Annemarie Gallagher and Moana John Eruera reflect on amazing dance journey

Annemarie Gallagher and Moana John Eruera are counting down the days until they hit the stage for Harcourts Dancing for Hospice.

They are one of the dance couples in this year's fundraiser for Rotorua Community Hospice, being held on August 20, at the Energy Events Centre.

Ten dance couples with little-to-no dance experience are practising hard several times a week to be stage ready and raise money for the local hospice.

The goal of the evening is to raise $120,000 to enable the hospice to care for and support more than 420 patients with terminal illnesses each year.

Gallagher is the managing director of Arista Group and said she was asked to take part in the fundraiser for the first time back in 2020.

"I was in charge of the Rotorua Lakes City marathon training at the time and we raised $25,000 for Hospice. I was asked to compete that year, but then Covid came, and the following year I had a shoulder injury so couldn't perform.

"I'm very excited to finally be hitting the stage this year."

She said the whole dancing journey and becoming a dance family had been a highlight, though it was also the biggest challenge she had done.

Having a lot of downtime due to Covid had been a challenge, she said.

"My husband has had it, then Moana had Covid. It's been a challenge but we are making up for it big time."

Gallagher said she was a person who liked to be prepared - "I want it all nailed and polished, and it's starting to feel like we are getting to that point, we're just making tweaks".

She said Hospice was integral to the community and every family knew them at some point.

"To me, they are an integral part of society and must be supported and protected."

Eruera, Te Uru Rakau - New Zealand Forest Service (Ministry for Primary Industries) manager, said he was taking part in Harcourts Dancing for Hospice because one of the things his mother taught him from a young age was to give back to his community.

"To give back to the community and hospice was a real motivator for me," he said.

"Also, being somewhat new to Rotorua, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to meet others, and there is an absolutely amazing bunch of participants this year."

He said he was excited to get to the night.

"I've never been before, and have heard so much about it and seen previous videos of the event.

"It looks really great. My friends and family coming are really excited to see us on the stage."

Meeting a great cohort of people and making new friendships that would continue beyond the event had been a highlight for him.

"They are really lovely people who are committed, dedicated to, and wanting and willing to give back to others. It has been an amazing experience. I will be sad when it is over."

He said, "Hospice allows and provides for dignity at the end of life, and that's really important."

They said the dance tutors had been incredible, and also thanked their sponsors, Arista Group.

General admission tickets to Harcourts Dancing for Hospice 2022 are on sale through Ticketmaster.

People can get all their updates on the Harcourts Dancing for Hospice Facebook page.