JANUARY 24, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Pint-sized stars join elite
(Damjan Janevski)
Pint-sized dancers from TDC (The Dance Company) at Spotswood have been crowned Australian champions in the prestigious Hollywood Bound National Dance Championships run by industry veteran Peter Oxford. More than 80 students from TDC travelled to Sydney to compete against some of Australia’s finest performing arts schools. The youngest dance troupe, the Mini Elites, was awarded first place for routines in four divisions. The 16 members, aged 5 to 8, went on to win the overall Battle Of the Stars championship with a performance of When She Loved Me from Disney’s Toy Story. They won a cash prize and a trip to Thailand for their teachers. Two other TDC teams were named national champions in their divisions, while two senior students were named Dancer Of The Year in their categories, winning a trip to Italy and New York respectively. TDC director Lisa Anne Hammer said she was “beyond proud” of her students. “Their love and passion for performing arts astounds me,” she said. “I see so much value in dance competitions for young kids as it helps them develop their confidence and skills in a supportive environment.” Goya Dmytryshchak
Cancer patient’s visa fight Yousra Alamgir and Shaifi Moazzem. (Benjamin Millar)
if you can’t meet the standard, they can actually refuse your visa or to extend it,” he said. “I don’t want to think about taking her anywhere. We want to stay here, get the treatment right and get a good positive outcome.”
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A young Footscray couple is fighting a last-ditch battle to remain in Australia to continue a desperate struggle with advanced breast cancer. Yousra Alamgir was diagnosed with stage four (metastatic) breast cancer last July and has been undergoing extensive treatment to tackle the cancer, which has also spread to her lungs. The masters student, originally from Bangladesh, has been living and studying in Melbourne since 2013. She had only one subject left to complete her degree and become eligible to apply for permanent residence, but the diagnosis halted her study and her visa is due to run out in
March, along with the spouse visa held by her husband, Shaifi Moazzem. Ms Alamgir said Melbourne felt like her home and that she was worried about her chances of survival if she was forced to return to Bangladesh. Her cancer has a less than one-in-four survival rate over five years. “I’m having a good treatment,” she said. “I trust them, I believe in them and – most importantly – I feel like things are improving so I don’t want to change it.” Mr Moazzem is attempting to secure sponsorship from his employer to remain in Australia, but Ms Alamgir’s health problems are proving a complicated hurdle. “There is a health criteria in immigration and
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By Benjamin Millar
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The keen cricketer, who represented Bangladesh as a junior, recently shared news of the pair’s struggle with teammates at the Footscray-Edgewater Cricket Club. The club immediately swung into action and has raised more than $8000 through a GoFundMe page in less than a week to go towards paying the pair’s health and legal costs. It has also organised a March for Marty fundraiser (Marty is Mr Moazzem’s nickname) at Merv G Hughes Oval in Footscray from 10.30am this Sunday, followed by a T20 game of past and present players from 1pm. Further details and donations: gofundme. com/marchformarty