Have you ever wondered what a Physie Champion gets up to in the off season? What does a physie girl do when she doesn’t have her weekly class to attend?! Here is a glimpse of what Phoebe Collins has been doing in her time off.

1. 

   Photo by WinkiPoP Media

   What makes physie so special for you?
   100% the friendships! Not many people have to opportunity to dance and work with a group of awesome females every single week! These friendships are so special to me as they continue beyond physie and have withstood big life changes like growing families, moving cities and injuries.
   I was lucky enough to share the Grand stage in 2019 with a long term physie friend and former student Caitlin Mewett! The highlight of my physie year was to dance alongside Caitlin for the first time and share our successes together.

2. How has physie moulded you as a person?
   Physie has taught me to appreciate the highs and lows that are out of your control. My ankle injury I experienced during the 125 Spectacular in 2017 was a low that affected almost every area of my life. But it allowed me to appreciate the high of being a part of a team. When I was injured, I was unable to get out of the house, walk and carry things. My physie friends rallied and helped me through the tough 6 months. They picked me up when I needed to go places or just get out of the house, I had a personal physie girl/hairdresser come and cut my hair. They even came over to help clean my house and do some much-needed washing!
   I was also overwhelmed with the support from the general physie community who reached out. I felt extremely loved.
3. If you could go back in time, what advice and lessons learned would you had given to your “younger self”
   I would tell myself to take the time to enjoy all the amazing things happening around you and put it all in perspective. I find it easy to get tunnel vision and focus on one goal and then quickly move on to the next. Take the time to enjoy successes and learn from mistakes or setbacks.
   How amazing is it to dance on the Opera House stage with your best mates. It is extremely rare and so special. TAKE IT ALL IN!
4. What do you like to do in the physie break?
   I have been trying to enjoy the most of this hot (and smoky) Sydney summer, and I try my best to get down to the beach before work and on the weekends as much as possible. I am so grateful I have not been directly impacted from the devastating bushfires over this summer.
   During this year’s physie break I have been busy organising and choreographing a float in the 2020 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. I was given the opportunity to coordinate this year’s float for the Black Dog Institute, the organisation I proudly work for. The Black Dog Institute is a mental health medical research institute and we are proud to support the LGBTQI community who have a high incidence of mental illness and suicide. No doubt the years of team patterns will help me prepare for choreographing the parade.
   I also managed to sneak in a cheeky trip to Bali over the break with my boyfriend Ben. It was lovely to relax by the pool and indulge in daily smoothie bowls before getting fully stuck into 2020.
5. What’s your favourite hobby or something that people might not know about you?
   …Oh I, I love the nightlife, I GOT to boogie. On the Disco… (You get it). I love exploring the city and going to listen and dance to live music. I live in the Inner west of Sydney in Newtown and I am overwhelmed by all of the events, shows, festivals and gigs that are constantly around me. I probably went to around 40 gigs in 2019. I love exploring different areas of Sydney, trying new bars and restaurants, finding new places to dance.
6. How do you keep fit, healthy and flexible over the break so that you’re ready for the new year?
   In 2017 I had a very big set back to my fitness and flexibility when I fractured and dislocated both sides of my left ankle. It was pretty hard to keep fit when you can’t walk… I had to learn to swap hikes, dancing and swimming for rehabilitation in the gym, which I found extremely difficult. My fitness regime was overhauled and now contains a lot of ankle strengthening and low impact exercise, and keep and jumping or running to a minimum.
   Shout out to the amazing team at Bai Med Physio in Wollongong who without I would have never seen the Physie floor again. I was extremely lucky as my bestie and housemate Holly Mcpaul is a specialist dance physio and ex-physie girl!
   Although there are 16 screws in my ankle (and some pretty impressive scars), thanks to my amazing surgeon and physios, don’t have very much pain when dancing. I was even able to train for and participate in a once in a lifetime fundraising trek along the Great Wall of China in September 2019.
7. Do you have a favourite personal quote you either heard or have made yourself?
   I’m not much of a quote person, however I used to tell my students “if you don’t believe you can do it yourself, it will be hard for the judges and the audience to believe you can do it”. When practicing new steps or marching out on the floor at a competition I try to project my own self confidence so that everyone watching will believe in me too.