Noosaville dance school Tutu Cute Dance celebrated its 10th birthday on Sunday 2 February, during World Tutu Day.
The festival was attended by over 250 past and present students who came together to celebrate their love of dance, love of tutus and to celebrate the achievements of teacher and director, Chelsea Cook.
Tutu Cute Dance specialises in dance classes for young children aged two to five years and was founded in 2015.
The school quickly grew in popularity and has since expanded to offer more classes in Noosa, Peregian and Buderim.
Originally from Hervey Bay, Chelsea moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2015 after performing all around the globe as a dancer on Carnival Cruise Lines.
Prior to that Chelsea was in the Queensland Youth Ballet touring company and graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Dance, at the Australian Dance Performance Institute in Brisbane. There she studied under the direction of the prestigious Harold Collins, former principal dancer and artistic director of the Queensland Ballet.
“I founded Tutu Cute Dance with the vision of providing a safe and nurturing environment where children could begin their dance journey, explore their creativity, build self awareness, grow in condence and most importantly, instill a love of dance from a young age,” Chelsea said.
“This February marks the 10th anniversary of Tutu Cute Dance. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of teaching more than 2000 students, and I wanted to celebrate this milestone with a special event to
reconnect with all of the wonderful families I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
“I couldn’t think of a better occasion than World Tutu Day to make it happen.”
Originating in Australia, World Tutu Day is a special day celebrated on 2 February by dancers and dreamers around the world to support ballet education and celebrate ballet and its influence on the classic tutu, which has become an iconic fashion piece for all ages around the world.
The celebrations took place at The Rocks Yandina, where Tutu Cute Dance teamed up with several local businesses to put on a spectacular event.
Sparkles & Co brought along the enchanting Cherry the Pegasus, and Little Palm Events Co set up stunning backdrops where children danced and twirled while dressing up in beautiful Imagine for Kids costumes.
“I wanted this event to be a chance to connect with my Tutu Cute Dance community and also provide a platform for other small businesses to showcase what they offer – locals supporting locals,” Chelsea said.
Students, both former and current, ranging from ages two to 12, came together to celebrate their love of dance and tutus.
Former student Scarlett Moffatt-Brown, seven, said “I loved seeing Miss Chelsea again, her classes were so much fun. My favourite part was wearing the buttery wings and dancing with my friends.”
The longest running student of Tutu Cute Dance, Lottie Robson, five, said “It was fun seeing Miss Chelsea again and I saw a Pegasus in real life!”
