31-year-old Nolly Weeks was told that if she had not ‘made it’ as a successful dancer by the time she turned 30, Nolly should quit.

 

Nolly has had a successful career after graduating from full time dance at Spectrum Dance in Melbourne. She went on to land three consecutive contracts with Royal Caribbean cruise lines, danced for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan at a sold-out audience at Rod Laver Arena,  and performed in a Pink tribute show along with many more credits. 

Nolly began dancing at age three in Calisthenics and later ventured into jazz and tap. It was not until she travelled to the United States that she truly fell in love with hip hop and urban styles. When she landed in New York where hip hop originated, she knew she had to pursue this style further and spent three months there working on her craft. 

She also has a strong love for teaching dance. In 2018, she received an ongoing job offer to teach at The Space—the most iconic casual class studio in Melbourne. 

“Growing up, I never thought I was good enough to teach at The Space — that is where professionals teach. This is something I’ve wanted for a very long time,” said Nolly. 

Yet her success story is not without adversity. Returning to Australia after being at sea for two years proved difficult to re-enter the dance industry. She soon developed hip pain and later discovered her injury was a labral tear surrounding the hip socket caused by over-stretching. 

“I am all about safe dance practice and correct technique because I have had so many injuries that I would never want to inflict that kind of burden on my students,” said Nolly. 

It took a whole year for Nolly to leap back into dancing post-surgery and re-discover her technique. 

Now, Nolly’s outlook on dance is that her career is just beginning. Nolly aims to live and work in Los Angeles to pursue her dream of backup dancing for an artist—particularly in the R&B style. 

“Ideally, my dream job is to go on tour with an artist such as Jason Derulo, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Usher,” she smiled. 

Nolly hopes she can inspire future dancers to believe in their own talent to achieve their passions, no matter how big. 

“I personally have been told I wasn’t good enough. I was told that if I hadn’t made it by the time I was 30, that I should quit. I’m 31 and dancing better than ever before.”