This month, local personalities are putting their dancing shoes on and their hamstrings to the test for the inaugural Stars of Penrith – one of which is the Western Weekender’s very own Megan Dunn.
Stars of Penrith is a high energy, dance spectacular inspired by ‘Dancing with the Stars’, bringing local businesspeople together with local dance teachers to create an unforgettable night full of hit-or-miss dance moves, food, raffles, and more, all to fundraise for Cancer Council NSW.
For Dunn, getting involved was all to do with the cause.
“I really just wanted to raise money for the Cancer Council, have a bit of fun, and also do it for the Western Weekender as well,” she said.
Dunn will be dancing with Keysha Celeban from PAWS on the night in a musical theatre routine inspired by ‘The Wiz’.
For Dunn, rehearsals have been smooth sailing, putting the routine together with Celeban in less than an hour over the weekend.
DONATE TO HELP MEGAN REACH HER GOAL
“We collaborated on the music, and then Keysha choreographed it all and did it all in a day, which was amazing,” she said.
“We had the idea to do ‘The Wiz’ without realising that PAWS had already done a pantomime for that, so they had all the costumes ready to go. It all fell into place really easily!”
Dunn’s number will also involve several surprise performers, one of which can be revealed as her son, Jaxon Dunn. A student at Nepean CAPA High School, Jaxon is also involved in choreographing the opening number for the show.
“His dad’s a football coach, so I said, ‘You get to play football with your dad, but how often is it that you get to dance with your mum?’,” she said.
“I think he’s laying odds on whether I fall off the stage or not, but I think it will be really good.”
With a dress rehearsal now under their belts, and the countdown officially on to the show on Friday, March 22, Dunn said she has no reservations about the night, instead filled with excitement for what should be a fun few hours for all.
“All the other dancers that are doing it are all representatives from local businesses, and everyone’s just in it for the right reasons,” she said.
“We’ve got tradies who are doing Irish dancing, and some lawyers that are doing lyrical, so I think it’s just going to be a really good, fun night to raise some money for charity.”
Though the show itself is sold out, Dunn said there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved, with a barbeque being held by Rotary at Harvey Norman on Sunday, March 17 to help fundraise, and donations are still open.
To help Dunn reach her $5000 goal, visit stars.cancercouncil.com.au/fundraisers/megandunn.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.