Diwali dance success

Teenage dancer Sarah Roberts has taken out top honours in a youth talent competition held during the Wyndham Diwali event at Presidents Park last month.
Sarah, 17, said she performed a contemporary solo to the song Castle by Halsey, for the category of the competition which was open to participants aged between 12 and 18 years old.
Sarah said she was “very excited“ to receive first place, with her prize including a certificate and return tickets to the Gold Coast.
Sarah, who is also trained in lyrical, acrobatic, jazz, hip-hop and musical theatre dance styles, said she choreographed the dance routine herself.
“I think I enjoyed doing the choreography, having the freedom to do the storyline choosing the movements that suited me best,“ she said.
Sarah, who graduated from Year 12 a few weeks ago, said she was interested in studying both psychology and dance at university, and potentially embarking on a career as a dance teacher.
Her mother, Simona Grippi, who is a teacher at Baden Powell College, also runs the after-school Dance4All program at the college’s Tarneit campus.
Sarah said that she sometimes helped teach the children at Dance4All, and would take over teaching of all the program’s classes from next year.
“I like being able to pass on what I know to help improve others, and for little girls who dream of becoming ballerinas, I’d like to think I can help them get started on their way,“ Sarah said.