This year, 23 local sporting legends are being inducted to the honour roll and junior honour roll categories in the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame.
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The News is featuring stories on each of the inductees in the lead-up to the induction ceremony on August 16. Today, News journalist Laura Briggs speaks to dance star Amanda Costa (Garner), who is being inducted to the honour roll.
Winning Dancing With The Stars, performing on international cruise ships and dancing her way to the world’s top 21 are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Amanda Costa’s (Garner) lengthy list of accomplishments.
Her talent in ballroom dancing was evident from a young age, but it was Costa’s determination and passion that had her breeze through to the world stage.
Despite facing challenges along the way, Costa reflects on her journey with a lifetime of memories and no regrets.
Costa was seven when she dipped her toe in the dance studio following her aunty’s recommendation.
And that day, her passion for ballroom dancing was born.
As one of six children, with four older brothers, Costa began partnering her brothers in their private dance lessons - getting to the studio as often as possible.
The siblings, though, did not limit their dancing to the studio.
‘‘I remember at home we would watch tapes of dancing all the time and dance from the living room.’’
Before long the Garner family had become a well-known name in ballroom competitions across the state.
While three of her brothers gradually faded from the sport, it was herself and brother Jeremy who continued on.
At 19, Costa reached a milestone she would never forget.
‘‘For Jeremy and I our first major achievement that I remember was making the final at the Australian Dance Sport Championships which is a national thing and forever a dream to make that final.’’
Following their success at the championships, the couple made its way to number 21 in the world.
‘‘That was amazing - it was a big boost for us as well,’’ she said.
‘‘In our competition career, for me that was probably our biggest achievement - and it doesn’t seem like much, but there’s just so many rounds of people, so 21 was amazing.
‘‘For us it was the furthest we’ve ever gone, so it was good.’’
In 2006 Costa appeared on Dancing With The Stars where she partnered Grant Denyer in the show’s fourth season - a season the couple went on to win.
‘‘Winning Dancing with the Stars was amazing.’’
As a 21-year-old at the time, Costa said the once-in-a-lifetime achievement was surreal.
‘‘I don’t think I even realised what was happening,’’ she said.
‘‘I think back now and see it was such a big thing, but at the time I was just so young and didn’t really think much of it.’’
On her return to competition from a second appearance on Dancing With The Stars in 2007, Costa saw the end of one chapter and the start of another as she traded in her brother for her boyfriend - Sebastian Costa.
Having taken on students of her own from her early teens, the couple taught locally for three years before relocating to Los Angeles where they continued to teach, compete and perform up to four times a day.
While dance was evidently the pair’s ultimate passion, Costa’s intense routine and long days on her feet gradually began to take their toll.
‘‘We were teaching so many hours just to get by,’’ she said.
‘‘We were putting all our energy into competing, but because you’ve got to make a living some days we’d be too tired to even practice and I personally just started to lose the love of it.
‘‘Some competitions in America we did quite well in and we were proud of ourselves, but between that and just trying to make ends meet it was just so tiring.’’
At that point Costa knew she needed to head in a new direction.
‘‘I said to Seb one day 'I’m not enjoying this any more and I can feel I’m getting worse'.
‘‘I said 'I want to go and do cruise ships'.’’
Within six months, the pair retired from competition and took to the stage as part of the Royal Caribbean International Productions.
‘‘It was the best thing we ever did,'' she said.
‘‘We were the featured ballroom couple there to perform, not for judges but just for regular people, so it was completely different.’’
On the return of the cruise, they spent two weeks at home.
In that time they got married and packed their belongings to do it all again.
After travelling the world on five different cruise ships, the pair settled down in Shepparton where Costa fell pregnant with their first child - Lucas.
Now as proud parents of the nine-month old and part owners of the Excell Dance Centre in Shepparton, the pair keeps busy with its small family and raising the next generation of local ballroom dancers.