Lisa Clark Dance Centre

That’s a wrap on Canberra Dance Festival for 2026, and what a weekend it was! We’re certainly entering another golden era with our groups showing their excellent technique and dedication to their training, bringing to life their teacher’s visions and working together as a team with slick precision.

🥇14/u Classical
🥈Any Age Classical
🥈Any Age Production
🥈10/u Classical
🥈10/u Contemporary
💜 Incredible performances in all other sections we are just so proud of.

If you saw our ‘Hamilton’ piece - yes that was our students singing to a recording of themselves, not lip-syncing to an alternative recording. We’re so lucky to have the capacity and the expertise in our staff to pull off a piece like that. The track of the students signing gives them a huge boost to be able to confidently vocalise live in tricky theatre spaces without mics, which is incredibly daunting and hard to do.

Also, we want to get out in front of the rumour mill and publicly acknowledge that yes, sadly one of our groups was disqualified today. It came about as a parent filmed their dancer on the tv in the foyer - an unfortunate mistake that came from a place of love and pride of the daughter and her friends. We support CDF’s decision to disqualify us, and are using this experience to remind our students and parents to focus on the performance and not the score, as the students danced that piece superbly.

On another note - to the studio that did film our Be Our Guest piece, we’re glad you enjoyed it so much. We agree that it’s pretty great!

We couldn’t be prouder of every LCDC student that danced in our groups. The growth in our dancers in the last 12 months has been phenomenal, and we’re confident parents saw that on stage this weekend.

🎶We're goin' up, up, up.
It's our moment
You know together we're glowing
Gonna be, gonna be goldеn🎶

LCDC Dance Knowledge 💚

With Wonderfully Wicked coming to the stage in our concert this year, it felt like the perfect time to explore the story behind one of the world’s most beloved musicals.

Most people know Elphaba as the Wicked Witch of the West, but Wicked tells the story from a different perspective — exploring friendship, courage, resilience and the idea that there is often more to a person than the labels placed upon them.

Beyond the spectacular costumes and iconic music, it’s a story about embracing what makes you different and having the courage to stand up for what you believe in.

As dancers, understanding the stories behind the music helps us become stronger performers and storytellers.

💚 Everyone deserves the chance to fly.

LCDC

🦢 LCDC Dance Knowledge: Swan Lake

One of the most iconic ballets of all time, Swan Lake is much more than white tutus and swan arms.

It is a story of love, loyalty, deception and sacrifice, told through some of the most beautiful choreography ever created. The ballet moves between two worlds — the royal palace and the enchanted lake — each with its own style, atmosphere and storytelling.

Whether you’re dancing a swan, a prince, or simply learning the repertoire, understanding the story behind the choreography helps bring every movement to life.

Because understanding dance makes performing it even more meaningful. 🤍

✨ Introducing: LCDC Dance Knowledge ✨

Something the teachers have noticed while teaching rep classes is that many students know the steps… but not always the ballet behind them. Sometimes we’ll play a piece of music and ask where it’s from, and there are a lot of blank faces, which honestly isn’t their fault.

Dance training today moves so quickly, and unless someone teaches you the history, the stories, the choreographers, and the worlds these ballets came from, you may never get the chance to discover them.

So we are going to start sharing little “Dance Knowledge” posts — fun facts, ballet history, iconic productions, choreographers, music, costumes, and the stories behind the art we learn in the studio every day ✨

First up:
💎 Jewels by George Balanchine 💎

Because understanding dance makes performing it even more meaningful. 🤍

Double sticker Friday 💜

For our soloist students!

Get your entries in today