New to Albury-Wodonga this time last year, Ashlea Kunowski heard about some community identities going in a fundraiser that involved dancing.
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I grew up watching Strictly Ballroom and that sort of thing, so it's kind of cool that I've been given the opportunity to do this
- Ashlea Kunowski
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to dance,” she said.
“I was very envious of all those people and I thought if someone nominated me this year, I’d love to do it.”
And so the television news reporter finds herself among the 13 contestants rehearsing for the Stars of the Border Dance for Cancer gala night on May 4.
“I’m actually really excited,” she said.
“I grew up watching Strictly Ballroom and that sort of thing, so it’s kind of cool that I’ve been given the opportunity to do this.”
The Cancer Council NSW event sees the novice dancers pledge to learn a routine with their assigned teacher in eight weeks as well as raise $3000 each.
So far the participants have collected nearly $23,000 towards the cause, encouraging donations through varied means.
With cancer having touched several members of her family, Miss Kunowski was keen to support the charity, even though the fundraising could be “actually more scary than dancing”.
“The time’s going very quickly so I’ve got to try and get that last little bit in,” she said.
To reach her target she has been running a raffle and also spent an evening collecting public donations.
“Believe it or not, one weekend when I went home to visit my parents, I picked up horse poo for an afternoon to sell, so I’ve been doing everything,” she said.
“As children growing up we’ve done it before, picked up horse manure, stuck it in some bags and put it out the front of our property.
“I thought, ‘You know what, why not?’, and it sold in one weekend.”
Born in Melbourne, Miss Kunowski lived and worked in the Goulburn Valley before moving to her present role.
She’s one of several media participants in this year’s Stars of the Border, with television, radio and print news all represented.
“We all ask each other questions when we meet up on jobs but we’re keeping it a bit close to our chests,” she said.
A regular triathlon competitor, Miss Kunowski has discovered dancing requires a different sort of fitness.
“We finished one session and we thought, ‘What the heck?’,” she said.
“We were so unfit, we were puffing.”
Her dance teacher Rob Baumgarten, returning for his fourth Stars of the Border, said the event had grown significantly.
“We’re pulling quite a large crowd now,” he said.
“Every year the standard goes up, everyone throws something new and exciting in.”
