BELLY dancer Sianna Karastanovic wants everyone to shimmy and shake to raise money for a good cause on Friday.
The dance instructor has organised a belly dancing event called Shimmy for the Kids at Klub Vojvodina in Albion.
Ms Karastanovic will donate the show’s proceeds to the Good Friday Appeal, the Royal Children’s Hospital’s (RCH) annual fundraising campaign.
Ms Karastanovic, who runs Hipnotic Beats Belly Dance in Werribee, said Klub Vojvodina – a Yugoslavian social club – has donated their hall to the event free of charge.
“I performed for years as a teenager with their Yugoslavian folk dancing group,” Ms Karastanovic said.
Ms Karastanovic said the eldest of her two sons, now aged 10, has seen specialists at the RCH for his eczema and juvenile asthma.
“I think the service we receive from the doctors and nurses and staff at the Royal Children’s Hospital is something we as Melburnians should support and get behind,” Ms Karastanovic said.
Ms Karastanovic said she has been searching for sponsors for the belly dancing event, who are willing to donate cash, services or prizes – Agrifood Technology in Werribee and ABS Hoppers Crossing have already helped out.
“I am finding it so hard to get sponsors or gifts and vouchers but these two companies gave without hesitation,” she said.
The night has also been dedicated to the memory of a young Oak Park resident named Vaughan who lost his fight with leukaemia during 2011 aged just three years old. A close friend of Ms Karastanovic knows Vaughan’s mother.
Shimmy for the Kids will be on at Klub Vojvodina, 25 Carrington Dve, in Albion on Friday 22 March at 7pm with two-course meal, workshop for children and belly dancers from across Melbourne. Entry: $60 adults, $20 children aged 12 and under. For tickets visit trybooking.com
