N.B. TV dance finalist gets hometown support

A Bathurst, N.B.-born finalist on a popular national dance competition has received a lot of support from her hometown.

Janick Arseneau was one of the four competitors who made it to Sunday's So You Think You Can Dance Canada finale, the first New Brunswicker to advance past the show's preliminary stages.

Sunday hundreds of people were to gather at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst to watch the 20-year-old dancer. She was born and raised in northern New Brunswick before moving to Montreal at 18.

People in Bathurst have made signs, paraded around town and organized rallies during Arseneau's time on the CTV program in an attempt to secure more viewer votes.

Diane Gauthier spent Sunday decorating the city's main sports complex with posters, balloons and banners.

She is a longtime family friend of Arseneau's and said everyone at home is calling her star.

"I just really keep telling her that I'm so proud of her positive attitude and that we're proud of her not just for her dancing but for who she is," she said.

Christine DeGrâce, who taught Arseneau at Danse Acadie in Beresford for 15 years, said Arseneau's success has become a great motivation for other young dancers in the region.

"Even though we're so far away from the big centres in the country, we still offer great dancing in New Brunswick," she said. "You can still find a great dance school and train and this is what you can become."

Arseneau, who began dance classes at the age of two, has studied multiple styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, tap and hip-hop.

The winner of the program, now in its third season, receives $100,000.

via cbc.ca