2008 – Page 2 – Nikki Webster Press Archive

IN MY OWN WORDS

Jan 13, 2008Mar 20, 2018 2008 No Comments

NIKKI WEBSTER
She’s only 20 years old, but already this songstress has released four albums and endured the scorn of the media. So how has the little girl who stole the show at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 survived her formative years?

By GEORGIA CASSIMATIS

I’m a Sydney girl. I was brought up in an ordinary suburb called Croydon Park, in a typical house – nothing extravagant. My upbringing was very down-to-earth. My mum’s a childcare worker and Dad’s an electrician. We took each day as it came.

Dance classes were my life as a child. I wasn’t sporty or athletic, so I went to dance classes and I felt really comfortable there. There was also an agency at the dance school, so I started going for auditions. My parents weren’t pushy. I never went to an audition thinking, I’m going to get in trouble if I don’t get this. I just loved what I did.

I had the gift of the gab. I’d walk into an audition and start talking my mouth off. My grandad took me to auditions and would wait in the car outside. He’d always ask me why I was in there so long and I’d say, “Oh, we were just yapping away.”

At school, the principal told my mum that I was the littlest one there with the biggest mouth. I was a small kid, yet I was confident. My brother tried to be the protective older sibling at lunchtime, but I would tell him to go away. My independence comes from Mum. She came to Australia by herself from London, on a working visa, at 18. Continue reading IN MY OWN WORDS

Webster opens her own school

Jan 9, 2008Mar 3, 2022 2008, Dance @ Nikki Webster Comments Off

AT only 20, Nikki Webster has had many career directions, something she says has just made her stronger.

Webster and her brother Scott, 23, are to open a performing arts school in Sydney, a new direction for the girl who first caught the eye at the Sydney Olympics.

She told Confidential she had had some "incredibly tough times" in the past few years after coping with constant backbiting.

"I’ve been scrutinised for doing nothing, basically being pure," she said yesterday.

"Just because I wasn’t on drugs and not in rehab, people didn’t want to know me or give me a chance."

After doing Dancing with the Stars, her career was at crossroads.

She sat down and weighed the pros and cons of staying in the industry.

"The cons far outweighed the pros, but I didn’t want to go and do a nine-to-five job," she said.

This was despite some of her family advising her to go to university or get a normal job.

"My family couldn’t understand why people were so mean," Webster said.

"When they saw me cry, it hurt."

But she’s upbeat about the future.

"I can remember watching Cathy Freeman light the flame and thinking, ‘I’ll be 21 when the Beijing Olympics come around’."

Source: The Herald Sun

Singer gives dance a chance

Jan 6, 2008Mar 3, 2022 2008, Dance @ Nikki Webster Comments Off

NIKKI WEBSTER was criticised for having too much dance ability while competing on Dancing With The Stars. Now she will use those skills to help others.

The singer revealed to The Sun-Herald yesterday that she is opening a performing arts school with brother Scott next month, in a bid to help young people get a leg-up in the industry.

Dance @ Nikki Webster will offer classes in everything from singing to dancing to acrobatics, accepting tots up to adults.

Webster – a household name since she starred in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games – said she would harness her extensive contacts in the industry, sourcing the best performers in the various disciplines, as well as leading classes at the Stanmore studio.

“I’ve been dancing since I was five and have been in dance schools growing up and I know what I liked about them,” she said yesterday from the Central Coast, where she is holidaying with her family.

“I can tell students what the industry is about. I just want to see people following their dreams and having fun.

“It’s also giving back to the community and Sydney, where I grew up. It’s a chance for me to be creative in a different sense as well.”

The 20-year-old said her new teaching career did not mean her recording career was over. “I’m still writing my music, trying to find direction, still performing,” she said. “Whatever comes up, I’ll take.”

Older brother Scott, 23, is a qualified teacher with a degree from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Webster’s school will have an open day on February 2.

Source: SMH