Home at Dapto for a few weeks holiday Donna is preparing to return to work as the Dance Captain for the Princess Cruises with her next trips taking her to Italy, Egypt and Greece.

She attended the Diane Blaas School of Dancing in Wollongong from aged two to 17 years and honed her ability with performances in local theatre and a theme park in Taiwan before working at a Thailand resort for three months.

Donna also went to Paris and performed in the world renowned Moulin Rouge where she danced the can can and for a time was the soloist at this theatre.

Photo of Donna on stage in Paris.

Then came life on the cruise ships and visits to Asia, Europe, North and South America and even Antarctica.

She says the work involves about two hours a night and there is a lot of time available to sightsee at the various locations she visits.

One experience she prefers not to talk about is when a ship she was on caught fire coming into the port of Barcelona and the crew and cast had to stay there for about three weeks before the cruise could continue.

Donna has a boy friend who is a drummer for a band which also performs on cruise ships.

Getting more popular

She also says that there is evidence of cruise ships becoming more popular for holidays, particularly with families.

This is partly due, she suggests, to the general affordability of cruises and the fact that they cater for all types of people both young and old.

The cruise ship companies also spend up big, she says, on producing the shows and in general entertainment for their customers and generally speaking the ships she has performed on have theatres which can hold up to 700 people.

“We have a cast of 15,” she says.

And what’s next for the former Dapto High and Wollongong Performing Arts High School former student?

“I’ll probably continue with my work on the cruise ships for two or three more years and by then it will be time for a change of scenery,” Donna says.