In less than a year Fierce Performing Arts has gone from an empty warehouse and a dream to a multi-award winning local business.
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Fierce Performing Arts opened their Dubbo dance studio in January and since then, they have welcomed hundreds of eager learners of all ages through their doors.
Now, they're celebrating their win of three awards at the Dubbo Business Chamber's 2023 awards night.
"It just means so much because this time last year Fierce Performing Arts wasn't even a thought in our minds ... the opportunity just arose and we took it and ran with it," the studio's owner and director Brandi Grady told the Daily Liberal.
"All of Dubbo has got behind us, our families have got behind us, our staff has got behind us and everyone's just believed in our vision and we've obviously found a gap in Dubbo's market.
"Fierce Performing Arts is such a place for everybody. Winning these awards, we know we have done our job now and that everyone feels they belong when they come through our doors."
At a gala dinner on Friday, October 20, Fierce Performing Arts were announced as the winner of the Baby Rhino for an outstanding start up and a people's choice award for Dubbo's Favourite Business.
Mother-of-two Emma Trudgett, head of junior school at Fierce, also won the people's choice award for Service with a Smile. She left her full-time job as a primary school teacher to support Ms Gray's vision.
"We're just so grateful for the community's support... we never would have thought we would have this amount of enthusiasm from the community contributing to our drive," she said.
"We want to bring dance to everyone because dance has given us so much joy over the years and we get to bring that to everyone.
"The fact that I've won this award by peoples' vote is huge. It means the world to me that people have thought about me. Fierce has changed my life, the fact I get to teach dance in my day job."
Ms Grady said being able to turn her love of dance into a career and successful business is a "dream come true".
"Growing up, dance was not a viable job... it was never going to be something we could make a job of," she said.
"We've also been training staff in-house, we have a full program that our older students can have the opportunity when they leave us and graduate school to become a full-time dance teacher and they'll hopefully stay on with us."
Ms Trudgett said the best part of working at Fierce Performing Arts is seeing the childrens' joy.
"They light up my life... and the fact that I get to do what I love, which is dancing and teaching every day of the week, it's mind blowing," she said.
"We're really passionate about giving country kids a quality dance education."
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