DANCELIFE CEO becomes AUSMUMPRENEUR Finalist!

Chris Duncan selected as a Finalist #AUSMUM22

Ausmumpreneur Awards

Chris Duncan – CEO of DANCELIFE AUSTRALIA & DANCELIFE UNITE – has been named as a finalist for the AusMumpreneur Awards in two major categories:

AUSMUMPRENEUR OF THE YEAR, and
EVENTS BUSINESS AWARD

The AusMumpreneur Awards presented by The Women’s Business School celebrate and recognize Australian Mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation. The awards are designed to recognize the growing number of women who successfully balance motherhood and business in a way that suits their life and family.

After extensive training in all genres of dance, Chris opened her first of two dance studios at just 19, directing successful students to careers across the globe. In 2005 Chris transitioned to the roles of Agent, Manager, Adjudicator and Producer of Dance-related media, events, and competitions. She was the Australian Casting Agent for Ringling Bros & Barnum Bailey Circus (USA). She sponsored US-based Celebrity Choreographers to teach in Australia and facilitated numerous Australian Celebrity Choreographers’ workshops & tours while also assisting multiple dance companies. In 2012 Chris purchased DanceLife Pty Ltd. She developed ‘DanceLife Unite’ from one Sydney-based dance competition to a National network of events. She is the Managing Director of ‘DanceLife Australia’ – leading industry FREE digital news service. Chris recently published ‘DANCEBOSS’ summarising 35 years of business knowledge into a ‘go-to’ handbook for dance business owners. DANCEBOSS recently hit ‘No. 1 Bestseller’ in multiple categories on Amazon.

Chris is delighted to be named as a finalist and is proud of her achievements, particularly writing her first book titled ‘DANCEBOSS’ whilst in lockdown in 2021 and receiving a high level of support and positive feedback for its content from key personnel within the Dance and Performing Arts industry.

“I am very proud yet humbled to have some of our industry’s top professionals recommending my book to others as an excellent resource for dance business owners of all kinds and stages of growth”.

She is also extremely grateful for the opportunity to mentor and assist two young Australian dance professionals – Renee Ritchie and Lockhart Brownlie – in creating their own successful large-scale dance event known as the Tasmanian Dance Expo.

“Nurturing this business into fruition throughout the pandemic has given me greater confidence and desire to operate more in the mentoring space going forward.”

There are many benefits to balancing business and motherhood as Chris explains, “I have worked as a self-employed business owner across multiple enterprises within the dance industry whilst raising my three children with my husband for over three decades. I believe the services I currently offer under the umbrella of ‘DanceLife Pty Ltd’ are of great value to the Australian dance industry on several levels. I feel honoured to be considered a representative of this industry and I have developed a business which has a great reputation and exceptional support from industry experts. Through our dance competition we have ‘given back’ over $1.5million worth of prizes to the next generation of dancers via international travel, mentoring, cash, training, photography portfolios, video productions and holiday packages. I am able to provide regular and valuable paid work to members of our industry and with our media portal we educate and entertain over 25,000 dance and musical theatre enthusiasts each week while supporting both professional and amateur enterprises with marketing their productions and services”.

It can be challenging to be a successful business woman whilst raising a family and Chris gives this advice for others thinking about starting their own enterprise: “My most important piece of advice for anyone contemplating a new business venture is to do your research! Research is imperative to anyone entering business. I would also highly recommend finding a mentor aligned with your chosen industry to help you navigate the unique ‘pot-holes’ that industry will present.”

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