Lizz Bleakley is a 26-year-old, 6-time Australian Champion in Para Dance. Lizz started dancing when one of her good friends who was already dancing with Ballroom Fit encouraged her to join. She originally said no, but now she is glad she changed her mind. “The people are all lovely and I can be myself with no judgement.” She loves the atmosphere that Darryl Davenport OAM and founder of Ballroom Fit has created. Ballroom Fit is a ballroom dancing school for people with disabilities; it is a very supportive environment that people feel safe and comfortable in. She has met many truly amazing people through dancing; she feels very grateful for the opportunity to show the world what she can do with no limitations.
Lizz Bleakley with Siria Lochrie, Danni Stitfall, Heidi Prendiville and Sam Hall 2024 Australian DanceSport Championship
Lizz dances with her coach and partner, Simon Mills, the two have been dancing together since early 2022 the couple have formed a strong bond on and off the dancefloor. They are a very successful partnership; they have recently competed in Hong Kong for the 2025 International Para Dance championship and came 4th out of 17 couples. “It was amazing to be a part of such a high level of competition, and it was a lot of fun but also scary because the overseas competition is extremely high!” She is currently training to represent Australia with Simon in Slovakia for the Para DanceSport World Championships in November 2025. She is looking forward to competing in Slovakia, “It will be fun, and a fantastic experience.”
Lizz Bleakley with Simon Mills with Amanda Smith with Peter Hegarty, and Sam Hall with Chris Wood at the 2023 Annual DanceSport Championship
Dancing has changed Lizz’s life in many ways, she has become more confident, embracing her strengths and learning to adapt with her weaknesses. Lizz has started teaching with Ballroom Fit at WA education support schools as part of a Para and Ability Dance Western Australia Telethon grant. Alongside Darryl and other coaches, Lizz teaches kids with special needs ballroom dancing and party dances. She is very passionate about showing kids with disabilities how to dance and showing them that anything is possible. The Ballroom Fit team visited 7 schools in term 2 of 2025, spreading para and ability dance as far as they can.
Lizz and Simon’s goals for the upcoming year are to defend their Australian Championship titles and their WA state champion titles. Their long-time goal is to become the Para Dance Ballroom World Champions.
Lizz Bleakley and Simon Mills at the 2025 Annual DanceSport Championship
Lizz has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for her expenses for her travel to Slovakia. If you can, please donate to help her reach her goals, every little bit helps to pay for her travel expenses. Link below:
Fundraiser by lizz Bleakley : Help Lizz compete in the ParaDance World Championships 2025
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