Dimensions
156 x 232 x 32mm
A colourful memoir about living your dream - from ballet classes in Brisbane to principal dancer at The Lido, Paris.
Shayleen Ann Stafford was the middle child sandwiched between two sporting brothers. Her dad was a former rugby player and a welder by trade, her Mum was a nurse. No one called her by her first name, to family and friends she was always Shay. Her early life was a combination of swimming, sport and backyard trampolining until she turned six and started ballet classes, but only for a year. The TV show ‘Fame’ inspired her to give dance another go. This time she was hooked and she devoted her teens to dance, performing at eisteddfods and shopping centres, never thinking that she could make a living as dancer. But at the end of Year Twelve she did, scoring a coveted dance role in a Brisbane cabaret show choreographed by Todd McKenney. She went on to dance in Japan and Malaysia and then found herself in the Moulin Rouge chorus line. Her hard work and high kicks were noticed and she went on to become the principal dancer at the famous Lido.