance career.”

The trip comes off the back of a very successful awards season for the studio, notably, the 2024 Australasian Dance Education Awards, hosted on the Sydney Harbour front.

Bom Funk danced its way to victory, earning four gold and two silver accolades across a range of categories.

“We won regional dance studio of the year, and we came second place for Australian dance studio of the year, and we also came away with a few other awards which was incredible,” Kym shares.

“We won best customer service, we won best branding and marketing, and one of our dance teachers came second for Australian dance teacher of the year.”

“It’s such a wonderful event to see studio owners and dance teachers come together from across Australia and New Zealand and really celebrate everyone’s individual achievements and differences.”

For Kym, these awards also mark a recent career milestone.

“It’s such a great achievement, especially being my tenth year as director, it just felt like a nice way to celebrate all the hard work that is running a dance studio and running a small business,” she says.

But there’s no time to rest.

“We’ll probably enter them [the awards] again next year and see how we go. Of course, we’d love to come away with Australian dance studio of the year one day, so we’ll keep working our way to that one.”

Increasingly, research has found participating in a form of dance has a positive impact on our wellbeing, and Kym is hopeful the studio can welcome more locals to the world of dance.

“I think dance provides people with an outlet and it’s a wonderful mix of art and fitness and sport, so it can really access so many different things for different people.”

“It’s one of the few things that you don’t need language to communicate with, you can communicate with anyone worldwide. It’s such a special part of everyone’s life.”

“I think everybody has the chance to dance and it’s just finding the right place so you feel comfortable and can fit into that community space.”

If your interest has been piqued, and you’re eager to start twirling, tapping, or twisting, you’re in luck!

Bom Funk is opening their doors to the community for an open day.

“We have our open day coming up on the 1^st of February and that will provide free classes for anyone who wants to try our classes to start the year off.”

“We’ll also have free trial classes running for the first few weeks of our term.”

So, as we lock into our New Year’s resolutions, keep in mind the possibility of dance, and join the community dancing their way through life.

Feature image: Bom Funk students. Credit: Images Instantly.