Stars of the Border Dance for Cancer's Georgie Bruce will be strictly ballroom on gala night
BALLROOM DUO: Dance teacher Anthony Pepers and netball coach Georgie Bruce will perform together at the Stars of the Border gala night on May 1 at Albury Entertainment Centre. Picture: DIRK WALLACE
Tragedy hits hard in small communities, be they country towns, workplaces or sporting groups.
Georgie Bruce, head netball coach at Corowa-Rutherglen Football Netball Club, said her club was rocked by the cancer deaths of two stalwarts within 12 months.
"It's felt by everyone," she said.
"Corowa, you know, doesn't have the largest population, so everyone knows each other really well and we're all family.
"Netball and football are amalgamated, there are no walls or barriers, we all try to look after each other."
With those ripple effects still flowing, Bruce was keen to respond positively by raising money and awareness for the fight against cancer.
In Stars of the Border Dance for Cancer, she and instructor Anthony Pepers will perform a ballroom dance routine at the NSW Cancer Council gala night.
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"I am crazily enthusiastic about dancing," Bruce said.
"If you ask anyone at the pub at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night after a good win at Corowa-Rutherglen, I am the first on the dance floor and the last to leave.
"Obviously doing it in front of 500 people and having to be technically correct, it's not just a pub dance, but I am definitely not one to back away from a challenge, so I say bring it on.
"My kids are all excited, they're my number one fans, which is good because there's four of them so it means I have at least four fans."
Her fundraising ventures tap into both her sporting and farming background, with a charity basketball match in Albury on Saturday, February 29, and a Corowa sheep sale next month.
She's also planning movie events in Corowa and Yarrawonga while Pepers will host a Wangaratta dance for the cause on March 14.
Bruce said she sampled a few dance styles when growing up, but nothing formal.
"I did jazz ballet for a little bit, but I was swiftly directed towards competitive sports," she said with a laugh.
"And that doesn't mean that I'm overly co-ordinated at them either!"
Also a high school teacher, Bruce is prepared to add eight full-on weeks of dance lessons to her schedule.
"Those who know me, know that I definitely like being busy and I like juggling many balls at once and proving that I can juggle them without dropping them," she said.
"At the end of the day, it's only a small period of time in my life.
"I'm not the person who's going through cancer."
More details on the Stars of the Border website and Facebook page.
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