Leisa Payne School of Dance

07/09/2026

Celebrating the success of our LP ballerina’s at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance Shirley Treacy Awards (Mackay)

Congratulations to all of our dancers. You were stunning in your class work and performances. We are extremely proud ❤️🖤

Special Congratulations to our Grade 5 Regional Finalists -
Lily Bauer
Olivia Meares
Elle Cummings

Intermediate Foundation/Intermediate Regional Finalists -
Shiloh Sunnerdale
Lejla Bobongie-Harris

Advanced Regional Finalists -
Eva Bishop
Claire Youman
Demi Minns

Grade 5 Overall Finalist -
Elle Cummings

Grade 5 Encouragement Award -
Olivia Meares

Intermediate Foundation/Intermediate Overall Finalist -
Lejla Bobongie-Harris

Advanced Overall Finalists -
Demi Minns
Claire Youman

These girls will join Owen Reed, who was chosen as an Overall Finalist at the Townsville semi finals. Best of luck to you all in the finals next weekend ❤️🖤

02/09/2026

🌟 CONGRATULATIONS DEMI & LILY! 🌟

A huge congratulations to Demi Minns and Lily Bauer on their fantastic performances and achievements at the recent dance competitions held over the past few weeks! ❤️🖤

EVOLUTION DANCE COMPETITION– TOWNSVILLE

✨ Demi Minns

🏆 Highest Scoring Senior Soloist – Commercial Contemporary
🏆 Senior Artistry Award – Traditional Contemporary
🏆 Full Scholarship to the Dynamite Summer Experience on the Gold Coast

JUMP DANCE CHALLENGE – CAIRNS

✨ Demi Minns

🏆 Highest Scoring Soloist – Jazz Solo
🏆 Champion Dancer – Lyrical Solo
🏆 SCIMM Dance Company Award
🏆 Show Stopper Award
🏆 Star Spirit Award

BEYOND THE ENCORE – MACKAY

✨ Lily Bauer

🏆 Highest Scoring Junior Soloist – Classical Solo

We are incredibly proud of both girls and the hard work and dedication they continue to bring to the stage ❤️🖤

30/08/2026

Congratulations to our talented singing students on their wonderful performances at the Mackay Eisteddfod! We are so proud of you all ❤️🖤

🏆 Special congratulations to Ruby Pidgeon, recipient of the 18 Years & Under Encouragement Award!

🥇 1st Place
• Modern Solo 14 Years – Ruby Pidgeon
• Solo from a Musical 12 Years – Arya Manoj Kolavelil
• Vocal Solo 11 Years – Adele Shepherd
• Vocal Trio 16 Years & Under – Kiara Knowles, Monique Shepherd & Ruby Pidgeon

🥈 2nd Place
• Modern Solo 16 Years – Madelyn Shepherd
• Solo from a Musical 11 Years – Adele Shepherd
• Vocal Solo 13 & 14 Years – Ruby Pidgeon
• Vocal Solo 17 & 18 Years – Adysen Ruddick

🥉 3rd Place
• Australian Composer 17 & 18 Years – GG Ruggeri
• Modern Sacred Solo 16 Years & Under – Nash Paganoni
• Modern Solo 13 Years – Ruby McGuire
• Solo from a Musical 14 Years – Ruby Pidgeon
• Traditional Sacred 15 & 16 Years – GG Ruggeri
• Traditional Sacred 15 & 16 Years – Madelyn Shepherd
• Vocal Duet 12 Years & Under – Emma Benincasa & Alexis McGeary

🌟 VHC
• Traditional Sacred 11 & 12 Years – Adele Shepherd
• Vocal Solo 11 Years – Arya Bloxsidge
• Vocal Solo 11 Years – Emma Benincasa

🌟 HC
• Australian Composer 16 Years & Under – Kiara Knowles
• Modern Solo 14 Years – Nash Paganoni
• Modern Solo 15 Years – Kiara Knowles
• Modern Solo 15 Years – Temperance Ellwood
• Solo from a Musical 15 Years – Claire Youman
• Traditional Sacred 11 & 12 Years – Emma Benincasa
• Traditional Sacred 15 & 16 Years – Kiara Knowles
• Vocal Duet 12 Years & Under – Arya Manoj Kolavelil & Arya Bloxsidge
• Vocal Duet 16 Years & Under – Kiara Knowles & Monique Shepherd
• Vocal Solo 15 & 16 Years – Harmoni O’Regan
• Vocal Solo 15 & 16 Years – Madelyn Shepherd
• Vocal Solo 6 Years – Maya Nash
• Vocal Solo 8 Years – Tallullah Bobongie Harris

A heartfelt thank you to our accompanists Nicole Thomson & Callum Massing, and Jan Whelan for assisting with rehearsals.

