Michele Pertzel, who co-ordinates the dance competition with Rebecca Jonker, said the schedule had to be extended by a day to cope with this growth.

“We have entries from Queensland, Melbourne, Bendigo, one from Sydney,” she said.

“We also have a lot from our outlying area, as in Wagga and Jindera.

“I think we’re looking at about 1400 soloists.”

Ms Pertzel said the larger pool of performers would benefit all the participants.

“It gives them exposure to other students and what they’re doing and also a bit more competition,” she said.

The 10 to 12 years categories have been well supported, with the modern lyrical sections proving popular.

“Unlike neo-classical, which is technique-based, lyrical is performance-based,” Ms Pertzel said.

Dance adjudicator Deena Peacock will make her first visit to judge the Border competition.

Raise the curtain now