Councillor Peter Bartley suggested making Dubbo the “dancing capital of Australia”, with the support of local dance companies strongly behind him.

Sylvia Mawbey, owner of the Matilda Motor Inn and Colin Lappa the president of the National Rodeo association wants to see the Annual Dubbo Horse Festival develop into something “spectacular”.

“The annual horse event has been running for two years now and is only in its infant stages,” Ms Mawbey said.

“Dubbo is a country town at heart, so let’s work with what we’ve got here, build on that - after all it’s part of our history.”

“The horse festival has the potential to become huge and something Dubbo is proud of,” Mr Lappa said.

Cr Bartley said a dancing festival could put Dubbo on the map.

With the construction of the tiered theatre to be completed in less than 18 months, Cr Bartley feels it could serve as the “centre piece of the festival” while other attractions like Taronga Western Plains Zoo are also incorporated.

“Everyone would be interested, children, parents, multicultural citizens and old fashion vogue dancers,” he said.

Dubbo Ballet studio principal Anna Bloomfield yesterday was “ecstatic” at the councillor’s suggestion.

“Dubbo is certainly the hub for dancing,” she said.

“With shows like So, You Think You Can Dance where two Dubbo locals are in the top 100, it has really placed us into the limelight and now is a prime chance to focus on that.”

Fantasy Dancesport Director Kim Tongue said she had been approached by dance companies from Sydney and Newcastle about potentially bringing students to Dubbo for a performance.

“I’d love to think that dancing would be included in some part of Dubbo’s heritage,” Ms Tongue said.

emma.mastronardi@ruralpress.com