As a dance student, her performances were reduced to Zoom classes and loungeroom workouts.
But today, the 19-year-old former Wanganui Park Secondary College campus house captain really does have something to dance about, after being chosen as this year's recipient of an $11,000 Fairley Foundation scholarship to help fund her stay in Melbourne during her three-year Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts, which is part of the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.
“I'm very grateful and overwhelmed by this support. It feels very surreal - I probably wouldn't have been able to continue my studies without this support,” Ms Makin said.
She said her parents Maria and Brett were "very happy".
The money will help fund her accommodation at the university's Ormond College residence while she completes her studies at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Fairley Foundation executive officer Amanda McCulloch said Ms Makin was the perfect candidate, having already demonstrated a talent for dance performance and a strong sense of community and leadership.
“Fairley Foundation strongly believes the cost of relocation to Melbourne should not be a deterrent for students attending university. We are thrilled to support Abbigail to realise her aspirations of becoming a professional dancer,” Ms McCulloch said.
Now about to enter her second semester at the VCA, Ms Makin said she was looking forward to immersing herself in college life and her passion for contemporary dance.
“I've been able to mix with all sorts of people and make heaps of friends. I am the only fresher studying dance at Ormond College, but there are other dancers staying therewho look out for me,” she said.
Ms Makin said she had been dancing from a young age through classes at Shepparton's Amy Newton Dance Studio and had performed in Kyla McGregor's Awaken Dance Theatre Company and as part of Shepparton Festival events.
After graduation, Ms Makin hopes to take her skills to even bigger stages.
“I'd like to audition for big companies like the Sydney Dance Company, maybe choreograph some shows, go to New York - who knows?" she said.
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