A massive thank you to our incredible singing teacher Caitlyn Schurmann ❤️ Your dedication, encouragement and many hours preparing the students are so appreciated.

23/08/2026

Come and support our beautiful Adele ❤️

We are so incredibly proud of our gorgeous LP student Adele, who is taking to the stage in the lead role in the Musical Comedy Players’ production of The Secret Garden!

What a wonderful achievement and such an exciting opportunity for Adele to showcase her beautiful talent on stage. We love seeing our students spreading their wings and embracing opportunities in the wider performing arts community

We would love to see our LP family get behind Adele and support her and the entire cast in this beautiful production 🌹

So gather your family and friends, book your tickets and enjoy a wonderful night at the theatre - make sure you give an extra big cheer for Adele!

🌿 MEET MARY & DICKON 🌿

Adele Shepherd brings Mary Lennox to life in The Secret Garden, a young girl whose curiosity leads her to uncover the secrets hidden within Misselthwaite Manor.

Along the way, she forms a special friendship with Dickon, played by Henry Miller, whose love of nature and gentle spirit help Mary discover the life still waiting inside the locked garden.

Together, Mary and Dickon help bring hope, friendship and new beginnings back to a place that has been lost in grief for far too long.

The Secret Garden thanks to BMA comes to the MECC for just three performances:

🌿 Friday 4 September – 7:30pm
🌿 Saturday 5 September – 2:00pm & 7:30pm

🎫 Tickets are on sale now:
https://tinyurl.com/4de36646

19/08/2026

Huge congratulations to Owen Reed, who has been selected as an Intermediate overall finalist in the 2026 Royal Academy of Dance Shirley Treacy Awards. The finalists were selected by adjudicator Susan Sargison.

Owen travelled to Townsville to compete in these awards as he will be competing in the YAGP (Sydney) when these awards are conducted in Mackay.

We wish Owen the best of luck when the overall winners are announced on the 12th September at an online presentation. We are very proud of you ❤️🖤

15/08/2026

It was so special seeing our LP dancers all dressed up for their St Patrick’s College and Holy Spirit College Formals over the past two weekends.

Having taught all of these girls since they were little, we feel incredibly lucky to have played a small part in their journey and to have watched them grow from little dancers into the beautiful young women they are today.

We are so proud of this gorgeous group — not only did they all look absolutely stunning, but they are truly beautiful inside and out.

We hope you all had the most amazing time celebrating!

01/08/2026

LAST CHANCE BEFORE EISTEDDFOD

Leisa Payne School of Dance Term 3 baseball shirt orders are closing soon!

Leisa Payne School of Dance

23/07/2026

Royal Academy Of Dance Ballet exams complete for 2026 and what an incredible few days it was!

From our youngest dancers completing their very first examination to our senior students undertaking their final ballet exam, every dancer represented Leisa Payne School of Dance with exceptional talent, professionalism and dedication.

Months of commitment, discipline and determination were evident in every exam. We could not be prouder!

A huge thank you to our dedicated teachers and supportive families who help make moments like these possible ❤️🖤

18/07/2026

✨ RAD Ballet Exams Begin Tomorrow! ✨

Tomorrow is the beginning of our RAD Classical Ballet examination session and we couldn’t be prouder of every student who has worked so hard throughout the year to prepare for this special milestone.

In the lead up to the exams, we were incredibly fortunate to have Jan Millard host an inspiring ballet workshop for our dancers, alongside the expert guidance of Nicole Galea, Denise Hadley and Jan Mills. Their knowledge, encouragement and attention to detail gave our students invaluable preparation, and we are so grateful for the time and care they invested in every dancer.

A big thank you also goes to our incredible ballet teachers who give their very best to our students every day. ❤️🖤

Here are just a few photos of our Major Examination students from the workshop. We can’t wait to watch all our LP ballet exam students shine over the coming days!