Kate Wormald is one of Australia’s favourite female dancers, making it to the top 3 and being the final girl standing in the premiere series of So You Think You Can Dance. Kate has been dancing professionally for over 15 years and is one of the most experienced, versatile and respected dancers in the country.

StarNow: Can you tell us about yourself Kate? How did you get your start in the industry?
Kate: I trained on the Gold Coast at Robert Sturrocks and have been dancing professionally since I was 15yrs old. I loved doing theatre cabarets, corporates and other variety shows with Robert and I really think it was great training for being versatile in the years to come.

StarNow: What inspired you to become a dancer?
Kate: I have been dancing since I was 3 years old. I honestly think I was born to dance as I have always wanted to do it and had a burning desire and passion to do it since my first class. I have never wanted to do anything else and get an incredible rush from dancing.

StarNow: What are some of your career highlights so far?
Kate: I think my first career highlight would be working with Kelley Abbey and David Atkins on FAME the musical 12 yrs ago. It was my first big show and I was in awe of them both and the show. I also had to pinch myself assisting and dancing for Wade Robson on the opening piece of Happy Feet 2. He was a true joy and inspiration to work with. Working in London I also had a wonderful time performing for the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry and dancing for Jamelia, Leona Lewis, Ke$ha, Gabriella Cilmi and Charlotte Church to name a few. I also loved my experience on So You Think You Can Dance series 1. It was amazing to be a part of such a large dance project in Australia and it gave me a great opportunity to work with some incredible choreographers from other genres that I may not have crossed paths with if I hadn’t gone in it (Jason Gilkison, Debbie Ellis, etc).

StarNow: I understand that you are doing motion capture for Happy Feet 2, how did you get involved with a project like this?
Kate: I was lucky enough to be one of the lead motion capture performers on Happy Feet (2006), which was a fabulous 2.5 year project under choreographer Kelley Abbey and director George Miller. When Happy Feet 2 came up, I have been lucky enough to be asked to be a lead motion capture performer again as well as the dance coordinator and choreograph a section of Adelie Land in the film. It has been an incredible ride for me over the past 2 years and I can’t wait for people to see it in November.

StarNow: How does a project like Happy Feet differentiate from being on stage and performing in front of people?
Kate: Doing motion capture is a very different process to anything I have ever done. Our process is very technical and there is always a lot going on in your head whilst we shoot a scene. We suit up, learn the cut dialogue, mark out the scene on the floor, getting eye lines etc and then shoot. It’s an amazing thing to watch yourself as a penguin on screen as you are performing but there is no audience, costumes, lighting or sets so it’s very different.

StarNow: What projects do you have coming up next?
Kate: I am full steam ahead on Happy Feet 2 until the release date and then I have the biggest project of all coming my way as I am expecting my first child in November.

StarNow: Do you have any advice for young dancers trying to break into the industry?
Kate: For up and coming dancers I would say work hard and always go to as many different classes as possible. A busy working dancer is always a versatile one.

StarNow: What personality traits do you think you need to become a successful dancer?
Kate: I definitely think drive, passion and a will to succeed are all great traits to have in this industry as we all know there are more dancers than work so you need to want to work really hard and be the best you can be.
Also, being nice to everyone.

StarNow: How do you think a site like StarNow is useful for dancers? Would you recommend to dancers that they use StarNow?
Kate: I think StarNow is a great site for dancers. I highly recommend it as it is always beneficial to be seen by as many people/clients as possible online. It is also great to see what jobs are going and auditions are out there.

You asked and we listened.

Check out our new categories here.

Photographers, Make Up Artists, Hair Stylists and Crew now have their own area on the site. This should make it much easier for you to find matching jobs and be scouted in the Talent Directory.

Make sure you upload your profile to ensure you are in the correct category.

Recently StarNow and MAA had a fantastic prize up for grabs!

A workshop with Dave Newman (Wolverine and Narnia) and Alison Telford (Head of Casting for the ABC) plus flights and accommodation to Sydney.

The lucky winner of this competition is Rebekah Watson.

Congrats from the StarNow Team!

It was a huge weekend for a number of our StarNow members as they partook in the annual Miss Universe New Zealand and Miss Universe Great Britain competitions.

We are proud to announce that Miss Universe New Zealand was won by StarNow member, Miss Wellington Priyani Puketapu (www.starnow.com.au/priyanipuketapu), who shone out in stiff competition on the night. Priyani will now be flying out to Brazil to compete in the Miss Universe world final in September.

Miss Universe Great Britain was also held on the weekend and we are excited to announce that StarNow member Natasha Crook (www.starnow.co.uk/natashacrook) came in 2nd place, a great result. Natasha also won the Best Bikini Body award. StarNow member Siobhan Brindley Brown (www.starnow.co.uk/siobhanbrindley) had a fantastic night too, winning the Miss Congeniality award.

A huge congratulations to all the girls who participated in both competitions. We hope you had an amazing time and created some fantastic memories.

StarNow member Laura Juzenaite's short film 'Schizophrenia and Me and Me' produced by I AM AN ACTOR has been accepted to the Cannes Short Film Corner.

I AM AN ACTOR is exclusively dedicated to helping undiscovered professional actors promote their careers in the company of influential industry professionals.

At StarNow we think this is pretty cool!

Check out the trailer for their film and if you have a bit of spare cash then donate to their project and help them get to Cannes.

Official website: www.iamanactor.co.uk