The magical world of Willy Wonka came alive in the National Theatre over the weekend with two wonderful performances staged by the Braidwood Dance Studio in conjunction with the Braidwood Youth Performing Arts Association (BYPPA).

Well over 100 dancers ranging from the ages of 2 to 16 were involved and Willy Wonka, played by Georgia Garcia, shone on the stage with her purple velvet coat, top hat and cheeky wink.

Georgia was supported by a huge and talented cast, all of whom did a wonderful job of creating a magical performance. It was truly a visual feast with candy stripes, donuts, pizza, and chocolate costumes to behold and a wonderful combination of traditional and modern music combined with some very cute and some very skilled dancers.

The big surprise was when three dads were called on stage by their daughters for a special "Daddy Dance."

A huge thank you to all of the local businesses who supported the dancers by donating a wonderful array of raffle items.

Many thanks also to all of the volunteers behind the scenes which included many parents, but also all the people who came forward to offer help who weren't parents but were willing to lend a hand. Thank you to all in the cast and audience members for putting up with the stifling heat in the theatre, and to Bendigo Bank for supplying us every year with marquees to build change rooms. 

And thanks to the amazing and fantastic Miss Emma - words are not enough to express how much we appreciate all that you do for the children of Braidwood.

Well done to our great community for getting behind the youth of Braidwood and encouraging them to be creative and have fun through the performing arts.

BYPAA will also be running school holiday workshops throughout two weeks in January in puppetry, breakdancing, acrobatics, drama, callisthenics, creating a music video and magic card tricks. We have had some further interest from local people who wish to share their skills, so this may be extended further.

BYPAA would like to acknowledge the generous support from our key sponsor, Braidwood Community Bank and also the Majors Creek Festival in enabling the launch of this initiative.

For further information on the upcoming workshops you can call Judy on 0488033248, visit our facebook page - BYPAA Braidwood Youth Performing Arts Association or contact us at:braidwoodperforming@gmail.com